“Why does it mean so much to you?”
Suddenly Faith wanted to tell someone, but she couldn’t bring herself to say the words so she gave her usual general answer. “Because a lot of people are murdered and a lot of killers escape justice. There needs to be people who care, people unwilling to let go.”
“You’re right,” Tara said. “But there are resources you could use at CR. There’s no reason why you couldn’t keep up the investigation from there.”
Faith frowned. Something didn’t quite add up here. “You know the old saying—if something sounds too good to be true it probably is? I’m sort of thinking this whole thing seems way too good and I don’t get it. I’m good at my job, but not that good. Why me?”
“Because we go on personal recommendation more than anything. We need people we can trust. And Ryan recommended you.”
Hmm. She wasn’t entirely convinced. She rubbed her scalp, where she could feel the first glimmer of an incipient headache. She so didn’t need that right now. Picking up her bag, she found the bottle of pills, and washed one down with a gulp of red wine. When she glanced up, Roz was watching her, an expression of sympathy on her pretty face which put Faith’s back up. She didn’t need sympathy.
“Okay. Thanks for meeting me. I’ll give it some thought.”
“Well, phone if you have any more questions or want a chat.” Tara handed her a card, and a minute later Roz handed her a second.
Faith called for the bill but Tara insisted on paying. Which was fair enough; she was married to a billionaire.
Outside it was still daylight and they walked along the embankment together. She presumed Tara and Roz were heading back to CR and wherever it was that Roz lived.
“Do you live in the CR building as well?” she asked.
“No. I live with Piers about a mile away,” she replied.
Faith was heading to the nearest tube station. She’d been spoiled getting a lift home each evening.
The skin down her back prickled. Her detective senses were tingling. She peered at the two women walking beside her, but they appeared relaxed, murmuring softly to each other. On their left, there was just the barrier and then the river. A tourist boat was drifting by but she could see nothing out of place.
“Faith?”
Roz had asked her a question, and she hadn’t heard a word. “Sorry.”
To the right was the road. The traffic moved slowly. A red double-decker bus went past, a couple of black cabs. Everything nice and normal, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching them, focusing on their little group.
Finally, she glanced over her shoulder and spotted them immediately. They were hard to miss.
“Keep walking,” she said in a soft voice. “But there are two men following us.”
“They’re our bodyguards,” Roz replied.
“Bodyguards?”
“Christian and Piers insist we don’t go anywhere without them. It can be a real drag, but it puts their minds at rest.” Roz raised her hand and waggled her fingers at the two men. One waved back.
Both were tall, dressed in black, and moving with the easy grace of men used to action.
“That’s Saul and Calvin. They work for the security branch of CR.”
“Oh. So they’ve been doing what, while we were in the bar?”
“Watching the doors, watching us.” Roz shrugged. “You get used to it.”
Faith didn’t think she would ever get used to it. So it was lucky she wasn’t thinking about dating a billionaire. At least Ash only worked at CR, he didn’t own it.
Walking on, she tried to ignore the uncomfortable sensation. She exhaled slowly and relaxed her tense muscles. She was getting paranoid. Again.
They’d only gone a few feet when a vehicle pulled up in front of them. A white van. The windows were tinted and she couldn’t see the driver. Yup, she was definitely paranoid. They were passing it when a screech from behind made her stop and swing around.
A second identical white van had mounted the curb and pulled to a halt.
In a flash, she realized that it had cut them off from the two bodyguards. After that, everything happened fast. She whirled back around, reaching for the pistol at her waist as two men leaped from the front of the first van.
“Get Roz away,” Tara shouted. “They’re after Roz.”
Faith turned to where Roz stood, then glanced back and saw the two bodyguards were down, but she hadn’t heard any shots. She reached for Roz meaning to put her behind her. Just as the other woman collapsed to the pavement.
A scream. She swung around again. The two men had Tara gripped between them and were hustling her toward the open back of the van.
Faith raised her pistol. “Let her go.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a movement. The front window of the van lowered, but she couldn’t take her eye of the group in front of her.