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“You’re right. I’d be out of a job,” she said. “But, if they try to hurt me or snatch me, that’s pretty much the equivalent to firing me, isn’t it? At that point, I can’t keep working for that company. Now, we don’t know what’s going on for sure. This problem could be a complete snafu of the accounting software that they can fix.”
“I am too old to be as optimistic as you are, Little girl.”
“A glitch is a longshot, but that excuse is possible.” She clung to hope even after listening to his logic and her own inner voice that sent out alerts for her to be skeptical.
“The moment you are in enemy territory, you study each nook and cranny for shadows. Send me images with your mind and stay in communication with me. Those are my nonnegotiables,” he said sternly as he pulled into the parking lot of her branch.
“Yes. I can do my best. I promise I won’t do anything foolish like wander away from a safe location to rescue an injured dog.”
“Thank you, Zoí mou.”
“I love you,” she whispered as he pulled the car into a parking space.
“I will come to assist you.”
When she let him help her from the passenger seat, he said, “I love you, Mara. You are my entire world. No putting yourself at risk for others. Even if that other has four paws and a wet nose.”
She hugged him quickly and rushed into the bank. Mara’s nerves were jittery. Scanning the familiar faces as she settled at her desk, Mara wondered who was involved in the threat against her. Greed did awful things to people. She hated to think any of these people she enjoyed working with would have notified the person who’d attacked her with the truck. Was there someone here that wanted her dead?
No one asked her questions about the driver hitting something and dying. They must have figured she’d already left and missed the turmoil. Keeping her head down, Mara ran through her messages, handling anything urgent.
Several coworkers stopped by to check on her health, as she’d never been absent before. She blamed her supposed illness on eating something that had messed up her stomach. People didn’t tend to ask a lot of questions when vomiting and diarrhea were involved.
Andrew Poole had sent a message at their appointment time that held a forceful tone she didn’t like. Hoping she was reading more than she should be, Mara picked up the phone and found his information. When he didn’t answer, she left a cheerful message as if nothing was wrong.
“Hi! This is Mara Eliot. I’m calling to apologize for missing our appointment yesterday. I was so ill, I couldn’t hold my head up long enough to get a message to you. I’m better today and wished to reschedule when convenient for you.” After telling him her number, Mara hung up the phone with a scant sigh of relief. She’d have to talk to him sometime, but not now.
By midmorning, she’d handled a dozen low-level emergencies and caught up on her messages and missed tasks. Less stressed by her absence yesterday, with calendar and email handled, Mara dived into her tasks today. She quickly scanned through several accounts that she’d noted as problematic before without opening the Nightfall deposits. She’d keep her distance from that one.
Jumping out of the site when a customer needed assistance, Mara checked her messages a few minutes later and discovered a voicemail:
Hey, Mara. Thanks for getting back to me. I figured when you weren’t at your desk later in the day that something had happened. Sorry you were sick. Call me back when you can, and we’ll reschedule.
When she got his new voicemail, Mara selected his number and waited to see if they could connect. He answered on the third ring. Her pulse spiked with anxiety. Was this guy in on whatever was going on, or was he innocent? Darius seemed to think he was to blame. She trusted Darius and was extremely nervous about meeting with Andrew. Yet she couldn’t see a way out of talking to him.
“Hey, Mara. I’m eager to track this discrepancy down. The upper echelon has directed me to make this a priority. Do you have any free time today?”
“Hey, Andrew. Let me check. I’ve got an hour at three. Would that work for you?”
“I’ll make that work. Can you come over here so I can use my equipment and the highest connection speed?”
She rolled her eyes, processing that the bank branches didn’t get the cutting-edge internet, but the main administrative building did. “Of course. I’ll be there at three.”
“See you then.”
Mara stared at her phone for a few minutes. She could do this. Darius needed to know what was going on, and she had the best chance to gather information. She braced herself before reaching out to Darius. He wouldn’t be happy.
Chapter
Twenty
Bram’s computer emitted a soft chime, signaling an incoming message. “Mr. August has scheduled an appointment to meet with Mara at three. We’ll have to move up our plans.” He glanced over the top of his monitor at Darius and gave him a brief smile. “Save his phone and wallet this time, please. We might find important information on them.”
Instantly on edge, Darius returned Bram’s look with a predatory glare. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Switching his focus from Bram’s request to his mate, Darius strolled from the office into the hallway where shadows gathered in the corners. She would contact him soon. He needed to move quickly.
A few minutes later as he waited in the hall, he felt the brush of her mind on his. Darius automatically checked his watch. She had delayed a few minutes to gather herself after making the appointment. His Little girl was nervous. He hated that he couldn’t prevent her from meeting with Andrew Poole. He wanted her as far away from danger as possible.
