Page 64

SIXTY-THREE

NATALIE

Yeah, Walter is not a gardener—that’s pretty clear.

“Did he hurt you? Besides the sedative he gave you?” Walter asks as he helps me to the couch.

“Define hurt ,” I say.

The room is fairly big and looks like a rental—no personal belongings, no framed pictures, no clothes, and standard furniture. The shutters on the windows are tightly closed, but the room is brightly lit.

Walter takes a seat at the computer desk, which features multiple monitors that resemble a professional IT setup. He fires up all of them at once and puts in the passwords.

That’s not what surprises me though, and not the number of computers in this place, but why he knows the passwords. Is this his place?

A suitcase in the corner catches my eye, then the blue sneakers next to it. Nick’s. This must be Nick’s place! But if this is Nick’s place, then I must be at the guest house. That means Nick might be somewhere around. This guy, Walter, has the key to this place, knows the passwords to the computers. He looks at home here.

I shift my feet to steady myself, even though I’m sitting, because a wave of nausea makes me dizzy.

Is Walter in on it with Nick? No, he can’t be. Nick sedated me. Walter just took off my restraints.

I rub my wrists that hurt from the zip tie. I swear, if I see Nick again, I’m going to knock him out with… I don’t know. An axe? A baseball bat? I wish I had one. I scan the room, trying to figure out if I should find a weapon in case Walter tries something funny, too, though he seems uninterested in me.

A muffled beep cuts through the silence, and Walter presses his finger to the hem of his shirt, the push-to-talk mic clipped to it.

“She is okay, boss. Yes, she’s fine…” He lifts his eyes to me while he listens to someone on his earpiece. “Okay… Yes…”

“What’s going on?” I mumble, trying to get my tongue moving, though it still feels like a giant toad.

He ignores me. “Okay, boss. Got it… No, I didn’t. She doesn’t know… Okay. I’m getting them ready for you.”

A chill goes through me. Who is the boss? If it’s Rosenberg, I’m screwed.

“Who are you talking to?” I ask, dreading the answer.

Walter doesn’t answer but starts typing away at the computer desk.

“How did you know I was here?”

“The tracking app on your phone,” he replies without turning to look at me.

Of course, someone tapped into my phone! How could I be so stupid? Rich, the dead guy, warned me about it.

“What’s happening?” I ask.

Walter doesn’t answer.

“Hey! What’s happening?” I repeat.

He throws a look at me over his shoulder. “You need to be quiet. I’m here to help, not to hurt you.”

“Then tell me what’s happening!”

“That’s up to the boss.”

“Boss who? Rosenberg? Nick?”

What if it’s Nick? What if he changed his mind about getting rid of me? That’s not exactly a reassurance. He is a freaking psycho.

“Why did Nick sedate me and tie me up? Where is he?”

“You need to stay quiet. You already almost ruined everything,” Walter grits out without looking at me.

“I don’t understand. What does Nick want from me?”

“He wants you gone. And that’s the problem.”

“It’s not if you are here to get me out.”

“It’s not up to me. If it were, I wouldn’t care. You jeopardized the entire operation.”

“What operation?”

He doesn’t answer.

“What operation?” I almost shout. “Who is in charge?”

That’s when the front door opens, and a dark silhouette appears in the doorway.

My heart does a panicking thud, but a second later, I recognize the man stepping inside, and my jaw drops.

Julien.

I freaking knew something was up with him!