Page 34 of Be Very Quiet

Warren’s eyes widened. “Wait. You don’t need to call her.” He grabbed the book and tossed it in front of Luca. “Knock yourself out.”

“Thanks.” He tried to sound convincing but failed miserably. Oh well.

He carried the book to an area away from Warren. Christian took a seat beside him on the sofa, and Luca opened the ledger. The envelope wasn’t there when they left the condo, so he flipped to the page displaying names after seven a.m. There were approximately two dozen. Luca took out his phone to snap a picture, but his finger froze over the button. He recognized one of the names. Rex Raines.

“Sonofabitch,” Christian muttered, noticing the same thing. “Why did you have me research him? Do you suspect him?”

Luca hated to admit his jealousy. “He’s asked Liliana out several times. Do you think it’s possible he’d found out about her past trauma and decided to stalk her?”

Christian looked skeptical. “From what I found about him, it doesn’t seem like something he would do.”

Luca withheld judgment until he had more information. His heart wanted the bastard to be guilty. “Douglas Speke signed in and out at the same time.”

“Raines was probably showing him a condo,” Christian rationalized. “That would make sense since his job is to sell real estate.”

Christian’s defense of the man perturbed Luca. Raines wasn’t a freaking saint, for goodness’ sake. He snapped a photo, making sure the names were legible, before standing and handing the journal back to Warren. “Thanks for your cooperation.” He’d meant it sarcastically, but the rebuke whooshed right over Warren’s head.

“What’s going on?” Warren asked. “Do I need to be aware of something happening?”

“No, we’re doing background investigation. If that changes, I’ll let you know.”

They returned to the apartment. Liliana looked up as she was talking with Audria.

“How well do you know your buddy Raines?”

“Rex?” At his confirmation nod, Liliana said, “Pretty well. He’s my landlord, and our offices have gone to dinner and other events together. He attends several classes at the studio. Why?”

“He was here today.”

Liliana scoffed. “He is a real estate agent, Luca. There are several condos for sale.” She echoed Christian’s thoughts, pissing Luca off all over again. “He’s probably here all the time.”

He tamped down his irritation. “Does the name Douglas Speke ring any bells?”

“Douglas? Yes. He’s one of my martial arts instructors.”

“They signed in and out at the same time.”

“Douglas is new to the area and probably looking for a place to live, but I didn’t know he was interested in this building.” A look of horror crossed her face, and her eyes widened. “Oh my God. He knew the phrase.”

“What?”

“He knew the phrase,” she repeated.

“What phrase?”

“‘Be very quiet.’”

Luca’s jaw clenched. Those were the words Rader had whispered in Liliana’s ear when Luca and his partner had arrived on the scene ten years ago. Luca explained the meaning to Christian and Audria.

“In what context did he say it?” Audria asked.

“One of the instructors who taught me most of what I know about self-defense likes to test me occasionally. He’ll grab me from behind and expect me to escape the hold.” At the thunderous look on Luca’s face, she quickly added, “I had asked him to a few years ago. I wanted to test my skills and keep sharp. It’s one thing to practice when you expect it, but I needed to know I could recall the training in real-life situations.” That didn’t appease Luca. The thought of any man grabbing her made his blood boil.

“Anyway, Douglas saw him do it one day and thought it would be funny to try it. He came up behind me and whispered those words in my ear.”

Oh, damn. It must have terrified her. He softened his voice. “What did you do?”

She lifted her hands in a helpless gesture. “I froze. The low tone sounded the same, and my mind rewound ten years. For a moment, I was sure Rader had returned.”

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