Dead Presidents (An Aria Raymond Thriller Book 3) by Thomas Ransom (that summer book txt) 📕

the floorboards. He copied the files in his USB flash drive and was on his way to work once again. Even then, he was at work earlier than anyone else.

Wayne had carefully placed the files back in the safe and sighed with relief. He then proceeded towards the printer and inserted the USB in the slot. He was waiting for the printing to be done when he heard Tanya talking in the corridor. Wayne shifted a bit closer towards the wall to hear better. He froze when he heard Tanya talking about Sanjay and Diaz working with that Sergeant. Shit! Now, he knew he had to alert Aria. He had to somehow help them. He was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed that Tanya had finished the call and was coming straight towards him.

Wayne stayed locked in his office for the next few hours, contemplating what to do. This was rather risky. He could put everyone involved at risk. How could he tell them without alerting their enemies? Tanya was probably suspicious of him now. He had been acting strangely in front of her. Should he tell her? But then he would be putting her in danger as well.

There was a knock on his door, making him jump. He realized the printed papers were still lying in front of him. He quickly collected them and placed them in his bottom drawer. He would have to deal with these later. He looked up to see his secretary signaling him for a meeting he was supposed to be in. He told her he was coming in five minutes. His heart was racing. Wayne took a few deep breaths to calm down. He then locked the bottom drawer and placed the keys in the inside pocket of his coat, making a mental note to remove these papers from the office as soon as he possibly could. He couldn’t risk anything right now. He must be careful. He was the one who had most of the evidence and could help in bringing these people down. He had to be really careful about every move he made from now on.

By the end of the day, Wayne breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing unusual had happened and it appeared no one noticed that he had taken the documents out of the safe. His heartbeat that was jumping at even the slightest sound and movement during the day was now returning to its normal rhythm. Was it possible that he had gotten away with it? He still couldn’t believe it. Throughout the day, he was expecting someone to break into his office pointing a gun at him. While Wayne’s heartrate had slowed down, his mind was still racing. He couldn’t figure out his next steps. He was wondering whether or not to tell Aria or anyone else. He wasn’t sure what to do and who to trust. It was a life and death situation.

He gathered his things, took out the printed pages and stuffed them deep into his bags, covering them with his other clients’ files and things just in case. He then checked the safe to make sure those files were still there, locked the office and left. As usual the office was empty when he was leaving. He decided to head to his favorite café to think a little clearer without any interruptions, where he wouldn’t be surrounded with things that would remind him of the dangerous people he was dealing with. He was always on high alert when he was at work. He had a suspicion that some of the employees were also working as spies for corporate, which was the main reason he stayed in his office and left when everyone had already left for home.

Wayne spent an hour or so at the café drinking coffee, trying to figure out what to do. By the time the waiter gently reminded him that the café would be closing soon, he had made a decision. He was definitely going to alert someone. He knew informing Aria or even her lawyer might endanger them. He had to go to an authoritative figure who would be in a better position to defend themselves. He just had to figure out the right person. Someone who is clean and could actually do something about it. These people had to go down. While he was on his way to his apartment, he suddenly noticed that a car had been trailing him since he had left the café. His heart started pounding again. He could feel beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He took a sudden turn to the right instead of the left turn towards his house, which meant he had to take a longer route back home, but he had to be sure. Phew! He said out loud when the car went straight ahead. Relax, he told himself. I shouldn’t get too paranoid otherwise I am going to make some stupid mistake.

He kept a constant lookout for any cars that might be following him but there were none. Suddenly he realized something. There was someone he could send the papers too. Someone who might be able to take the right action to bring these people down. As soon as he arrived home, he found an envelope and gently folded the papers and placed them inside. He sealed the envelope and wrote down the address. There. He will somehow find a way to hand these over without raising suspicion. With his heart feeling lighter, he fell asleep.

Just a second later, his cell phone started ringing. What the hell?! He jolted awake. Wayne grabbed his phone and barked, “What?! Do you know what time it is?!”

He heard Tanya stammer, “Umm… yes, it is 10 in the morning and you are late for the meeting.”

“What!!!”

“Are you high or something?” He heard the annoyance in Tanya’s voice. “You have a meeting. The client called to confirm. He will