Page 46 of Captive Audience

She rolled her eyes. “A Mob babysitter. Great.”

“Not a babysitter. A bodyguard. And when I say my men would take a bullet for you, I’m not exaggerating.”

Asha paused mid-chew, then swallowed her mouthful. A flicker of fear passed across her features—true fear—because this wasn’t an episode of her podcast. It was her life.

“It’s no secret Altin Zeqiri murdered your brother. You got your payback. Someone from the Beasts of Belfast killed him.” She licked the corner of her mouth.

“Not someone. Me.”

Her eyes went wide. “Oh my God. You shouldn’t tell me that.”

“Why? Who are you going to snitch to? The PPD? Should we go back so they can take your statement?”

She let out a defeated sigh.

“Zeqiri pulled the trigger, but this…Soul Collector gave the order. That’s who I need you to find.”

Asha took another bite and chewed slowly, like the weight of my words made the food taste different.

“What do you know about this guy?”

“Not much more than you. I know he’s not Albanian. Most likely rich, powerful, clever. I’ve been urged not to make my own inquiries in case I get too reckless with my questioning.”

“By reckless, you mean murdery?”

I took it as a rhetorical question and didn’t bother answering. “You’ve already started digging,” I said quietly. “I’m glad.”

She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “The digging was for me. Not you. And for the record, I haven’t agreed to anything.”

“You will.”

Because whether she liked it or not, this case had already become hers.

23

ROOK

As we crawled through traffic, Asha glared at the gold band on her finger. “Why can’t I get this damn ring off?”

“Because you don’t have the key.”

She blinked. “What key?”

“The key that loosens it enough to slip over your knuckle.”

“Bullshit. A ring like that doesn’t exist.”

“It does. I’ll show you how it works as soon as you find the Soul Collector.”

“What about my podcast? I’m working on an important case and can’t put it on hold.”

“You can continue it alongside our investigation.”

She aimed a skeptical look at me. “I can?”

“It would raise alarm bells if you stopped all of a sudden.”

That wasn’t the real reason. The truth? I couldn’t bring myself to take it from her. That podcast made Asha come alive. It gave her purpose. And if I stripped that away, she’d hate me even more. Maybe I should’ve demanded she focus solely on my case, but I couldn’t do it.