Chapter 23 · The call could be traced

I turned on her. "Let go."

"The call could be traced."

"It could be bait."

"It's both."

"Then answer it."

"If I answer, they know I'm here."

"They already know."

The ringing stopped.

A new message appeared.

MIRA QUINN SENT THE HUNTERS.

Leo read it.

His eyes lifted slowly.

"Did you?"

Mira didn't answer.

That silence was worse than a confession.

Leo stepped out of the bathroom, pipe raised. "Did you send them?"

"No."

"The message says you did."

"Messages can lie."

"So can you."

Mira flinched.

Not much. A small pull at the corner of her mouth. But it was there.

I stepped between her and Leo.

"Who's paying?" I asked.

Mira's eyes locked on mine. "Not here."

"Who's paying for the kill order?"

"Reid, shut up."

"Who's paying for the tracker in this building?"

Leo looked from her to me. "Tracker?"

Mira cursed under her breath.

I reached into the seam of my coat and pulled out the small black disk I'd found beneath the floorboard an hour earlier. Its center glowed a steady red.

"You planted it," I said.

"I didn't."

"It carries your encryption."

"Then someone stole my encryption."

"Convenient.