Chapter 2
Brooks had been my driver for eleven years.
Daniel Brooks.
Quiet man.
Former mechanic.
Never late.
Never asked questions unless the answer affected my safety.
He had a daughter late in life and carried her picture behind his license.
Nell.
I had seen it a hundred times.
Never met her.
That bothered me now.
The doctor examined her in the guest wing.
Dehydrated.
Hungry.
Bruised knee.
Nothing severe.
Enough.
When food arrived, she ate too fast.
I watched from the doorway.
Then slowed myself down before entering.
Children notice danger in adults.
Even when adults think they are hiding it.
“Nell.”
She looked up.
“Mr. August.”
Not boss.
Not sir.
Good.
“Did your father tell you anything before the fire?”
She thought.
“Daddy said stay with Miss June.”
June Brooks.
Daniel’s sister.
I knew the name.
“What else?”
“He said he had to fix bad thing.”
My pulse shifted.
“What bad thing?”
She shook her head.
Then:
“Red key.”
I looked at my bodyguard.
He noticed too.
“What red key?”
Nell pointed toward her coat.
The same filthy coat Reed had apparently let her wear for days.
I checked the pockets.
Nothing.
Then the lining.
One seam had been opened and resewn badly.
Inside was a tiny red-painted key.
Daniel had hidden it in his daughter’s coat.
Not expecting her to understand.
Expecting someone trustworthy to eventually look.
I held it in my palm.
Nell whispered:
“Daddy said Mr. August knows.”
I did not.
That was the problem.
I returned to Reed.
He saw the key and went completely still.
Good.
“What does this open?”
“No idea.”
I leaned closer.
“You’re a terrible liar when you’re scared.”
He laughed bitterly.
“You survived one fire and think you’re untouchable?”
Interesting.
Not denial.
Warning.
“Who else thinks I should be dead?”
He said nothing.
Then I placed the red key on the stable bench.
His eyes followed it instantly.
There.
Whatever Daniel took was connected to that key.
And Reed feared the key more than he feared me knowing he had locked Nell in a stall.
I smiled faintly.
“Thank you.”
He frowned.
May you like
“For what?”
“For looking at the answer.”
