Snow crunched under Naomi's boots as she stood face-to-face with the man under the lamppost.
He didn't move closer. Didn't threaten. That almost made it worse.
"You talk like you know me," Naomi said, voice steady.
The man shrugged slightly. "I know enough. You walked out of that house alive. That makes you valuable… or dangerous."
Naomi studied him — mid-thirties, calm eyes, posture too relaxed for someone fishing for information.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"Answers," he replied simply. "And maybe an arrangement."
She laughed once, sharp. "Everybody wants an arrangement after the bodies drop."
His smile didn't fade.
"Not everybody waits until the police leave to step in," he said.
That line hit deeper than she expected.
He had been watching.
Naomi's gaze hardened. "You got five seconds before I walk away."
He raised his hands slightly. "Name's Calder. And if you don't start paying attention, Hollow's blueprint is gonna get you killed before trial even starts."
Her breath hitched — just slightly.
"How do you know about that?" she asked.
Calder didn't answer.
Instead, he nodded toward the street.
A black SUV rolled slowly past, tinted windows hiding whoever sat inside.
"They're not cops," he murmured. "And they've been circling you for the last ten minutes."
Naomi's stomach tightened.
Because now she noticed it too.
⸻
Across town, Detective Rowan Keene watched the live feed from a traffic camera, Naomi's figure small under the falling snow.
His partner leaned over his shoulder. "You want units there?"
Keene shook his head slowly.
"Not yet."
The SUV passed through the frame.
Keene zoomed in.
Plates came back clean — too clean.
"Someone's testing the waters," he muttered.
"And Naomi?" his partner asked.
Keene's jaw tightened. "She's the bait whether she knows it or not."
⸻
Inside county, Hollow leaned against the bars, eyes half-closed as if listening to something only he could hear.
Another inmate passed by, whispering, "You hear about Franklin Street? Word is new wolves sniffing around."
Hollow's smile returned, slow and hollow.
"Wolves don't scare me," he murmured. "It's the scavengers that ruin a good hunt."
He tapped the bars twice — a quiet rhythm.
Like a countdown.
⸻
Naomi stepped closer to Calder, lowering her voice.
"You know too much," she said.
He nodded. "So do you."
Her eyes flicked to the SUV again.
"Talk fast," she said.
Calder exhaled slowly. "The money wasn't just from one job. Hollow stacked plays. Freight runs, side deals, ghost partners. That house was only one vault."
Naomi's pulse quickened.
"You saying there's more?" she asked.
"I'm saying someone thinks you know where the rest is," he replied.
She shook her head. "I don't."
"Doesn't matter," Calder said quietly. "Perception's enough to get you buried."
The SUV slowed again, engine humming low.
Naomi made a decision.
"Walk with me," she muttered.
They moved toward the crowded sidewalk, blending into passing strangers.
⸻
Silas Ward sat in the hospital room, staring at the TV without seeing it.
The psychiatrist watched him carefully.
"You mentioned a man watching the house before the robbery," she said gently. "Can you describe him?"
Silas swallowed hard.
"Tall… quiet… like he wasn't scared of anything," he whispered.
Her pen moved across the page.
"Did Hollow know him?" she asked.
Silas hesitated.
Then shook his head slowly.
"No," he said. "But I think Hollow knew someone else was watching. He just… didn't care."
⸻
Back on the street, Naomi's phone buzzed again.
Keene.
She answered this time.
"…I'm busy," she said.
"I see that," Keene replied calmly. "You're talking to a man in a gray coat. Name Calder mean anything?"
Naomi froze mid-step.
Her eyes flicked toward Calder.
"You watching me now?" she snapped.
"I've been watching since the first text," Keene said. "And if you don't get off that street, you're gonna force my hand."
Naomi's grip tightened around the phone.
"I don't need a babysitter," she said.
"No," Keene answered quietly. "You need a head start."
The SUV's door opened.
A man stepped out.
Everything slowed.
Naomi's breath hitched.
Calder's posture shifted instantly, tension snapping through him.
"Time's up," he murmured. "You trust the cop or you trust me?"
Naomi's heart pounded.
For a second, the whole city felt like it held its breath.
And somewhere far away, Hollow smiled in his cell — like he'd been waiting for this exact moment.