Page 51 of Broken Promise
Charisse held out the small box. “This is the decoder. Put it over the keypad and then let it run. It could take anywhere from one to five hours.”
“Got it.” I stood and accepted the device gratefully. “Thanks again, Char. It means a lot, especially since I know you don’t agree with any of this.”
“That’s what friends are for, right? Besides, it’s not that I don’t agree with it. I want you to get your revenge. I just want to make sure that you don’t end up getting played… or worse.”
* * *
Charisse’s words stayed with me the whole way home. Was that what was happening? Was I getting played?
I turned the phrase over and over in my mind as I looked out the windows of the taxi at the streets of New York. I was here, finally, and doing what I’d always dreamed of. Bringing my father’s murderer to justice for the pain and devastation he’d caused.
The idea that I was failing at something I’d spent so much of my life dreaming about was disturbing.
“Hey, lady. You gettin’ out or what?” The cabbie’s voice broke into my thoughts, and I scrambled to pull some money out of my pocket. Even that made me think of Rafe since it was no doubt some of the money he’d given me.
That went for the clothes I was wearing and the shoes on my feet. All provided by Rafe. I thrust the money over the seat to the cabbie and climbed out, suddenly wanting nothing more than to strip it all off. To be free and clear of any reminder of why I was here. But I couldn’t do that. He’d be back any minute, and I needed to be there so I didn’t have to answer any questions about where I’d been. The whole thing was a delicate balancing act of lies, and I was suddenly exhausted from the performance. But giving up now would mean giving up on justice for my father.
He deserved better than that.
But what about what you deserve? Wouldn’t he have wanted more for you than this?
It startled me to realize that my father probably wouldn’t have wanted me to move on. He’d been big on vendettas. I’d seen his scathing temper in action more than a few times. He’d have been proud of me for dedicating my life to evening a score.
Which didn’t make me feel any better.
I’d deliberately given the cabbie an address down the street from Rafe’s building. If anyone asked around, there would be no record of a cab dropping off a woman at his building. But as I walked down the street, I wished I’d picked a closer drop-off point. A man walking in the opposite direction slowed down and gave a wolf whistle as I passed.
When I didn’t respond, I heard the muttered “Bitch,” but I didn’t stop walking.
Then I heard the footsteps.
I slowed, and the footsteps slowed as well. When I sped up, they matched pace. Furious, I spun around to confront the guy and then… faced an empty street. There was no one there except for the homeless man I’d just passed, and he hadn’t moved.
“Damn it. Now I’m just getting paranoid.”
But I knew from experience that being paranoid could sometimes save your life.
I hurried the rest of the way, breathing a sigh of relief when Rafe’s building loomed ahead. My skin was still prickling like someone was watching, but at this point I couldn’t tell what was real and what was in my head. But I kept my eyes open and alert as I entered the building and rode the elevator up to Rafe’s floor.
“Rafe? Hello?”
No answer. Mentally I cheered because it meant I still had time. Even though Charisse had said to expect it to take hours, there was nothing wrong with giving it a go now. Maybe I’d get lucky and it would work right away. Then I’d have the answers I needed and could put all this needless speculation to rest.
I wasted no time, heading straight for Rafe’s office. I pressed the painting and waited as the panel slid open. Then I placed the decoder over the keypad on the safe. With one eye on the door, I watched as numbers flashed across the screen.
It’s running through combinations, I realized with fascination. The decoder was literally going to try every combination possible until it found the right one. No wonder it could take hours.
My shoulders sagged. It was too risky to try this now. Rafe could come home at any minute, and I’d have no reasonable explanation for why I was in his office. So it would make more sense to wait until he had another call for a job. His security work usually took him away from the apartment for hours at a time.
Or I could make the time. My gut knotted up at the thought. Rafe had knocked over the glass of wine that I’d laced last time. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t try again. Maybe I’d hide it in food this time. He’d never know. Then I’d have all the time I needed.
And this could finally be over.
But could I do it? I took the decoder off and closed the panel hiding the safe. I wasn’t sure I had too many other alternatives outside of waiting for him to leave on his own. Considering how weird his schedule was, it could be days or weeks until he was called out on another job. That wasn’t that long in the grand scheme of things, but it was still longer than necessary.
I’d been here for weeks and was only getting more and more comfortable. It was time I got serious again.
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
