Adam's Debt

Adam would not get in Theo's car until Elise promised not to hand him to Roslyn.

"I cannot promise that," Elise said.

"Then I cannot talk."

Theo gave him a clean towel from the trunk emergency kit. "Your lip is bleeding on my seat."

"You always were warm."

"You always were expensive."

Adam pressed the towel to his mouth and closed his eyes. For a second he looked twelve again, hiding behind Elise after Vivian caught him stealing coins from the laundry jar. Elise hated him for the withdrawal slip. She still remembered taking the blame.

"Talk," she said.

Adam looked at the garage entrance. "I started trading on margin last year. Lost. Borrowed private money. Lost that too. Martin found out and offered to fold the debt into a foundation vendor account."

"In exchange for signatures."

"At first. Then errands."

"Ruby Bell?"

He shook his head. "I heard the name, but I never met her. Martin said she was a grant recipient who could cause trouble if she got confused."

"Dead people rarely get confused."

Adam winced. "I did not know."

Elise wanted to believe one part of him. She did not know which part could survive.

Theo's phone rang. Roslyn.

He put it on speaker.

"Tell me Elise is not with Adam Hart," Roslyn said.

No one answered.

"Wonderful," Roslyn said. "Then tell Adam the men who hit him are on garage camera."

Adam went gray.

Elise took the phone. "Who are they?"

"One is tied to Mercer private lending. The other works security for Hart Vale Foundation events."

Theo muttered, "Of course."

Roslyn continued. "Also, St. Agnes sent one archived visitor log before their system went down. Ruby Bell had a visitor yesterday."

"Martin?" Elise asked.

"No," Roslyn said. "Claire."

Adam looked at Elise.

Elise looked at the Ruby file in her lap and felt her sister slide from scared to dangerous.