Lena didn't know what to make of the information she now possessed. Curiosity won out over caution, so by evening, she stood before the looming shadow of the old warehouse on the outskirts of town. The sun was setting, casting the sky in bands of orange and purple, and long shadows that seemed to reach on forever.
She entered slowly, thudding heart in her chest. The door to the warehouse was open just a crack. She felt the air turn cooler as she pushed inside, adjusting to the shadows.
Footsteps sounded behind her, and she turned, gasping in her throat.
"Lena." The voice was low and husky—already familiar from the phone call.
Standing before her was the man in a black suit, his features obscured by the hat's brim. He seemed magnetic, threatening, and yet there was something inherently familiar about him, something that reminded her of someone she used to know.
"Who are you?" Lena asked, shaking in a combination of fear and defiance.
The man moved nearer, and Lena's heart faltered as she saw his eyes—familiar and yet not, full of secrets she was not certain that she wanted to know. "I said—I don't tell you my name. But you should understand that I'm your only protector."
"Protect me from something?" Lena whispered, her heartbeat thudding in her neck.
He stepped forward, bridging the gap between them. "From the individuals who have been observing you. From the ones believing that you know too much."
Lena gazed at him, her breathing caught. "I don't know anything. I'm just an average woman. Why me?"
He breathed out, as if the burden of the moment was strangling him. "Your dad had something… something that's going to be brought to light again. And you're the one to stop it."
Lena's mind reeled. "My dad? But he died. He died when I was still a child. What does this have to do with me?"
He moved nearer, his eyes burning, nearly feral. "Everything. Your father bequeathed a legacy that could save or ruin everything. You're not nearly as plain as you imagine, Lena."
Her brain spun as she attempted to put together what he was saying. "I don't know what you're talking about. What has this to do with me? Why me?"
He didn't have a chance to reply before a sound came from behind them—a second set of footsteps, moving closer.