Page 131 of Fierce-Zander

By the time Regan came into the kitchen the sandwiches were getting flipped and he was taking a sip from the beer he opened.

“You look really good in the kitchen.”

“Ha ha,” he said. “At least you never yell at me to clean up better.”

“You’re not bad,” she said. “You always try and most times do well.”

He did try. It’s like he told his mother. He wasn’t that much of a slob. It had more to do with having no space.

Yet somehow in the past few weeks, his clothes managed to take up more of her closet than his own.

She never said a word. He realized how bad it was when he could do a full load of laundry here rather than going home and doing it in the basement of his apartment building.

“I set your mail on the counter,” he said.

She moved over after kissing him and started to go through it.

He turned his head and saw her frowning as she opened a letter.

When her face went white, he moved closer and took it out of her hand.

I know what you did, bitch. You’ll pay.

“I don’t know what this is about,” she said.

“Shit,” he said. He’d grabbed his gun holster off the chair he’d hung it on.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“Out to look at the mailbox.”

“Why?” she asked. “It’s got a stamp on it. It’s not like it was hand delivered and you are going to find fingerprints.”

“Nope,” he said, “but whoever this is now knows where you live and I want it known someone else is here with a gun on.”

He moved out the front door, no jacket, his gun in the hostler on his shoulder. He made a production of moving around with it outside her house so if anyone was watching they’d know she was protected.

“Did you see anyone?” she asked when he returned. Their sandwiches were on the plates.

“No,” he said. “I don’t think we should stay here tonight. Or this weekend. Let’s pack a bag and go to my place.”

She took a deep breath. Then another. She was getting herself under control. “I don’t want to run because I got another letter.”

“Regan. They know where you live. It’s a threat. Your second one. It’s okay to be upset.”

“You’re not thinking it has to do with Sophia, are you?” she asked, frowning. “She left her job last week. She got another offer and moved to Charlotte closer to a cousin.”

He hadn’t known that. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It didn’t come up. I can still have sessions with her via video calls. That part of our agreement is over with now. It doesn’t concern her or you.”

“Has she said anything else?” he asked. “If someone was following her?”

He didn’t like this. He’d done a little bit more digging on his own but didn’t tell Regan. He didn’t want to worry her.

It looked to him that the head of security who dropped off the card had family ties back to a suspected Chinese drug lord. One that was currently being investigated by the DEA. Money could easily be laundered through the company. It was even possible that the owners had no clue.

Not his problem. He passed on what he had to someone he trusted on the force anonymously. In a mailed envelope, no trace coming from him.

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