Page 164 of Devil Mine

My lieutenants who are usually always by my side are both gone tonight — Marco had surgery to remove problematic scar tissue from an old bullet wound and Arturo was called unexpectedly away for an emergency with his daughter — so I can’t ask them to look into the supplier.

It would be surprising not to talk to Tess even on a normal night, but something about the coincidence that I would be stood up on the same night that I can’t reach her doesn’t sit right with me. Years of experience have the back of my neck tingling, telling me that something isn’t right here.

Instinct tells me I was lured away tonight. For what purpose, I can’t tell. The more I can’t get through to Tess, the antsier I get. The stronger the tingling in my neck gets, until it’s a full on buzzing.

When I try calling a sixth time and she doesn’t answer, I consider lobbing my phone out of the window. It’s only the fact that she would have no way to reach me that keeps me from doing so.

“How far away are we?” I ask my driver.

“Thirty minutes,jefe.”

I’m going to turn the back of the Rolls into my personal rage room and destroy it in that time.

“Drive fucking faster,” I snarl.

I unlock my phone and call Dagny.

“Well, well, well,” she answers mockingly. “This is a surprise. Dare I dream that you’re calling to generously offer to pay for my floor bill? Or is this some sort of courtesy call before you shoot me again?”

I cut straight to the point. “I can’t reach Tess. I’ve tried calling six times.”

She sobers instantly, immediately understanding the serious tenor of my voice. “I’ll see if I can get through and call you right back.”

My phone rings thirty seconds later and my stomach plummets.

“Well?”

“She didn’t answer.”

My jaw works back and forth silently. Maybe she doesn’t have her phone on her. Or maybe…

Dagny reads my mind. “She didn’t run.”

“How do you know?”

“Well, apart from the fact that she’s in lo–” She starts coughing violently. “Sorry, something in my throat.” She clears it once more, then starts again. “She wouldn’t leave you. You know she wouldn’t.”

She’s right. I don’t think Tesswouldleave me.

But her leaving me would be preferable to the only other option her silence could mean – that something happened to her.

“I spoke to her earlier tonight when she was cooking,” Dagny continues. I groan loudly and she laughs. “Don’t worry, she was just making grilled cheese.”

“And she was fine?”

“Yeah, she…” Her voice trails off suddenly.

My hand tightens around the phone. “What is it?”

“She was looking into the embezzlement. We were talking about it and then she abruptly said she had to go. She sounded like she had an idea of where to look… Maybe she found something?”

“She would have called me if she did.”

“Not if…”

Dagny doesn’t finish her sentence. She doesn’t need to.

Not if something happened to her.

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