Chapter 3 - THE INVITATION IN THE RAIN
The black SUV idled at the curb.
Headlights cut sharp beams through the pouring rain.
Clara stood up slowly, leaning on her white cane.
Rebecca reached out to steady her elbow.
Clara allowed it without protest.
“Thank you, Rebecca,” Clara whispered.
“Anytime, Clara.”
Roman watched them exchange the quiet gesture.
A dark sedan rolled past slowly across the street.
Tinted windows.
A pair of glowing cigarette tips in the backseat.
Roman’s hand twitched toward his jacket pocket.
His bodyguard in the front passenger seat stiffened.
“Boss,” the driver murmured.
“I see them,” Roman replied coldly.
Viktor Morena’s men.
They had been tracking Clara for three days.
Roman stepped closer to Rebecca, shielding her from the street view.
“You shouldn't be working here late, Miss Davis,” Roman said.
“I have rent to pay, Mr. Costa.”
“Rent can be arranged.”
“I don't take charity from mob bosses.”
Roman’s lips twitched into a dangerous smile.
“Who said anything about charity?”
He pulled a thick embossed business card from his pocket.
He pressed it into Rebecca’s damp palm.
“If you need protection,” Roman said.
“Or if those men across the street bother you again.”
“Call that number.”
Rebecca looked down at the heavy card.
Black paper.
Silver lettering.
No company name.
Just ten digits.
Clara climbed into the back of the SUV with the driver’s help.
Roman turned to follow.
He paused with his hand on the door handle.
“Remember, Miss Davis,” Roman whispered.
“In this city, curiosity is a fatal disease.”
The heavy door slammed shut.
The SUV accelerated into the rainy night.
Rebecca stood alone on the slippery sidewalk.
The business card grew cold in her hand.
May you like
Across the street, the dark sedan pulled away.
Rebecca shivered, not from the cold rain, but from the certainty that her ordinary life had just ended.
