Page 90 of The Matchmaker

I blink at the unexpected explanation.

“It’s a satellite tracker,” he continues. “Gets way better reliability than anything currently on the market for when you’re out of cell tower range. I put it up as a soft launch a year ago just to see what would happen, and it really took off with hiking and outdoorsy types. It ended up gaining a niche popularity that got lots of Silicon Valley types interested. There was a bit of a bidding war to acquire the application. I got bought out a few months ago, and, well…” He gestures at his sunglasses. “My mom said I gotta do something with the windfall.”

“I don’t understand. Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“Because it’s a violation of the noncompete in my employee agreement?” He looks at me sheepishly. “I wasn’t even thinking it would go anywhere. It was a free app mostly for my ownamusement, but once it snowballed, I couldn’t figure out how to tell you.”

“The noncompete was to avoid conflict with the Piyar app. This was never a conflict….”Oh.I look at him. “Are you quitting?”

“Leaving the agency? No way.” He shakes his head. “I love this job. You all are like family to me. I hate that I’ve been distracted, though. I…I feel awful that I haven’t been giving it my all.”

“Borzu, you’ve been here at all hours helping.”

“I could have done more. If I had my head fully in the game, I’d probably have figured out who is behind this already. It’s not like it’s some ghost lurking in the bushes—it’s a person. With a trackable amount of information.”

A car alarm beeps in the distance as Borzu keeps talking. My chest constricts. Borzuhadbeen keeping something from me, but nothing bad. How did Logan get into my head and make me doubt the people I trust most?

“I’m sorry, Borzu,” I tell him. “For asking you all these questions. I appreciate everything you do. You had every right to keep this to yourself.”

“I’m the one who’s sorry. For not telling you everything.”

“You have nothing to apologize for.”

He won’t meet my eye. “Not about the app. There’s, um, something else I need to tell you. I don’t know how to say it.”

Before he can continue, the doorbell chimes.

The front door swings open.

A man walks in.

Logan Wilson.

Twenty-seven

Logan’s eyes scan the space curiously, then shift to alarm when they land on mine.

“Nura.” He takes a step back.

In three quick strides, Fiona’s between us. Her hand rests on her holster.

“Whoa.” Logan raises his hands. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I swear, I mean no harm.”

“He’s here to see you, Borzu?” I ask.

“It’s…it’s not what you think.”

“That’s not an answer,” I say, my eyes trained on Borzu. Logan clears his throat, but I ignore him. “You knew I was babysitting today, so you figured the agency was as good a spot to meet with him as any, and…oh. You.” My stomach turns, the puzzle pieces fitting together. “You’re the anonymous source. You sent Logan to the wedding.”

“I fucked up, okay?” Borzu rubs his head. “Logan called the agency. You were out of the office that week. He wanted a comment. The piece was going to print ASAP. He had multiple sources on the record saying you’d made critical blunders as a matchmaker. When he told me you were up for talking butdidn’t have time, I figured that wedding in the mountains was as decent a place to have the conversation as any.”

“You took him at his word? You could have confirmed with me first!”

“I know. You’re right. But it was time sensitive, and your phone kept going to voicemail. He was going to do a write-around. I couldn’t let him. This isRolling Stonewe’re talking about! If people thought we ruined our clients’ lives and didn’t properly vet applicants—that makes all of us look horrible. And it would be the end of the agency. I meant to tell you after. But then the accident…the bodyguards…things have been out of control.” He hangs his head. “It’s no excuse. I just…I wanted to clear the agency and your name from whoever is out to destroy both.”

“And Logan is here today because…?”

“I need more information than I can dredge up on my own,” Borzu says. “Logan’s got a treasure trove of receipts and interviews. Screenshots of conversations he says prove his case. I was hoping he would share some in exchange for me working with him.”

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