Chapter 15 · Kyle's Eighteenth Try

"Mark Chen." Kyle's voice came through the phone before I even said hello. "You're standing in your kitchen. Coffee's cold. Gun's on the counter. Lyla's number is still on your screen."

I didn't move. Didn't breathe.

"How many tries?" I said.

"Eighteen." He sounded pleased. "You called her in sixteen of them. She came in fourteen. You both died in twelve."

My hand tightened on the phone. The kitchen felt smaller. The gun sat three feet away, too far if he was already inside.

"What do you want?"

"Same thing I wanted the first seventeen times. You stop digging. Emma stops asking questions. And I get to walk away before the clock runs out."

"You killed her husband."

"I killed a lot of people." Kyle laughed, soft and easy. "But yeah, sure, him too. He was getting close. Just like you. Just like Lyla's about to."

I grabbed the gun. Checked the clip. "Where are you?"

"That's the thing, Mark. I'm everywhere you've already been. I watched you set the trap at the warehouse. I watched you call Lyla. I watched you pour that coffee three hours ago and forget to drink it.