I didn't tell Ashur about the email.

Maybe it wasn't the right thing to do, but I already knew he wouldn't be okay with being any farther away than he already was when we were out on jobs. Even getting him to stay as far back as he did was difficult. If I told him, I knew he would start watching me like a hawk to make sure I didn't slip away without him.

He knew me too well.

Even apart from that, there was always the possibility that the anonymous tipper wasn't actually trying to help me at all, but was actually just trying to make it easier for my attackers to get to me.

If I really thought about it, had he or she actually given me any useful information so far? I'd been told to watch my back. General and unneeded. I always watched my back. Then he or she warned me just a little too late about an attack. Now the same person was telling me that I needed to get rid of my protection.

All of that added up to a big fat zero in the way of practical help.

So I didn't say anything to Ashur, and we kept trying to draw out whoever it was who wanted my head.

There was the briefcase I dropped at a doctor's office. The receptionist gave me a suspicious look, but nothing came of it. Probably she gave anyone who came in a suspicious look.

The pickup at a sports arena, where there was more than enough of a chance to use the crowd for cover. Nothing.

Drop-off of a heavy package in a really bad part of the city dome, at an address that was basically a dead end. I almost threw my hands up in the air when nothing came of that last one. It was just so perfect for an ambush!

What did they want? Did I have to paint a target on my chest and handcuff my hands behind my back to get these guys to come back out? Draw them a map of when and where I'd be?

"We just have to keep trying," Ashur said as we walked into my office building once again. "They didn't hit you on every job."

"Maybe," I said, though I was starting to feel skeptical about the possibility of success with our current plan. It did seem as though they'd decided to pull back. Maybe Mr. Anonymous wasn't full of it after all.

I opened the door to my office as Ashur stopped to check something on his watch, the faint beeping letting me know it probably wasn't anything urgent.

But it did distract him as my eye fell on the discrepancy in my office. There wasn't much in there, so it wasn't hard to see any changes. I saw the thin sheet of paper right away. It stood out on my clean desk immediately, the pristine white of it telling me it wasn't the low-quality stuff either. Must have cost a pretty penny.

I didn't have any time to read the folded piece of paper before Ashur would see it. So, stepping to the desk, I easily slipped it into my pocket and sat down in one continuous movement as Ashur stepped in a beat after me.

We fell into our normal routine now. Both of us got to work across from each other, with the occasional back and forth as we went through emails and documents.

The note was burning a hole in my pocket, but I waited until it looked like he was fully engrossed in something, a slight frown on his face, the tip of his thumb sliding along his full bottom lip as he was deep in thought. I slipped my hand into my pocket and pulled out the paper under the cover of the desk. I glanced down quickly.

We have the baker. If you want him back alive, come to the address below at 1 a.m.

Alone.

No shadow.

Underneath it, there was an address. My favorite area. The warehouses. I resisted the urge to crumple the flimsy bit of material.

They'd been watching, and they really didn't like that Ashur had been sticking to me so closely. If they knew what he looked like, which they apparently did if they didn't want him around, it would be easy enough to spot him from even a block away. Not a lot of people looked like that after all.

I cracked my knuckles as I read the note again.

They'd made the wrong move if they did take Jacob, but I couldn't risk bringing Ashur. Not if they really had him and Jacob's life really was on the line. I couldn't tell Ashur about this. He'd never let me go alone.

So, with a heavy heart, I pretended everything was fine.

As we left the office.

As we went back to my apartment.

Had dinner.

Went to bed.

I put on a happy face, my conscience pricking me the whole time. I kept it all inside, right up until Ashur fell asleep. I waited until his breathing was steady and deep. Then I carefully slid out of bed and slipped into my pants and shoes.

I hesitated at the bedroom doorway, turning back to see Ashur's relaxed face. It felt wrong to leave without telling him. The alternative was risking Jacob’s life.

Pressing my lips together, I turned on silent feet and left my apartment.

I couldn't take the risk now.

I'd explain myself later and hope he'd understand.