The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

On the other side of town.

Leopold, with Adam in tow, strolled through the labyrinthine streets of Rivenwood's largest urban village.

Twisting alleys had Leopold nursing a headache. Without his trusty GPS, he half-expected Adam to lead him into an unfamiliar alleyway for a swift, unseen dispatch.

"When are we getting there?" Thomas surveyed the surrounding high-rises, nearly indistinguishable from one another.

Above, a tangle of clotheslines and electric wires-a fire trap if there ever was one.

And to think, someone working for the Abernathy family lived in such a place? Quite the understatement.

Adam led the way, occasionally glancing back to ensure Leopold and Thomas's group kept pace. "Just up ahead. This place, it's a maze. Looks like there are many ways through, but most are dead ends. Without a local guide, it's easy to get lost."

Leopold noted, "I heard you guys have dorms. Why does Keith choose to live here?"

A hint of frustration crossed Adam's face. "Who knows what goes through his mind? An orphan, yet he insists on living amidst this chaos. I've offered him a dorm room multiple times, but he always refuses, claiming he needs his freedom."

"Talking about the intern salary not even hitting eight grand, in a place as pricey as Rivenwood, even these rundown flats cost a couple grand a month. Half his salary gone just on rent, not to mention commuting and living expenses. Barely saves anything by month's end."

Adam had more to say about Keith. "And that kid keeps dreaming about getting married. With his spending habits, which girl would even consider?"

Leopold and Thomas listened in silence.

Glancing back at their team, Leopold had his suspicions. Claiming to dislike restrictions was probably just an excuse for avoiding too close a contact with Abernathy family members in the dorms. Their conversation meandered, extracting even Keith's police academy entry date.

As they neared the end of their chat, they finally arrived at the base of Keith's building.

Rivenwood, well past midnight.

of the building was shrouded in darkness, impossible to

led them into the building, which had only recently been

not left two men at the entrance to keep watch, they'd have exceeded

they faced a metal door covered in flyers, looking as if no one had

Thomas's watchful eyes, raised his hand to knock but was

huh? Dragged out in the middle of the night for

complaint was lighthearted, his

The door creaked open.

anything, entered first. "See it as an opportunity to shine. Just stay behind me; wouldn't want Keith catching you off guard again." "In this darkness, who knows

Zzzap...

the sound of an electric current cut through,

instinctively readying for a fight, then heard a click. The

deadpan, turned to Adam. "Why didn't you just

Silence fell.

laugh, caught Leopold's embarrassed glance. For

quickly shifted blame to Thomas's hasty actions. "I brought you for backup, not

retorted, "Does it look like

can there be no one... Keith must be

as he took in the room. No sign of Keith or

cursed. Where the hell

table, everything was in plain view. Thomas clapped a rigid Leopold on the shoulder.

catching up, protested. "Isn't this

for an intern could ruin Keith's