Page 39 of Silent Menace
“Is Mommy reading you a story?” he asked, this time speaking as he signed.
She nodded, apparently satisfied that he’d understood, and climbed back up beside her mom.
But Hailey still had her eyes on him. “Is this about my text? You could have just called me back.”
“What text?” He pulled out his phone. Sure enough, he’d missed a text from her that indicated she’d also tried to call him a bit ago. “Sorry about that. I was driving and didn’t see the notification.”
“That’s okay. Have a seat.” She turned to Jenna. “Want to watch a cartoon?”
The little girl looked doubtful, but she nodded. Soon Hailey had a muted princess movie playing and was able to return her attention to Peter.
“So if you didn’t get my text, then what prompted this visit?”
“I have something I want to discuss with you, but it can wait. What did you need?”
“I received an update on the investigation into what happened yesterday.”
His gut clenched. “And?”
“There’s been some arrests. Eric’s pretty confident they’re the guys who shoved me in the trunk.”
The knot loosened. “That’s good. Who are they?”
“That’s why I wanted to talk to you. One of them is a security guard at the 1798 Building—Jacob Kingston.”
Something akin to rage sparked inside him. “Jake did this?”
She nodded. “I’m as shocked as you are. And now I’m wondering if I can trust building security. I was hoping to get your thoughts on that.”
He didn’t answer immediately. Could she trust the otherguards? He wasn’t certain anymore. Jacob Kingston had seemed like a decent guy, but then again, Peter had only spent time with the man when their shifts happened to overlap. And since Jake was generally on days, while Peter worked nights, that had been limited to an occasional half hour time slot.
Finally, he offered a tense shrug. “I don’t know. I’ll contact my boss and see if he’s heard the news and if I can find out what he intends to do about it, but I’m not sure how much he’ll be willing to say. I wouldn’t be surprised if he decides to run new background checks, but those aren’t foolproof. Jake obviously passed his.”
She frowned. “Thanks for your honesty. I guess I’ll have to weigh the risks.”
“What about his accomplice? You said there was more than one arrest?”
“Yes. Eric just called to let me know they picked up the other guy, a Matthew Wells.”
“Someone you know?” He’d never heard the name.
She shook her head. “No. But Jacob Kingston contacted him yesterday morning about helping him with a job, and he has a tattoo that matches the one I saw. Eric said they’re pretty sure it’s the same guy.”
A measure of relief filled him. “Were the police able to determine why they attacked you or whether they had any other accomplices?”
“Not yet. Jacob was smart enough to keep quiet and demand a lawyer, and so far, Matthew hasn’t said anything other than to insist that they got the wrong guy. Eric basically told me not to get my hopes up that they were the only ones involved, not until we know more.”
Figured. But he agreed with the detective’s assessment. He cleared his throat. “Listen, I...” He almost lost his nerve, but when he saw the trust in Hailey’s eyes, he swallowed his fear. “I need to talk to you about something.”
“Okay.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “First off, I need to be honest about something. You know I used to be a bodyguard.”
“Yes.”
“The reason I don’t do that anymore is because the last job I worked, I failed. Miserably. I was almost killed, and my client—your cousin’s wife—could easily have been killed, too, while I was out of commission.”
Her eyes widened. “That was you?”
