“Help yourself, Meg. Give the CIA what they want and keep the people who mean you harm in jail.”

“I told you. Anyone who betrays these people will end up dead. And they have Jared, anyway. He knows more than I do, I’m sure.”

“What? Jared is in prison?”

“He’s working for the CIA, I think. Some kind of deal he made. He’s a fool. He’ll be dead in a heartbeat.”

I’m not sure if I should be relieved to know where Jared is or worried he’s going to become a problem anyway.

“I need help, Amy. I have no money and no resources. Chad was my only hope. Please. Help me. I’ve taken every step Chad taught me to hide and they still found me.”

“You lived in New York with Chad. Of course they’re looking for you here.”

“I didn’t hide here. I came to New York to see you.”

“You betrayed my brother.”

“I fell in love with him. It destroyed me to keep lying to him.”

“But you did.”

“I wanted to tell him the truth, but I knew he’d hate me and we’d both end up dead.”

“He is dead, Meg, and as far as I’m concerned you had a role in that. And the fire. You set the electrical fire at Liam’s house.”

“I had to do it or they would have killed me.”

“My family died in a fire. In a fire.”

“I’m sorry.” Her hand goes to my leg and I stiffen, fighting the urge to shove her away. “I’m so sorry,” she repeats. “I’ll help you avenge Chad. I’ll do anything to help you if you will just help me too. Anything.” She grabs my hand and thrusts a piece of paper in it, curling her fingers around mine. “This is a number you can reach me at. Leave a message and I’ll call you back. Please, Amy. Talk to Liam. Get him to help me.” She releases me and stands, and before I can blink, she’s thrown open the door and vanished into the hallway. Stunned, I sit there for a moment and have to shake myself. She knows things we need to know.

Leaping to my feet, I reach the doorway.

“Liam!” I scream, yanking up my long skirt and taking off at a run. “Liam!” She disappears into the store and I shout louder, “Liam!” I gasp as I smack into his hard body, and I grab his arms to right my footing. “Meg,” I pant. “That was Meg that just ran by. In the black wig and glasses.”

He presses me to the wall, blocking my body with his, and this time it’s him shouting. “Are you hurt?”

“No. I’m not hurt. We have to catch her.”

Betty appears in the hallway. “What’s happening? What’s wrong?”

“Call security,” Liam orders, offering no further explanation, shifting his attention back to me. “Was she alone?”

“I don’t know. I think yes. We have to catch her.”

“The only thing I have to do is keep you safe. She could be leading us into a trap.”

Tellar rushes to our side. “Why do we need security?”

“Meg was here,” I gasp. “She cornered me and then took off. Short black wig and thick glasses.”

“Is she alone?” he asks, clearly in the same mindset as Liam.

“I think so. She thinks someone is following her. I think there’s a gun in her purse.”

He eyes Liam with a silent question and Liam nods. “Yes. Go get her.”

Liam had barely finished the sentence before Tellar is on the move and Betty is claiming his spot next to us. “Security’s on the way. What can I do to help?”

“Secure the boutique,” Liam states. “No one in or out.” He glances at me. “Go change. I’ll be right there.”

I nod, eager to get out of here, but once I’m at the end of the hallway I can’t stand the idea of being shut inside the dressing room without knowing what’s going on. I go back to find Betty missing and Liam talking with a security guard. Seconds tick by that feel like hours before the guard makes a call on his radio and Liam turns toward me, motioning me into the dressing room, his long strides closing the distance between us.

I enter the room with him on my heels, and I quickly unzip my dress as he shuts the door. “What the hell did she want?” he asks.

“Confirmation that Chad’s dead,” I say, shoving the dress to the ground and stepping out of it.

Seeing my struggle with the dress and hanger, he takes over. “I knew someone would nose around, thinking that he’d set up his death again. I just didn’t expect it to be Meg.”

“She says Jared is helping the CIA.”

“How does she know that?”

“Someone close to Rollin. But that would mean that the Chinese turned Jared over to them. He’s a world-class hacker. Would they do that?”

“Did she say what he’s doing to help the CIA?”

I give a shake of my head. “No. She didn’t seem to know. If it was a witness protection program, she wouldn’t know, right?”

“Right. There could be any number of other options, though. He’s a double agent of some sort, or the two countries simply made a trade deal for something more valuable to the Chinese.”

“So, in light of those things, is knowing where Jared is a good or a bad thing?”

“We’re not making any assumptions based on the claims of that woman with her track record for deception. We’ll investigate. We’ll figure it out.” He withdraws his phone from his pocket. “Finish getting dressed. I want out of this store.”

I cover his phone before he can dial. “Wait. I need to tell you something else. She said Sheridan, Rollin, and everyone in the consortium supporting Sheridan . . . they all might get moved to regular courts and be granted trials.”

“And she told you this why?”

“She wanted Chad’s help, and now wants ours. She thinks her testimony would be incriminating and therefore she’s in danger. Someone is tracking her.”

“You know this could all be fabricated to try and pry our secrets out of us, right?”

“I do. But what if it’s not?”

He cups my cheek and kisses my forehead. “Take everything she said with a shaker of salt, baby.” He releases me. “And whatever happens, we’ll deal with it like we always do.” He gives me a once-over. “Clothes, baby. We need out of here.” He punches the auto-dial button on his phone.

“She says they have reach beyond the prison, no matter how secure.”

“And that ‘reach’ might be her, trying to bait us,” he says, shifting his attention to his phone, listening a moment before quietly saying, “Meg just paid Amy a visit. Call me.” He pauses a beat. “Now.”

Chad, I think, pulling on my jeans, hyper-focusing on the zipper to fight the ball of emotion in my stomach. Will he call us? I’m not sure that he will. I reach for my shirt on the floor and Liam grabs it first, offering it to me but holding on. He searches my face, understanding in his eyes as he lifts my shirt and pulls it over my head. “He will call back,” he assures me. “He’s not gone, Amy.”

I give a choppy nod and my fingers curl around the paper in my hand. “Oh.” I offer it to him. “She gave me this number. She said we can leave a message and she’ll call us back.”

“And we’d do that why?”

“To help her.”

“I repeat. And we’d do that, why?”

“She offered to help me get revenge for Chad’s death.”

“And she took off running, why?”

“She got spooked, is the only answer I have.”

He doesn’t look convinced. In truth, I’m not either.

Footsteps sound in the hallway, followed by a knock. “Liam.”

At the sound of Tellar’s voice, Liam opens the door while I lean against the wall to pull on my boots. “I caught her at the door and then lost her in the crowd,” he announces, “but I already have Josh tracking the security feeds. Without a coat in this weather she couldn’t have gone far and she’ll be easy to spot.”

I step to Liam’s side. “Did you tell him that she might have taken off the wig?”

“I told him,” he states, narrowing his gaze on me. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. Just shaken up a bit.” And noting the questions in his eyes, I quickly summarize the important facts. “She cornered me, tried to get me to admit Chad was alive, told me Jared was working with the CIA, and then begged for our assistance before taking off.”