Page 32 of Vega

I kept my voice low as I followed Sonnet toward the train station Monday morning. Wise and Prodigy were connected through the earbuds in my ears, so to anybody passing me on the sidewalk, I looked like another man on a call on his way to work.

I had traded my usual clothes for charcoal slacks, a pale-blue button-up, and polished brown shoes. Dark shades covered my eyes, and a leather murse hung across my chest with my gun tucked inside. I looked like I worked a desk job.

Nobody would’ve guessed I was following the woman several feet ahead of me.

Sonnet wore black trousers, a cream blouse, and flats. Her tote rested against one hip. She checked the reflection in a storefront as she passed it, then glanced across the street before continuing.

She had done that three times since leaving her building.

“What feels wrong?” Wise asked.

“All of it. Roman claims she saw something connected to Donovan’s murder. He wants her questioned, but he’s treating her like she is a liability instead of a witness. She spends her weekends buying books and groceries. She hasn’t contacted the police, an attorney, or a reporter. I’ve watched her for two days. She barely talks to anybody outside of work.”

Wise was quiet for a moment before he told me, “We’ve never had a reason not to trust Roman.”

“That’s what bothers me. We’ve done business with him a few times, and he’s always been solid. Now, he’s lying about little details he doesn’t need to lie about.”

“What details?” Wise asked.

“How he found her and what she actually witnessed.”

Prodigy blew a heavy breath. “Then don’t deliver her until you know more.”

“I agree,” Wise said. “Learn what Roman is hiding first.”

That had already been my plan. Hearing them confirm it made the decision easier, but it didn’t remove the risk. Refusing Roman openly would tell him I had doubts. It would also guarantee that he sent someone else after her, someone who might not care whether she survived.

“That’s what I’m thinking,” I agreed as Sonnet approached the stairs leading into the train station.

That was when I saw two men standing on opposite sides of the entrance. One pretended to scroll through his phone while holding a paper coffee cup he hadn’t taken a single sip from. The other studied the transit map even though his eyes kept drifting toward Sonnet.

To everyone else, they looked ordinary. But they weren’t. The man with the coffee wore new construction boots without dust on them, and his hands were too manicured for manual worker. The one near the map had an earpiece hidden beneath his collar and kept his right side turned away from passing pedestrians.

These were Roman’s men.

“I’ll hit y’all later,” I told my brothers before hanging up.

I slowed and allowed Sonnet to reach the station entrance without me. She glanced behind herself once before disappearing down the stairs.

Then I walked toward the men. I stopped beside the one holding the coffee and checked my watch as if we were strangers waiting to cross paths.

“Why does Roman have so many people following this woman?”

When I suddenly asked that, his shoulders stiffened.

The second man abandoned the transit map and stepped closer. “We were told to watch her.”

“And I was told to handle her,” I told him.

“He needs to know she hasn’t gone to the police.”

“She hasn’t.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

I turned my head enough for him to see himself reflected in my shades. “Of course, I do. That’s why Roman hired me.”

The other man glanced toward the station. “Roman doesn’t want her walking around any longer than necessary.”