15.

A quiet week went by.

When I got paid, there was an extra few hundred dollars in my account.

I asked some riders I knew. They said it was a government subsidy. Everyone got it.

I relaxed a little.

With my unexpected windfall, I decided to treat myself.

It was freezing outside.

I sat in a hot pot restaurant, waiting patiently for the broth to boil.

The red oil bubbled, giving off an irresistible smell.

I'd just lowered the first ingredients into it when a stranger sat down across from me.

"I've been abandoned. Simon said he'd introduce me to a partner, but I waited and waited, and nobody showed up. I had to come find him myself."

I looked up.

He held out his hand, smiling with his whole face.

"Hi. I'm Theo Brooks."

The name on the card.

I swallowed some water, hesitated, and finally shook his hand.

"Julian Ashford."

"I know. Simon told me about you."

Theo was even more outgoing than I'd imagined.

He found a pair of chopsticks somewhere and started helping himself to beef, talking around his food.

"Why haven't you come by the studio?"

"It's been a long time. I don't know much about that stuff anymore."

"Nobody's asking you to start work tomorrow. Just come hang out."

He paid for the hot pot.

I dropped by the studio a few times when I had a chance.

I didn't join them right away, but somehow Theo and I became good friends.

He asked me to dinner. Asked me out for drinks.

One day, he pointed at an expensive car lurking in the shadows nearby.

"Is he here for you?"

I glanced over, then lowered my head and pretended I hadn't seen it.

"It's a coincidence."

Theo rested his chin in his hand, speechless.

"Mr. Mercer's car. You hardly ever see one like it in this city, yet it's there every time we meet. Rain or shine. That's some coincidence."

He leaned closer, curiosity gleaming in his eyes.

"There's a story here, isn't there? Tell me."

I sat stiffly and pushed his face away.

"There's no story. It's a coincidence."

Theo's face fell.

"Fine. I'll go ask him."

"Don't!"

16.

Adrian had lost count of how many times he'd watched that man get into Julian's face.

Since he was following them, he'd naturally been prepared to be discovered.

Still, when the man suddenly pointed at him, a muscle jumped between his brows.

He felt caught.

He didn't like it.

Then he realized they might be talking about him.

He liked that even less.

He wished he could grow an extra pair of ears and listen.

Unfortunately, he couldn't.

He could only sit in the car and smoke.

He chewed the filter to pieces. Let a long column of ash collect. Crushed the cigarette between his fingers when he was finished, then lit another.

Over and over.

Irritation filled the space between his brows.

Suddenly, the two people in the distance moved.

Adrian's pupils contracted.

Before he knew what he was doing, he'd already made the call.