Page 99 of The Woman on the Jury

That was too much like my father.

“What the fuck?” I said, raking a hand through my hair.

“Boss, what about the hospital?” Miko suggested, clearly the only one of us who had his head on right.

Of fucking course.

“Call the guards,” I demanded of Miko as I rushed back out of the apartment, down the stairs, then into the car.

“Not gonna wait to see if they say she’s there or not?” Silvano asked, climbing into the driver’s seat.

“Drive,” I demanded, needing to feel like I was doing something, not standing around like a fucking idiot.

“She could show, though,” I said when we got to the hospital, and Miko told me the guards hadn’t seen Halle.

“They said she called yesterday,” he added. “That’s… what is it?” he asked as I straightened.

“She has one of my burners,” I said.

“You hooked it up?” Miko asked.

Fuck.

“No. She’s gotta be using it on wifi… the library,” I said, remembering that she frequented it there.

It was public.

To her, it would feel relatively safe.

I ran around like a fucking fool all afternoon and evening, even going back to The Empress to see if she was staying there again.

Just… nothing.

“She’s gotta have someone, right?” Silvano asked, looking at me. “Aside from her grandfather, I mean.”

She did have someone else.

Her fucking best friend.

“Christ,” I hissed. “Miko!” I called.

“What’s up, boss?”

“The best friend. Lauren-something. Where can I find her?” I asked.

As it turned out, work.

We found her at work.

In fact, we waited outside of her building until she made her way out, her focus on her phone as she typed rapidly.

So she missed us.

Until we were all flanking her.

She tensed even before her gaze lifted. And when it did, it found me.

“This… tracks,” she decided, nodding at me.

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