Page 68 of The Game

“Attached to my dog?”

“Don’t play games. You know exactly what I mean.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You should be careful around him, Anna. I don’t think he can be trusted.”

“Are you saying Adam Miller can’t be trusted?”

He scowls at me again. “Do you know what his connections are? Anyone can be bought.”

“Why are you so interested?” Why would Arty say that? The gray green of the river behind him is as murky as this conversation. Is Adam on their radar? Have they offered him money? I bat these far-fetched thoughts aside. It’s obvious Arty is fishing. But for whom? I don’t think Arty himself would care. He wasn’t with me because he cared; he was with me for some other reason I can’t quite put my finger on.

He gives me an oily smile. “Just looking out for you, Anna.”

Like hell. I can’t quite shake the idea that I’ve brought Adam Miller to the attention of some people in Russia. And I don’t like that. I don’t like it at all.

26

ADAM

Two days after chatting with Fabian a text drops into my phone from an unknown number. It’s a picture of Arty Maroz and Anna walking along some waterfront. I examine the skyscrapers behind them—the East River?Anna is carrying a coffee, and they don’t look friendly exactly, but I don’t see a great deal of animosity either.

Of interest?

is all the message says. Followed by:

This guy is a tool. He trains for most of the day and gets into arguments with people all the time.

Fabian.I tap in a reply:

Sounds about right.

I press the button to call him.

“Hey,” I say. “What’s this picture? How did you get it?”

“Ah … I might have omitted to tell you I put a tail on Arty Maroz.”

“Because that’s something normalpeople do.”

“Well, yeah. His life is a car crash, but hacking into his life didn’t give me anything to explain why he’s hassling Anna and why he visited you, so I thought I’d go old school.”

“So … when was this taken?”

“Yesterday.”

My whole body locks up.

“What the hell? Anna met with Marozyesterday?” I can’t suck enough oxygen into my lungs. “Are youcertain?”

“It’s timestamped, so yes, I’m sure.”

“She has a restraining order against him.” They’re talking. She’s walking her dog. “Why the fuck is she on some waterfront with Maroz? With Pepper?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty odd.”

“Fuck. I haven’t told her you’re looking into Maroz.” Whatisshe doing? He tried to attack her at an event and … “Perhaps she’s trying to persuade him to back off. He’s still suing her for ownership of Pepper.” A long groan seeps out before I can stop it. “How do I always end up with women who say one thing and do another?”

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