Chapter 2 - The Debt Dante Didn’t Want
Dante stared at her for three seconds.
Then, unexpectedly, he laughed.
It was not warm laughter. It was one quiet breath of amusement from a man who apparently had forgotten what amusement felt like.
“How much do you think a napkin costs?”
Khloe swallowed. “At this place? Probably my security deposit.”
“That bad?”
“My apartment or the napkin?”
His mouth almost moved.
Almost.
Then Dante’s attention dropped to her wrist.
Khloe instinctively pulled her sleeve lower.
Too late.
Purple fingerprints marked her skin.
Whatever faint amusement had appeared in Dante’s face disappeared.
“Sit.”
“I should leave.”
“You’re shaking.”
“I’m cold.”
“You’re terrified.”
Khloe hated him for saying it aloud.
She sat.
Dante pushed a glass of water toward her instead of offering alcohol.
That small detail confused her more than the violence had.
“What do you want?”
Dante leaned back.
“Nothing.”
“Nobody does something for nothing.”
“People around you taught you that?”
She looked toward the curtain.
“I need to go home.”
“No.”
Her eyes snapped back to him.
Dante calmly lifted his bourbon.
“Jared had two men outside.”
Her stomach tightened.
“You know his name?”
“Paulie searched him.”
Dante slid a phone across the table.
On the screen was a photograph from outside. Jared was being helped toward a black SUV by two men Khloe recognized.
Trevor Shaw.
Mason Pike.
Both worked for Jared’s uncle.
Khloe whispered, “Oh God.”
Dante’s gaze sharpened.
“Who is his uncle?”
She said nothing.
“Khloe.”
Hearing her name from him startled her.
“Victor Kane.”
For the first time, Dante became completely still.
She noticed.
“You know him.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Dante set down his glass.
“Victor Kane and I have been trying to kill each other politely for approximately six years.”
Khloe stared.
She had suspected Dante was dangerous.
She had not expected him to announce it like a quarterly earnings report.
“What exactly do you do?”
“Imports.”
She glanced toward the armed man outside the curtain.
“With bodyguards?”
“Seattle has aggressive customs officers.”
Despite herself, Khloe nearly smiled.
Dante noticed.
Then his phone vibrated.
He read the message.
His expression changed.
“Interesting.”
“What?”
“Jared didn’t come here because he missed you.”
Khloe’s throat tightened.
Dante turned the screen around.
Paulie had sent photographs of Jared’s belongings.
Wallet.
Phone.
Knife.
And a photograph.
Khloe reached for it.
It showed her leaving her office two mornings earlier.
On the back was a handwritten instruction.
FIND OUT WHAT SHE KNOWS.
Khloe’s blood turned cold.
“What I know about what?”
Dante watched her reaction carefully.
“I was hoping you could tell me.”
“I can’t.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“I don’t know anything.”
Dante believed fear when he saw it.
That frightened her more.
He stood.
“Come with me.”
“No.”
“Then stay here until Jared’s friends return.”
She stood immediately.
Dante’s mouth twitched.
“I thought so.”
They left through a private corridor.
Khloe expected some theatrical convoy. Instead, a black sedan waited behind the restaurant.
Paulie drove.
Dante sat beside her in the rear.
For ten minutes, neither spoke.
Seattle slid past the windows in streaks of rain and neon.
Then Khloe’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
She rejected it.
It rang again.
Dante looked over.
“Answer.”
“No.”
“Put it on speaker.”
Khloe hesitated before pressing the button.
“Hello?”
Jared’s breathing came first.
Then his voice.
“You stupid—”
Dante held out his hand.
Khloe gave him the phone.
“Jared.”
Silence.
Then: “Who is this?”
“The man whose shoes you stepped on.”
Jared stopped breathing.
Dante continued quietly.
“You’re going to forget Khloe Bennett exists.”
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“No, you don’t. Ask her about Evergreen.”
Khloe froze.
Dante saw it.
Jared laughed painfully.
“There. She knows.”
The call ended.
Dante did not look away from Khloe.
“What is Evergreen?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re a terrible liar.”
She stared through the window.
Evergreen.
A name she had spent three months trying to forget.
“I work in accounts payable for Northstar Medical Logistics,” she finally said. “Three months ago, I found payments to something called Evergreen Consulting.”
“How much?”
“Fourteen million dollars.”
Paulie glanced into the mirror.
Dante’s expression remained unreadable.
Khloe continued.
“The company didn’t exist. I reported it. The next morning the records disappeared.”
“And Jared?”
“He worked in compliance.”
Dante slowly leaned back.
Everything suddenly fit.
Jared had not found Khloe by accident.
He had been watching her.
“What did you do with the records?” Dante asked.
“I copied them.”
Paulie muttered something under his breath.
Dante ignored him.
“Where?”
Khloe hesitated.
“Somewhere safe.”
Dante looked almost annoyed.
“That phrase usually means somewhere extremely unsafe.”
“I didn’t know who I could trust.”
“You still don’t.”
At least he admitted it.
The car turned toward the waterfront.
Khloe looked outside.
“This isn’t my neighborhood.”
“No.”
“Where are we going?”
“My house.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Victor Kane knows where you live.”
“I can stay with a friend.”
“Then Victor will know where your friend lives.”
She hated that he was right.
“What do you want from Evergreen?”
Dante looked toward the rain-streaked window.
For several seconds, the cold businessman vanished.
Something darker appeared beneath it.
“Victor Kane murdered my brother.”
Khloe stopped.
Dante turned back.
“And Evergreen paid the men who did it.”
The car entered an underground garage beneath a waterfront tower.
The gates closed behind them.
Khloe suddenly understood.
This had never been about a napkin.
Dante needed the records.
She needed protection.
They were useful to each other.
Dante stepped from the car.
Khloe remained seated.
He bent slightly, looking through the open door.
“I can protect you.”
“And what does it cost?”
“One week.”
“For what?”
“You go where I go. You attend what I attend. Victor needs to believe you gave me the Evergreen files.”
“But I haven’t.”
“Exactly.”
Her stomach dropped.
“You want to use me as bait.”
Dante held her gaze.
“No.”
His voice became colder.
“I want Victor to think you’re bait.”
Khloe stared at him.
“And when he comes?”
May you like
Dante’s eyes hardened.
“We close the trap.”
