Page 16 of Tango
I just hope I can bring him and his family at least a little closure once I’ve gotten to the bottom of things.
Chapter 6
Alice
The coffee shop is bustling this morning, which isn’t ideal, but it’s the only shot I have at finding some answers. Right now, I’m an echo chamber for the theories I’m mulling over. Fresh eyes. Isn’t that what they say in all the detective shows? That sometimes you need fresh eyes on the case to see it clearer?
The bell above the door rings, and a handsome man in his early thirties walks in. His dark hair is cut short, a buzz cut that’s habit ever since his time in the army. He’s wearing dark jeans and a tan, short-sleeved polo shirt.
Logan Tarmac’s dark gaze scans the room until he sees me sitting in the back. Somehow, he recognizes me, which is a shock, given the baggy clothes and baseball hat I’m wearing. Without ordering a coffee, he comes over and takes a seat across from me, gaze concerned when he notes the bruises all over my face.
“What happened?” he demands. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Physically, at least.” I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “I was attacked. The other guy got it worse, but I don’t want to talk about that right now.”
“Okay,” he says slowly.
I take a deep breath. “Thank you for meeting me.”
“Of course. You know I would do anything for you, Al.”
Al. I never liked that nickname, but since he’s risking his life for me, I don’t correct him like I’ve done in the past. “It’s a risk talking to me, so if you want to go, I understand.”
“If I didn’t want to talk to you, I wouldn’t be here.”
Emotion burns in my throat. I knew I could count on him, and it warms my heart to know I wasn’t wrong. “Do you know what they’re saying I did?”
His expression answers me before he even nods. “I don’t believe a word of it though.” He leans in. “Is it true that Ramiro is missing? I know you two are close, so I wasn’t sure if?—”
“He’s not missing. He’s dead.”
Logan’s expression shifts to shock. “Dead? You’re sure?”
I nod. “Darren Wade killed him in the server room.”
“Darren Wade? As in, the security guard?”
“Yes.”
“The server room? At Web Safe?” He leans in closer. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. He tried to kill me too, but I managed to shoot out the window and escape.”
“That’s two floors up,” he replies.
“Yes. I know. I hit the awning over the entrance and bounced off. It broke some of the fall.” Not all of it, though. It hurt—badly—when I hit that pavement. Thank God I didn’t break any bones.
Logan leans back in his chair, taking in all I’ve said.
“Weren’t you a little curious as to why the windows were broken?”
“They told us it was a drive-by. That two stray bullets hit the windows.”
I roll my eyes. “Which is why the glass was on the outside, right? Unbelievable.”
“We’re not allowed in the server room right now, and most of the glass outside was cleaned up before we got to work.” Logan crosses his arms. “What’s going on, Alice?”
Full name. Six months of dating, and one relatively peaceful breakup later, and he’s finally calling me by my full name. “I don’t know. That’s why I wanted to see you. There’s no one else I can trust.”
