“It probably would be best,” Durango says.
I lean against the wall. For the best? No, what would be for the best would be for me to get back to my clients. When I got my new phone, I checked my voicemail and had several clients checking in. I have one listing that’s supposed to go live next week. Maggie will steal it. I know she will. Hell, she probably stole all my clients by now.
“We can talk to Reed about trading off on watching her. I’m not sure if he had any assignments coming up for you or not,” Durango says.
“He hasn’t said,” Hunter says.
“No, I can’t keep hiding! I have clients who count on me. What am I supposed to tell them?” I ask as I sit down on the couch. I grab a pillow and hug it. I don’t want to hide anymore, but what choice do I have?
Hunter sits next to me. “This has to be hard. But you can’t be showing properties right now. Doing so would put your clients at risk, too.”
He’s right, but I still don’t like it.
“Myers did say that there is a team actively looking for Marco,” Durango says.
“Do you know what he looks like?” I ask.
Durango glances at Hunter. “Myers shared a photo with me, but it’s grainy and hard to make much out. Marco was wearing sunglasses and a baseball hat, and the photo was at an angle.”
As his words sink in, Durango takes a step backward toward the front door. “All right, let me know when yourelocate. I’ll keep in touch with Trip to try to track these men down.”
“Thanks for coming by,” Hunter says as he gets up and sees him out.
Hunter returns and sits on the couch again.
I turn sideways to face him. “I have to hide from a man who may or may not be coming after me and that we have no idea what he looks like?” I ask.
“That’s correct.”
I toss the pillow aside and stand up. “For how long?”
“We don’t know.”
All the emotions I’ve been holding back bubble to the surface. My eyes well, and I can’t stop the tears from falling.
Hunter stands up and wraps his arms around me.
“I’m so angry with Bob for getting me into this mess! And I’m angry at myself for never picking up that anything was off with my boss. I really thought he was a great friend and mentor.”
He rubs my back. “I’m sorry you have to deal with all of this.”
I pull back and wipe my eyes. “All that keeps going through my mind is why? You know? Because Bob has money. He owns a couple of commercial buildings, he’s always driving a new car, and his house is huge. He doesn’t need money. So why would he do this? I can’t make sense of it.”
He takes my hand in his and sits on the couch again, so I sit next to him. “Sometimes we aren’t meant to know or understand someone’s motives. He could be spendingmore money than he’s making. Or someone’s blackmailing him. The reason doesn’t matter.”
I take a deep breath and lean back. “It does matter. Because two weeks ago, if you asked me about Bob, I would have said what a great guy he is. He was my mentor and helped me succeed in my career. How could I be so wrong about someone?”
He squeezes my hand. “You only saw what he wanted you to see. Maybe he wasn’t such a bad guy but got wrapped up in something beyond his control.”
“Wasn’t such a bad guy?”
He lets go of my hand and wraps his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer. “All I’m saying is it’s okay if you thought he was a good man. Don’t beat yourself up about it. We’ll find out what led him down this path, and it can provide you some closure.”
“I don’t think there are any answers that will help me to understand why that man tried to kill me. I was expendable to him.”
He frowns. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
If I keep thinking about this, I’m going to spiral. “Can we talk about something else?”
