“I can move onto my back if you want,” she said, and then gasped. “I mean, move back.” Her face turned bright red as she explained her mistake. I had to stop myself from laughing out loud as she mumbled on.
“No, you’ve done enough.” I nodded and looked down at my book to stop myself from gazing at her face. Why was I so intrigued by her? She was the last person with whom I wanted to develop any sort of camaraderie. I stifled a sigh as I sat there. I wasn’t sure why the letter had told me to come to the coffee shop. Who had wanted me to see Bianca so badly? I was about to get up and leave when Bianca picked up her bag and spilled half the contents on the ground.
“You need some help?” I stared at the papers, my eyes working over the documents quickly to see if they held any important information. I leaned forward and grabbed her lipstick and mints and handed them to her. She took them quickly and then jumped as we both got a small shock at the touch of our fingertips. I wondered if she was that jittery in bed.
“Thanks,” she said nervously, and I saw her looking around the coffee shop.
“Is everything okay?” I frowned at the worry on her face. Something seemed off and I wanted to know why she seemed so preoccupied. What did she know that I didn’t?
“I’m fine.” She stared at her computer screen again and made an odd sound as she mumbled something under her breath.
“Sorry, were you talking to me?” I asked her softly, though I knew she wasn’t.
“No, sorry. I just had an e-mail from this guy.” She rolled her eyes. “If it was from you, I wouldn’t be pressing Delete, trust me.” She made a face as she realized what she’d said. “I mean, you seem like a really nice guy.” Her voice trailed off and her face reddened again. I hid another smile and looked down at my book. I still wasn’t able to concentrate, but I didn’t want her to know that.
“I’m glad to hear that. Let me know if I can be of any help.” The words on the page all seemed to blur together, but I forced myself to keep my head down.
“Shit.” She jumped up, her hair flying as she grabbed her bag.
“You okay?” My heart rate increased as she looked at me with manic eyes and nodded toward the corner.
“I have to go. It was nice meeting you.” She gave me a quick smile, and for one brief second she looked like the woman I remembered. And then she hurried out of the coffee shop, muttering something under her breath. I watched as she left and looked toward the corner to see who had spooked her. I frowned as I saw who it was.
“What are you doing here?” I stared at him with narrowed eyes as I pulled my baseball cap off. “What’s going on?”
“I’m here on Larry’s orders.” Steve pulled off his fake mustache and shrugged. “He wants me to make sure she’s not getting too close to the truth.”
“By following her?” I glared at him. “She knows you were watching her.”
“Good.” He stood up. “We want her to know. Maybe then she’ll back off.”
“What do you care if she backs off?” I leaned toward him. “What’s in this for you?”
“What do you care?” There was a glint in his eyes I’d never seen before. “What’s in it for you, Jakob? What’s in it for you?” And then he walked out of the coffee shop quietly and unobtrusively. I stood there for a few seconds, thinking. How had he known where Bianca was going to be? And why hadn’t he been surprised to see me there? I walked out of the coffee shop and wondered if it was Larry sending me the letters. It didn’t make sense that he’d want me in close contact with Bianca. Not when he was having Steve follow her as well. Unless he was trying to set me up for something. All of a sudden, I didn’t know whom to trust. I needed to ensure that I was the one steering the ship and not the one being led to a shipwreck.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and made a call. If this next step was going to happen, it was going to happen on my timing.
“Jakob, to what do I owe the pleasure of your call?” David’s voice was dry as he picked up the phone.
“I think it’s time.” My voice was firm as I walked down the street and headed toward Dave’s New York, a traditional army-navy store in the city.
“Time for what?” David sounded confused, and I stifled a sigh. Sometimes I wondered how he hadn’t brought about the collapse of Bradley, Inc. already.
“It’s time for us to get on Bianca’s good side. It’s time for us to figure out exactly what she knows.”
“Okay,” David said hesitantly. “So you’re going to take her to the island?”
“Yes,” I said without pause. “She needs to be kidnapped and put into the back of a van. When she wakes up, I’ll be tied next to her.” I paused as I looked at the bright lights of the city. “We’ll be drugged, maybe a shot of something or some chloroform over our faces to knock us out for the helicopter ride. When we both come to, we’ll be on the island, tied together.”
“And you’ll figure out what she knows.”
“Yes.” I was going to figure out exactly what she knew and more.