Page 31 of A Breath of Life
“Enough. The chair is bolted to the floor, my friend, and you will not break those ties around your wrists or ankles. We are not amateurs. If you’re uncooperative, I will be forced to incapacitate you again. I don’t want to do that.”
“If you hurt my fucking dog—”
“No one is going to hurt your dog.” The man at the door stepped forward, hitching his chin at the clergyman in a commanding fashion that demanded he move.
The new guy sized me up and down. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Krause. I’m Ace’s number one. He will get my full report once we’re finished here, so I suggest you cooperate.”
“Who the fuck are you people? What do you want?”
The affluent man in the pinstriped suit brought his hands from behind his back and dangled something in front of me. The cord from a drawstring leather pouch hung off his finger, and I stilled, no longer fighting my restraints.
“Ah, good. You recognize it. Denial would not have worked in your favor. We need to have a calm conversation. I hope you’re prepared to chat amicably because I do not appreciate hostility.”
Echo barked in the distance as the wordscalm conversationandchatswam through my soupy brain. I’d escaped the apartment earlier because I couldn’t manage either. Great.
“Are you feeling cooperative, Mr. Krause?”
I bit back every raging insult that burned my tongue, tempered the flaring urge to tear the man to shreds, and nodded.
8
Tallus
“Fuck.”
I stared from the living room window at the yellow-washed street below, angling my head to keep an eye on the apartment’s front entrance. Traffic had slowed to a trickle over the past few hours. Still no sign of Diem. He’d been gone for too long. Cooling his temper was one thing, but this bordered on excessive.
The nursing home kicked visitors out at eight thirty. The clock read eleven eighteen. Even if he’d taken Echo for an extra-long walk afterward, he should have been home by now.
Why did I have to be a little bitch with him? Why couldn’t I bite my tongue and shut my mouth for once?
I’d driven him away. Pushed too hard. After his departure, the residual anger simmering in the air was so acrid I could taste it, but his continued absence was worrisome. It wasn’t like Diem to vanish for this long, not without a reason. Not without a phone call.
How mad was he?
Had I ruined everything?
Pacing, I debated options. Could he have gone to a bar to drink? Doubtful. Diem hated bars as much as he hated people. Since giving up his prowling days, when he would go to a pub strictly to find a willing body to fuck, he stayed away.
A liquor store and a dark alley? Far more likely.
It wasn’t like Diem had supportive friends or family to lean on. Before me, he had lived the life of a lone wolf, happy with his own company, growling at everyone and anyone who dared get too close.
Since Echo had come into Diem’s life six months ago, his out-of-control temper had significantly simmered, or rather, he managed it far better than before. He took willing time-outs, but not for multiple hours at a time.
Where was he?
Calling his phone got me nowhere. He’d either turned it off or was dismissing my number each time it flashed across the screen. The voicemail kicked on after less than a ring. My messages went unanswered.
At eleven thirty, I ventured to the parking garage and checked again to ensure the Jeep was still in its spot, and he hadn’t returned to collect it. It was there, same as it had been earlier. The office was a good fifty-minute hike from the apartment. Could he have walked there and decided to crash at his desk instead of dealing with me?
Was hethatangry? We’d fought, sure, but it wasn’t the worst argument. It was sadly typical. A personality clash. It wasn’t relationship-ending. Was it?
I debated getting in my car and finding out if he’d gone to the office, if only to put my mind at ease. Was I jumping the gun?
“At midnight,” I mumbled, scanning the parking lot. “If you aren’t home by midnight, like it or not, I’m coming to find you.”
And if he wasn’t at the office? I racked my brain for the next most conceivable option.
