~CHARLES~
I smashed my burner phone against the marble fireplace with all the force I could muster. The plastic case splintered into pieces, and the battery skittered across the Persian rug.
"Damn it!" The roar echoed through my empty study, bouncing off walls lined with leather-bound books I'd never read.
For three days, I'd been trying to reach Downson. Three goddamn days of calls going straight to a dead, disconnected line.
Downson wasn't just off the grid; he was gone. Vanished. And that was unusual, bordering on impossible.
In all the years we'd been doing business, through all our 'arrangements', he'd never disappeared without a word. Even a simple "out of town" text was standard protocol.
Without Downson, I was blind and flying without instruments in a storm.
I paced my study like a caged animal, pouring brandy with a hand that shook more than I'd admit.
