Dead Presidents (An Aria Raymond Thriller Book 3), Thomas Ransom [best thriller books to read txt] 📗

have made some mistake somewhere, or will make one soon, and when they do, we will catch them,” said Sanjay.

Diaz nodded as her phone buzzed. She looked at the screen and jumped up, “Okay, I really have to go. Let’s schedule to meet in two days, okay?” she looked at Jake, who nodded.

Her phone kept buzzing as she quickly made her way out of the café and finally took the call.

“Where have you been?” it was Mark. He sounded frustrated. “I have been sending you texts and calling, and you haven’t bothered replying.”

“I told you I was in a meeting,” Diaz replied impatiently, “What’s wrong? Has something happened?”

“No. No. I just wanted to check up on you,” he replied.

“Really?”

“I mean. You know how things are with the case you are handling and the guy in the hospital … I … I was worried about you.”

“Wait, what? The guy in the hospital? How did yo…?”

“Ah! My love, you told me before you left the house in such a hurry. Don’t you remember?”

“Did I?”

“Honey?” his voice was full of concern, “Are you sure you are okay? Maybe you should go see a doctor or something? The therapist helped you back then, remember? Maybe give it a try it again?”

“No. No.” Diaz pressed her temples. “There’s just too much happening right now. I will be fine, don’t worry.”

“That’s not possible,” Mark replied gently, “How can I not worry about you? You are the most important person in my life. I finally got you back. And you are out there saving people and fighting bad guys alone… obviously I worry.”

Diaz chuckled, “Don’t be so dramatic.” However, her heart was melting, “I am not doing anything that heroic. Plus, I’m not alone. There are other people helping me.”

“Oh yes! How did the meeting go? Did you guys make any progress? And how is that guy? The one in the hospital?”

“It was fine. But we mostly talked about Wayne… that incident was honestly messed up. We were trying to figure out why anyone would do that to him.”

“And?”

“We have no clue! Still stuck here too.”

“How is he doing?”

“He is actually doing better. He is out of the coma.”

“Really?”

“You sound a little too surprised!”

“Umm … no. I mean, it’s just crazy that someone would randomly attack him like that for no apparent reason.”

“Well, he got lucky I suppose, and hopefully will regain consciousness soon. He might be able to shed some light on what actually happened and, most importantly, why.” Diaz sighed, “That could seriously help us with the case.”

“Yeah, he really got lucky there! You guys think he knows something?”

“Why else would he be attacked like that?”

“What do the others think?”

“They are thinking along the same lines…”

Mark interrupted her, “So, what are you guys going to do about it? Have you found anything yet?”

“Umm… you seem awfully interested!” Diaz said, surprised.

“Well… can you blame me? This whole thing is rather fascinating and to tell you the truth, I love how passionate you are when you are talking about a case.”

Diaz couldn’t help but giggle, “You are too much!”

“Come on! Tell me,” Mark laughed, “I am very intrigued.”

Diaz laughed, “There is nothing interesting to share. We are relying on Wayne’s quick recovery to get the answers. I told you, we are stuck. I just can’t wait… I have a strong feeling Wayne knows something big and talking to him will give us what we need to finally get these people and take them down!”

“Uh huh!”

“This has gone too far and too many people have been affected by this…”

“Yeah… listen, love. Something urgent came up. I just have to make a quick stop somewhere...”

“Oh!”

“…and then I will come over. I will bring you some dinner and we can relax and watch a movie. How about that?”

Diaz perked up. She needed a distraction, “Sounds perfect!” Mark knew how to lift her mood. All her anxiousness was gone, and she was feeling warm thinking about the cozy date they would enjoy in a few hours. She wasn’t going to let anything put a damper on her evening.

After taking a long shower, she started getting ready for the Mark’s arrival. They couldn’t go out and risk being seen together, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t dress up for the special evening. She received a text from Mark saying that he was on his way. She smiled and started getting the glasses and dishes out and setting the atmosphere by lighting some candles. She decided to play some romantic music in the background. Humming to the song, she started dancing around, without even noticing that Mark had already entered the apartment. She whirled around and stopped short when she saw Mark smiling at her. She blushed, “I didn’t notice you! How long have you been standing there?”

He came closer and took her hands, “Just came in. You are beautiful!” He kissed her forehead and they started slow dancing. Diaz felt at peace for the first time in a long time. She closed her eyes as their bodies slowly moved to the rhythm of the song. Just as she was wishing this moment could last forever, her phone started ringing.

“Uggh! I am sorry… I forgot to set it on silent,” she whispered.

“Don’t worry about it,” Mark replied. “You can answer it.”

“Nah! Whatever it is, it can wait.”

“Are you sure?”

They kept on dancing but were again interrupted by her phone ringing. Diaz wanted to ignore it, but Mark said, “It could be important. You should answer it.  It’s okay, I promise.”

“No! I am putting it on silent. I am off duty!”

“Nicole! You don’t have to do that because of me. Take the call and I will pour us some wine.”

Diaz sighed and picked up