Chapter Twenty: Standard Procedure
1071 Words
He stepped back from the wall. Not far. Just enough. His hand slid away from my throat with slowly, as if he were weighing every inch of release. The other hand lifted from the wall above my head.
I stayed pressed against the plaster, chest heaving, trying to find a rhythm in my breathing.
Elevated heart rate. Hands unsteady. The word mine still sitting in my chest like a splinter.
No clinical assessment available. Moving on.
I pushed off the wall.
“We need to talk about what Magnus said.”
“We do,” Frank replied, calm again. Like the last ten minutes hadn’t happened. Like his hand hadn’t been at my throat thirty seconds ago.
He took a small step closer, just enough to make the space between us feel taut, like a drawn bowstring.
“First,” he said, holding out his hand.
“Give me your phone.”
I blinked. “Why?”
“I need to fix it. So no one can track you.” His voice was calm, but every syllable carried weight.
"Magnus called you on that number. Which means he has it. Which means it's compromised." His hand stayed out. "Give me the phone Jane.”
These weren’t idle words. He meant it.
I raised an eyebrow. “That’s all?”
“You have my word.”
"Everything is on that phone."
"I know.”
Hesitantly, I dug the phone from my purse and placed it in his palm. He held it for a second, turning it over like he was weighing it in his hand. Then, he walked to the window and dropped it.
Three stories.
I heard it hit the courtyard below.
"Frank—" My voice came out somewhere between fury and disbelief.
He crossed to his desk, opened the top drawer. Pulled out a phone that was identical to mine in every way except newer and more expensive and handed it across to me.
I took it slowly and turned it on.
My contacts loaded. My notes. My photos. Everything exactly where it should be. Everything except —”
"You went through my phone."
"I had someone go through your phone. Yes. I removed the ones that could cause trouble.”
“Anyone who isn’t in your immediate circle. Nothing more.”
“You went through my private messages? When?"
"The night you arrived." He sat down behind the desk. Completely unbothered. "Standard procedure."
"Standard?" I stared at him. "You had someone invade my privacy.”
“I did it for your safety. I don’t make those decisions lightly.”
"Magnus no longer has your number. No one from your previous life has your number. The new one is encrypted and untraceable." He met my eyes. "You're welcome."
"I didn't thank you."
"I'm aware.”
I held the new phone like it might shatter, still not fully trusting that it wasn’t a trap.
I put it in my pocket.
"We need to talk about what Magnus told me.”
"Yes." He leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled, eyes scanning me like he was already three moves ahead.
"Tell me everything."
I sat down across from him.
"He said to ask you about the Russo family." I watched his face carefully.
"The Russo family." He said it quietly. Like the name itself had weight.
“Mm-hmm.”
"The Russos." Something shifted behind his eyes. "Why is Magnus bringing that up?”
"He said the Russo connection and Sofia and whoever is inside feeding him information are all the same answer.”
"Antonio Russo has never moved against me directly.”
"That's what he said."
“Antonio has always stayed outside. His people too. I’ve spent three years watching every move he makes.”
"Magnus is saying he already had someone inside, connected to Sofia.”
“That's not possible.”
"That's what he said. And he seemed very certain.”
"Magnus is a manipulator.”
“Frank, who has been around long enough? Who did you bring in around the time you had issues with Antonio?”
Frank’s jaw clenched hard enough for the muscle to jump. "That's not a conversation we're having right now."
"Why not."
"Because I need to think before I—"
"You always need to think. You always need time. You always need me out of the room while you process things alone and then you give me pieces when you decide I'm ready." I stood up. "I am done with pieces Frank."
"Jane.”
"I have earned the full conversation."
"I'm not dismissing you."
"You literally just told me it's not a conversation we're having."
"Because I don't have answers yet."
"Then we find them together."
"That is not how this works.”
"Then tell me how it works, Frank. Because from where I'm standing, it works like this.” I held up a finger. "You decide what I know."
Another finger. "You decide when I know it." Another. "You decide when I'm ready to handle it.”
“And I just sit here inside your walls being managed and protected and kept in the dark until you decide otherwise."
I looked at him. "That is not a partnership. That is a cage with better furniture.”
"Go to your room."
"Excuse me."
"Jane." His voice dropped, the kind of tone that made the air feel thinner.
"No." I crossed my arms. "No. You do not get to end this conversation by sending me to my room like I'm a child who asked too many questions.”
“I am a grown woman and I am involved in this whether you like it or not."
"I am trying to keep you safe."
"I don't want to be kept. I want to be included."
"Those are not the same thing."
"They should be." My voice cracked. "If you actually meant what you said in that office ten minutes ago they should be."
The air between us tightened, heavy and silent.
Frank looked at me across the desk.
I looked back.
Neither of us moved.
His phone rang.
He didn't look at it immediately. Just held my gaze for one more second like he was deciding something.
Then he looked down.
For a second, something sharp flashed in his eyes. Gone almost immediately.
He answered. Said nothing for three seconds. Just listened.
Then he lowered the phone and looked at me.
"Marco is awake.”
- Writer
