Chapter 6 - THE MAN IN THE PHOTOGRAPH
I stood so fast the chair fell over.
Matteo raised both hands.
“Catherine.”
“You told Mercer.”
“No.”
“You were with David!”
“Yes.”
“You knew about the backup!”
“No.”
I grabbed Logan.
“We’re leaving.”
“Where?”
“Anywhere you’re not.”
He blocked the storage unit door.
I screamed, “Move.”
“I never knew what David hid.”
“Then why are you in the picture?”
“Because that photo was taken the night we staged his death.”
My stomach twisted.
“You stood there while I thought my husband was dead.”
Matteo’s expression hardened with something that looked like shame.
“Yes.”
“You watched me bury a stranger.”
“No.”
“What?”
He looked at me.
“There was no stranger.”
I stopped.
“What do you mean?”
“The coffin was empty.”
My mouth went dry.
“The body was too badly burned. The funeral home said—”
“Mercer’s people controlled the paperwork.”
“So I buried an empty box?”
“Yes.”
I wanted to hit him.
Instead, I whispered, “Why?”
“Because the fewer people who knew David survived, the better.”
“I was his wife!”
“That made you the first person Mercer watched.”
I stared at him.
“And you helped.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t get to call that protecting me.”
“I know.”
For the first time, he didn’t defend himself.
That somehow hurt worse.
A car engine sounded outside.
Matteo went still.
The storage facility was supposed to be nearly empty at three in the morning.
Headlights swept beneath the unit door.
Matteo turned off the laptop.
“Back wall.”
“What?”
“Now.”
He moved a shelf.
Behind it was a narrow maintenance door.
“You knew about this?”
“David did.”
Of course he did.
Everything led back to David.
A vehicle stopped outside.
Doors opened.
Matteo pushed us through the passage.
We entered an alley behind the storage facility.
Rain soaked us immediately.
Logan cried.
“My bear is wet!”
“I know.”
A voice shouted behind us.
“Catherine Winters!”
Mercer?
I had never heard him speak.
Matteo grabbed my hand.
“Run.”
We sprinted between warehouses.
A gunshot cracked.
Matteo shoved us behind a dumpster.
“Stay here.”
“No.”
“I need to draw them away.”
“You’re not leaving us.”
He smiled bitterly.
“Five minutes ago you wanted me gone.”
“Five minutes ago I didn’t have three armed men behind me.”
“Fair.”
He handed me a small phone.
“One number saved.”
“Whose?”
“Alessandro’s.”
“He was being held at gunpoint.”
“That photo may have been fake.”
“How?”
“Russo’s people had access to cameras.”
Another shot struck metal nearby.
Matteo looked down the alley.
“Thirty seconds.”
He pointed.
“At the end, turn left. There’s a diner. Stay around people.”
“What about you?”
“I’m going the other way.”
“You’ll get killed.”
“Maybe.”
Logan looked at him.
“Are you a bad guy?”
Matteo froze.
Then he crouched.
“Kid, I’ve done bad things.”
Logan hugged Captain Bear.
“That’s not what I asked.”
Even then, I almost laughed.
Matteo looked at him.
“No. I’m not the bad guy tonight.”
He ran.
The men followed.
I grabbed Logan and moved.
We reached the diner.
Open all night.
Two truck drivers sat inside.
A waitress poured coffee.
Normal people.
Normal world.
I rushed into the bathroom and locked the door.
Logan sat on the sink counter.
“Mommy, I’m scared.”
My eyes filled.
“So am I.”
“You’re not supposed to be scared.”
“Everybody gets scared.”
“Daddy?”
I looked at him.
“Daddy too.”
“Is Daddy coming?”
My throat closed.
“I don’t know.”
The little phone vibrated.
Incoming call.
I answered.
“Matteo?”
A man spoke.
Not Matteo.
Not Alessandro.
David.
“Catherine.”
I covered my mouth.
“Where are you?”
“I’m close.”
“How close?”
“Look outside.”
I moved toward the bathroom window.
Across the parking lot stood a man in a dark jacket.
Rain ran down his face.
He looked thinner.
Older.
A scar crossed his jaw.
But I knew him.
Even after two years.
David.
My husband.
Alive.
He raised his phone.
“Come outside.”
Before I could move, another voice came through the phone behind his.
“David.”
David froze.
A gun appeared beside his head.
The man holding it stepped into view.
May you like
Daniel Mercer.
And Mercer smiled directly at me through the window.
