Chapter 3 - A Warning in His HandMia twisted open the water bottle and helped the man take a careful sip.
“What happened to you?” she asked.
He did not answer immediately.
His gaze moved past her shoulder toward Marcus.
Marcus stood a few feet away, his expression tight, his phone in his hand as if he were waiting for instructions.
The man’s fingers closed weakly around Mia’s wrist.
“Pocket,” he whispered.
“What?”
“My phone.”
Mia hesitated, then reached into the inside pocket of his jacket. She pulled out a black phone with a cracked corner and no case.
The screen lit up as if it had been waiting for her touch.
There was only one contact pinned at the top.
CALL IF I FALL.
Mia stared at it.
The man’s grip tightened.
“Call,” he said. “And don’t let him touch me.”
Mia glanced again at Marcus.
The manager’s face changed.
It was only for a second, but Mia saw it.
Fear.
Not disgust. Not annoyance. Fear.
“Mia,” Marcus said carefully, “give me that phone.”
“Why?”
“Because you don’t understand who he is.”
The man gave a weak laugh that turned into a cough. “No, Marcus. She’s starting to understand exactly enough.”
Mia froze.
“You know him?” she asked.
Marcus stepped forward. “I said give me the phone.”
Mia backed away and pressed call.
The phone rang once.
Twice.
Then someone answered.
A cold voice spoke.
“Adrian?”
Mia looked down at the man.
So he had a name.
“Adrian can’t talk,” she said. “He collapsed outside Bellamy Café.”
Silence.
Then the voice turned deadly calm.
“Who is standing near him?”
Mia looked over her shoulder.
Marcus had gone completely still.
“Our manager,” she said. “Marcus Reed.”
The man on the phone inhaled sharply.
May you like
Then came the words that would tear the whole day open.
“Keep him awake. The traitor is standing right behind you.”
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