Free The Killing Game by Nancy Bush Page A

remember.”
    “Something like, ‘Maybe you can pass on some information to your brother- and sister-in-law. Tell them to be more reasonable. We make better friends than enemies.’” She carefully tucked her fork into the salad. “And then he said, ‘That lodge you’re building doesn’t look safe.’ And then I said, ‘Did you just threaten me?’ and he said we had common interests, and I said, ‘We have vastly different tactics.’”
    Luke was listening, but he was also eating with an appetite she suddenly envied. It felt like her whole body was in rebellion. She realized she’d counted on sailing through her pregnancy with no problems at all, which was unrealistic to say the least. But whatever it took, it was worth it.
    “Anything else?” he asked.
    She shook her head. “I wish I had said something about the note they left, but I was too stunned and blindsided.”
    “You’re sure they left it?”
    “Well, no . . . but logically, I get the note and the next day Brian Carrera’s on the treadmill next to me?”
    “You don’t have any other enemies?”
    “I didn’t even really know I had these. I haven’t been involved in the business until recently.”
    Luke nodded. “The fact that it’s a play on words for your last name, which is part of the corporation name, points to the Carreras in a way. They’re attacking Wren Development and the Wren family as a whole. But it’s strange for them. Unless . . .”
    “Unless?”
    He shrugged. “I’ve followed the Carreras for a long time. They’re money-motivated thugs. Little birds need to fly suggests they want you to leave, and that makes sense, but they usually don’t have that much imagination. His threats to you this morning? They were on the nose. ‘We’re good friends and bad enemies.’ That sounds just like them.”
    “So?”
    “I don’t know. I don’t like the idea that someone has some deeper, hidden message. The note inside your cabin was directed at you, whereas Brian coming to see you at the gym today was in order to make you the messenger. It’s psychologically different.”
    “I guess you’re right.” She put down her fork, unable to eat.
    “You don’t like it?”
    “No, it’s . . . the pregnancy, I think.”
    “Ah.” He regarded her soberly. “I’m not trying to scare you. I’m just spitballing here.”
    Andi’s pulse had elevated. Her mind was jumping all over the place. “You think they’re specifically targeting me.”
    “I don’t know. I shouldn’t have said that.”
    “No, say what you’re thinking. Please. I need to know.”
    “I think you might be a target,” he said carefully.
    “That’s why I came to you.” Her voice was rising. “They left me that message. They . . . chose me because I’m the majority stockholder.”
    “Wait . . . don’t jump to conclusions. It could be more personal.”
    Andi gazed at him. Perplexed, she asked, “What do you mean?”
    “Could they know you’re pregnant?”
    “No!”
    “I just thought maybe they’re targeting you because they think you’re the most vulnerable. That you’ll cave easiest.”
    “They don’t know about the baby because I just found out.” Andi stood up and Luke stood, too.
    “That’s not it, then. Shit. I’m doing this wrong. I shouldn’t have said that. Bolchoy would have my head if he were here.”
    Andi felt dizzy. “I’ve gotta go pack my house.”
    “I’ll take you home. No packing. You need to lie down.”
    “I’m fine . . . really . . . I just need to rest a while.”
    Luke threw some cash on the table and Andi felt like she was moving through water as she pulled up her bag. She heard his terse, “I’ve got it,” and then he was guiding her back to his office. She realized he hadn’t given her a chance to pay her half.
    * * *
    Andi sat on her couch amid the boxes, feeling like an idiot, while Luke glanced around, taking in the signs of her packing. “I’m fine,” she said with more conviction than at the