SARAI My phone rings immediately when the message goes through. I smile at Ronan’s contact name displayed on my screen. Grumpy. I swipe the icon to the right, and once it clicks with the green buzzer on the screen, I put it on loudspeaker. “So, you do know something about Langford group of companies.” He laughs at his end of the line. The sound of it, rich and silky, makes my cheeks hot. The heat spreads to my chest very quickly, down to my stomach, until I’m seated on my chair with my right leg crossed over my left, craving some kind of friction—any kind—between my legs. “They’re a family company. Sort of affiliated, but not really. We’ve worked closely with them for years. We only thought it was right.” “I see,” my tongue trails over my teeth. I try my best to hide my smile. “You know you didn’t have to.” “I know. We wanted to. Since we’re going to be a family soon, it’s only fair we keep the family business together.” “You make it sound like a cult.” “That’s sexy. Cults are sexy.” Oh my goodness. My right hand slaps my forehead, and my palm serves as shade, to hide my face from no one in particular. “You wouldn’t have that impression if you were a victim of one.” “Hmmm.” He sounds thoughtful for a while. I can almost see him stroking his bald chin. “That’s besides the point. Can we see you tonight, to celebrate two new clients?” “And some of the biggest names in the country?” I add. He chuckles lightly. “Don’t flatter us.” He knows I’m not. Hawk Empire and Langford group of companies are part of the three biggest groups in our country, and neither is number three. “Well,” I clear my throat and sit up right. “I just got back to work. I have a lot of files on my desk right now, not to mention the thousands of emails sitting in my mailbox.” “You read your emails?”He asks the question like it’s the most absurd thing he’s heard in a while. I roll my eyes. “What do you think? My personal assistant reads them for me?” “He should. Hosea reads mine.” I shake my head. “Whatever. Just be sure you’re paying him enough to do that.” “Hmmm.” I hear keyboards clacking. “I don’t know about that. I should ask HR, shouldn’t I?” I bite back my laughter and rise to my feet. I need to get on with work. If I let him have his way, we would be on this call for the rest of the day. “How does tomorrow sound?” “Ouch, kitten. Tired of me already?” The heat in my cheeks intensifies. Of course he’ll be able to read my mind. I open my mouth to speak, but Ronan is faster. “Okay, baby. We’ll see you tomorrow night. I should let you go back to work now.” We kiss each other goodbye, and the call ends. Nel comes in five minutes for a meeting that lasts almost three hours long. He brings me up to speed on issues that happened while I was gone: a family who requested a higher payout from a relative’s death, an office romance gone wrong—HR had to let one of them go. Danielle Watkins. I never really spoke to her, but she seemed like a sweet girl, one of the few ones Aaron couldn’t get his hands on. I make a mental note to reach out to her later today, just to make sure everything is alright. If needed, I plan to restart the investigation. I need to see to it that she wasn’t collateral damage from a whirlwind romance. At exactly 1:30pm, Nel slaps the cover of his iPad close and adjusts the rim of his glasses. “You haven’t told me what you’ll be having for lunch.” “Oh. Right.” I close the lid of my laptop. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll eat out.” “You sure?” When I nod, he asks me if I need anything else. My answer is no, so he leaves. I go through my email for another thirty minutes before I decide it’s time to eat. I’m craving Chinese. It’s only normal that I drive to the nearest restaurant. Luckily, if there’s one thing that’s good in Durmont, it’s the food. And I love good food. Hence, why I do not cook. Weird? Maybe. I also have no explanation for it. I like to consider myself a cautious driver. It’s how I notice the black car that’s been following me for the last fifteen minutes. It first appears when I leave the Wellspring building, again when I take the longer turn to the restaurant, and it’s behind me after three consecutive headlights. The restaurant is half-empty, which is perfect. I slide into a booth near the back, barely seated for ten minutes before a waitress appears beside me. “What would you like to have?” She asks after her pleasantries, a bright smile plastered on her beautiful oval face. It makes me smile back. “Kung pao chicken, extra spicy, with fried rice.” For a moment, I briefly wonder if there are any ingredients that could harm my babies. When I can’t think of any, I let her know that’s all. The waitress disappears into the kitchen, and I pull out my Kobo from my handbag. I haven’t read a single book in months. Work and books were my only escape from the hell on earth Aaron had carefully and strategically built for me. But, as you would already know, I’ve been living my own fantasy novel for so long, I had no desire to escape to anywhere that wasn’t their bedroom. Or mine. With them in it. I’m three pages into a romance novel when I hear the chair across from me scrape against the floor. My food can’t be done with already. One glance at the parking lot, and I find the black Toyota parked beside my car. My jaw hardens, and I look up to find a pair of round eyes glaring at me. Detective Caroline fucking Walters