Chapter 49

chapter

forty-nine

Nia tried to take a deep breath as she and Gage stood outside of Rob’s apartment. Danger seemed to crackle through the air. Anticipation seized her muscles.

This was it.

The moment they’d find out if their investigation would move forward or if it stalled.

They had no time for it to stall.

Not with Sophia being abducted.

Hot tears pressed at her eyes at the thought.

Gage punched in the code, and the lock turned.

As soon as she stepped inside, the memories hit her. Memories of waking up and seeing Rob’s bloody body lying mere feet from her.

Her throat tightened as panic swirled inside her.

The moment had been so horrible. Something she’d never forget.

What she’d done afterwards hadn’t been smart. Maybe she shouldn’t have run .

But knowing Mario, she would be behind bars right now if the police knew she’d been here.

“Hey.” Gage gripped her elbow, his eyes peering into hers. “Are you okay?”

Nia forced herself to nod. “Just lots of bad memories being here.”

“I can imagine. But we need to keep moving. Okay?”

She nodded and followed Gage as he strode through the living room into a room she could only assume was Rob’s bedroom.

He didn’t bother to flip on the lights. Instead, he used the light on his phone.

It was better that way. Just in case somebody was watching.

He reached for her hand and pulled her toward another door in the distance.

The closet.

If Cormac was right, this was where the safe room was.

Another thought hit her, and Nia put on brakes. “You don’t think Cormac is setting us up, do you?”

“I don’t think so. Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know what to think anymore.”

“I’ll open the door and step into the room first, just to be sure it’s safe, okay?”

She nodded.

But as he started to step forward, Nia kept a grip on his hand and stopped him from going inside.

He turned back to her, confusion in his gaze.

Nia licked her lips, unsure of exactly what she wanted to say. But the words were on the tip of her tongue. Words that showed how much she’d begun to care about him.

Something passed through Gage’s gaze, and he nodded as if to acknowledge her worry and concern. To acknowledge that there was something growing between them. To acknowledge that, if he got hurt, they’d never be able to explore their feelings toward each other.

Then he let go of her hand and pushed Rob’s clothes aside.

Gage swallowed hard, trying to forget the look in Nia’s eyes and focus on the task at hand.

He spotted a panel at the back of the closet, one that blended in nicely with the woodwork. He used his thumb to slide the panel up.

A keypad appeared.

So far what Cormac had told them was correct. Gage prayed Nia was wrong and that Cormac wasn’t trying in some way to set them up.

His jaw remained tight as he punched in the code and waited.

Two seconds later, he heard a click.

The code had worked.

A handle emerged from the wall.

Gage gripped it and slowly opened the door.

His throat suddenly went dry. This was it. The moment he could discover what all this was really about .

He shone his light along the wall and saw a switch. He flipped it, knowing that any light in this room would be concealed.

A small office came into view.

A desk stretched against the back wall with three computer monitors. A wood-topped table in the center of this space contained various handheld devices like phones and tablets. There were also wires, a headset, and some SIM cards.

Against the left wall was what appeared to be a drafting table that had been turned flat. Papers were scattered across it.

“It looks like a mad scientist worked in here,” Nia murmured as she scanned the place.

“It does. This must be where Rob escaped when he needed some privacy. He was always paranoid people would steal his ideas.”

“Intellectual property is something creators hold close to their vest. I can understand how he was protective of his ideas.”

“So what exactly was he working on here?” Gage paced the perimeter of the small room. “Was it something that got him killed?”

Nia stepped farther inside and did another visual sweep of the place. “Good question. I’m not sure. I did mention something to him about his next project. I asked him when it might be ready so we could help him with the distribution of it.”

“What did he say?” Gage studied Nia’s face .

“He said he was working on something he thought had potential.”

“What if that potential idea is what this is all about? I know Rob made millions with the Water Splat game. And I know he was excited about this new relaxation app he’d developed. If someone thought Rob had an idea for the next biggest thing, it might be worth killing over. But maybe they didn’t anticipate the security measures he’d put in place.”

Nia rubbed her arms and frowned. “I think you’re right. It very well could have something to do with these apps he’s been developing. If someone saw a payday . . .”

The two of them exchanged a look, knowing they were on to something.

Then Gage heard a click.

He froze.

He wasn’t hearing things, he realized. His senses were trained to pick up on these things.

Someone else was in this apartment with them.