Chapter 4: The Locked Bedroom
Maya didn't sleep.
Neither did Breaker.
By three in the morning, every light around the apartment building was on.
Six bikers guarded the front.
Four watched the rear.
Two stood across the street beside the remains of the broken streetlamp.
Grace finally fell asleep on the couch with her stuffed rabbit beneath her chin.
Ethan sat beside the window until Maya made him close the curtains.
Breaker remained near the kitchen.
He had removed his leather vest but still looked like an armed fortress in jeans and a black shirt.
Maya stood across from him.
“You knew my husband.””
“Yes.””
“You knew about the money.””
“Yes.””
“You knew people were looking for us.””
Breaker nodded.
“And you never thought I deserved to know?””
“I thought you deserved to survive.””
“That isn't an answer.””
“No.””
He looked tired.
For the first time, Maya saw his age.
Not the giant biker.
Not the frightening man from the restaurant.
Just an exhausted fifty-nine-year-old carrying something heavy.
“Daniel asked me for a favor,” Breaker said.
“When?””
“Three days before he died.””
Maya held her breath.
“He came to the clubhouse.””
“Why?””
“He thought somebody had discovered what he'd found.””
“What did he ask you to do?””
“Protect you.””
Maya stared at him.
“He knew he was going to die?””
Breaker looked down.
“He thought he might.””
“And you agreed?””
“I did.””
“What happened?””
“Daniel disappeared.””
Maya swallowed.
“You mean he wasn't killed?””
“We found his truck abandoned near the river.””
“But his body—”
“Was found two days later.””
She closed her eyes.
All these months, she'd thought Daniel's death was a terrible accident.
Now she realized she had never known what happened.
Breaker continued.
“He left something behind.””
“What?””
“A key.””
Maya frowned.
“To what?””
“He wouldn't say.””
“Do you have it?””
Breaker looked toward the hallway.
“No.””
Maya followed his gaze.
“What?””
“I think you do.””
The apartment suddenly felt colder.
“Why?””
“Because Daniel wouldn't have trusted me with it.””
“He trusted you.””
“Not enough.””
Maya walked toward the hallway.
Grace stirred on the couch.
“Mom?””
“Go back to sleep, sweetheart.””
Grace closed her eyes.
Maya continued down the narrow hallway.
She reached the bedroom.
Her bedroom.
The only room she had been told was off-limits when she'd moved in.
The landlord had said the lock was broken and promised to replace it.
But he never did.
Now Maya noticed something strange.
The door was locked.
She turned.
“Breaker?””
He was already beside her.
His face changed.
“This wasn't locked before.””
“No.””
Breaker pulled a small flashlight from his pocket.
He examined the doorframe.
“Someone's been in here.””
Maya's heart raced.
“How can you tell?””
“Scratches.””
He touched the lock.
“Fresh.””
Maya stepped back.
“Then let's leave.””
Breaker shook his head.
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because whoever came in was looking for something.””
She stared at the locked door.
“And what if they found it?””
Breaker looked at her.
“Then they wouldn't still be watching you.””
He pulled a small pry bar from his bag.
Maya stepped aside.
The lock snapped.
The door opened.
The bedroom smelled like dust.
A narrow bed stood against the far wall.
A dresser.
A closet.
Nothing unusual.
Breaker swept his flashlight across the room.
“Check everything.””
Maya stared.
“Everything?””
“Your husband knew this room mattered.””
“How?””
“Because he rented this apartment under your name.””
Maya's stomach turned.
“What?””
Breaker pointed toward the wall.
“This unit belonged to Daniel before you moved in.””
She stared at him.
“That doesn't make sense.””
“He used it as a safe location.””
Maya stepped toward the dresser.
She pulled open the top drawer.
Old receipts.
A sewing kit.
Batteries.
Nothing.
Second drawer.
Blankets.
Third drawer.
Nothing.
Breaker checked the closet.
He pulled clothes from the rack one by one.
Maya knelt beside the bed.
There was a loose floorboard.
She felt it with her fingers.
“Breaker.””
He turned.
Together, they pried it upward.
Beneath the floor was a metal box.
Maya stopped breathing.
Breaker stared at it.
“Don't touch it.””
“Why?””
“Because Daniel was careful.””
“It's just a box.””
“No.””
Breaker crouched.
There was a tiny wire connected to the lid.
He smiled without humor.
“He expected someone to find this.””
Maya whispered, “A trap?””
“A warning.””
Breaker cut the wire.
The lid opened.
Inside was a flash drive, three old photographs, and a folded piece of paper.
Maya reached for the paper.
Breaker caught her wrist.
“Wait.””
He examined it first.
Then handed it over.
Maya unfolded it.
Daniel's handwriting filled the page.
Only six words were written.
*Maya, trust Breaker. Not the police.*
Her eyes filled with tears.
She looked at the man beside her.
“Why would he say that?””
Breaker didn't answer.
His phone rang.
Every person in the apartment heard it.
Breaker answered.
“Yeah.””
He listened.
His expression slowly hardened.
“How many?””
A pause.
“Are you sure?””
Another pause.
Then he looked at Maya.
“We have a problem.””
“What?””
Breaker lowered the phone.
“The police just arrested the restaurant owner.””
Maya frowned.
“For what?””
“Wiring the table.””
Her stomach dropped.
“That doesn't make sense.””
“No.””
Breaker looked toward the flash drive.
“Because there's something else.””
He turned the photographs over.
A date was written on the back of each one.
Three days.
Three locations.
And the last photograph showed Maya's children standing outside their burned apartment building.
Taken after the fire.
Breaker looked at her.
“They weren't watching your family before the fire.””
His voice was almost a whisper.
“They were watching your children after it.””
Maya felt the room spin.
“Why?””
Breaker held up the flash drive.
“We're about to find out.””
May you like
Then the power in the apartment suddenly went out.
And from somewhere inside the locked bathroom came three slow knocks.
