lass. He reached into his breast pocket, pulled out a linen sq

me the way an auditor looks at an unbalanced ledger. In his world, people we

wide stairs without another glance in my

od," Tayl

moved with the easy authority of a man who owned everything his eyes landed on, a man w

remaine

m my knees. He was younger than Philip, maybe early thirties, with hair cut short and sharp at the sides. His posture was to

," Tayl

on skirt to make myself look clumsy. I kept my head down, clut

etting panic bleed into my tone. "I did not mean to stare. Mrs. Gable said not to loo

mpathy. He tilted his head slightly, studying the way my shoulders hunch

he com

Nora

ncy

taffing, sir.

ent yo

ad breached at three in the morning two nights ago. "She told me this was a high profile pl

, practiced strokes. He did not look at the keys while he typed. His eyes stayed glued to my

the phone up to his ear. "Let's see how

to stay shallow and rapid, the way an ordinary, terrified g

peaker. A woman answer

Staffing, thi

ylor Cooper calling from

er end. Mrs. Miller's voice instantly turned smooth and overly polite. "Mr. C

his voice deceptively mild.

n Suites before they remodeled, clean record, zero complaints. Her background che

. "Just verifying the paperwork. Send a duplicate copy of her fin

Mr. Cooper.

ng goodbye. He lowered the phone a

moved out of state last week. But the tax forms and fingerprints were a dead end. When Taylor ran those prints against the national registry, they would not match a quie

before Taylor realized t

like an inspector checking a car for hidden damage. "Too clean for someone who looks as focused

aid, keeping my gaze locked onto the lower buttons of h

the gold watch on his wrist. "Mr. Montclair takes his morning espresso at nine sharp. Mrs. Gab

ace blank. "Mrs. Gable said the secon

ugar. Walk it up the east stairs, turn left, and knock on the double doors at the end of the hall. One knock. If he does not answer, wait by the door. Do not wander.

ir. Ver

ov

y. I kept my gait slightly uneven, my shoulders pulled forward, looking every

igerators hummed along the back wall, and an expensive Italian espresso mac

r the spout, and pressed the double shot button. The machine his

kled down, I reached

n untouchable CEO on paper, but he ran private freight through the city terminals without manifest declarations. That was what Caleb had uncovered. If I could get this device onto the underside o

hine stopped wit

silver tray, added a folded

time I had before Taylor's d

quared my jaw, and h