With a nod, my fingertips clenched the corner of the fancy cardstock. It took what felt like an hour to pull it out of my coat. But once it was free, the man snatched it from me and examined it. “I know who this belongs to, and you’re not him.”
“He signed his invite over to me.”
The large man grunted as he holstered his pistol and plucked the folio off the table. “What’s your name?”
“Marcus.”
He grumbled something under his breath as he flipped through the pages, while his companion kept his gun trained on my forehead. After another subjective eternity, the supervisor stabbed the folio with his finger. He tossed it onto the table and waved at his companion, prompting him to lower his weapon. “You’re on the list.”
“That’s a good thing.” I licked my lips as I brushed off my clean shoulder. “Is this a normal hello for attendees?”
“Only those I don’t know.” The thug leaned forward, letting the stale, earthy scent of his breath wash over me. “Or people I don’t trust. It just so happens that you fall into both categories.” The supervisor straightened as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Now pay your fee. Or are we going to have trouble after all?”
As I pushed the briefcase toward the other man, I shook my head. “Why don’t you trust me?”
“I don’t know you.” The lead man said, blending gentleness and ferocity in a way I’d never heard before. “Now, put your hands on the table.”
As the words tunneled into my brain, another shudder raced down my back. While I didn’t like the idea of him patting me down, I had a fairly good idea what would happen if I refused his command. So I shook my hands and placed them on the table’s edge. “Do you think I’d be foolish enough to come here armed?”
“What you think doesn’t affect my job,” the man said as he stepped behind me. Without waiting, his hands flew up and down my body. When he brushed my pants pockets, a hand clamped around my neck as he reached inside. “What’s this?”
“I carry a lot in there,” I said, prying at the thick fingers squeezing my neck. “You’ll have to be more specific.”
“We don’t have to accept your fee.” The supervisor’s grip tightened as he breathed down my neck. “And trust me when I tell you, it won’t be conducive to your health to find out what happens then.”
“Why would you reject it?” I asked as I continued my futile attempt to free myself.
The gentle thug withdrew the item from my pocket and placed it in my face. “What’s this?”
My eyes locked onto my secret weapon, and I mentally cursed at the supervisor’s attention to detail. A different thug might have recognized the device as an oddity and waved me through. Yet this one wanted to know more about it. I yanked the small device from his grasp and shoved it back into my pocket. “It’s an electronic hand warmer. Would you like to borrow it?”
The supervisor shoved my neck as he lumbered back to his chair. He folded his hands and leaned forward with eyes dripping with white, fiery rage. “Why do you have it?! It’s a pleasant enough day. And once inside, you won’t need it!”
Description | Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3