Page 57 of Midnight at the Magnolia

“Recognize that dance?”Lauren whispers.“It’s how killers acknowledge each other.”

“Well, well,” Alex drawls, his voice oily and grating. “Isn’t this cozy?”

I step forward, my hand instinctively moving to my gun. The cold metal is reassuring against my palm. Old habits from a lifetime of training:

Clear line of sight.

Cover available.

Exit routes mapped.

Threat assessed.

“Alex? What the hell are you doing here?”

Alex smirks, the expression making my skin crawl. It’s a far cry from the charming demeanor he’d shown during our lunch. “Just checking in on an old friend. Right, Celeste? Or should I say, Sarah’s avenging angel?”

The name hits me like a physical blow. Sarah. Celeste’s sister. The one she said was murdered. Another piece of the puzzle clicks into place, and the picture it forms steals my breath.

“The truth always comes for us,”Lauren’s voice echoes.“Just like it came for me.”

I turn to Celeste, confusion and suspicion warring within me. The room seems to spin, the fluorescent lights suddenly too bright, too harsh. “Sarah? Celeste, what is he talking about?”

Celeste’s face is a mask of fear and determination. Sweat beads on her upper lip, and I can see her pulse racing in the hollow of her throat. But beneath the fear, I see something else—something deadly and familiar. The look of a predator about to strike.

“She’s got the same look I had,”Lauren warns.“Right before I pulled my gun on you.”

“Alex, don’t. Please.” Celeste’s voice holds a note I’ve never heard before—raw and dangerous. Like a cornered animal ready to fight.

But Alex isn’t finished. He turns to me, his smile cruel, teeth gleaming unnaturally white under the flickering lights.“Remember our chat about justice, Agent Blake? Well, here’s a front-row seat to it in action.”

I feel like I’m drowning, each revelation pulling me further under. Alex is the one who has been texting me? The air in the small office feels thick, hard to breathe. Celeste’s eyes dart between us, a cornered animal looking for escape. My training catalogs her options even as my heart breaks:

Drawer with potential weapon: 2 feet to her left.

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