The call was on speaker. When Evangeline''s voice filled the small office, a faint smile touched Finn''s lips.


    The agent''s eyes widened in astonishment as he looked at Finn. How could she possibly know he was here? Before making the call, Finn had explicitly warned him not to reveal his presence. He''d thought Finn was being overly cautious, but now he saw they had both perfectly anticipated the other''s thoughts.


    Terrified of Finn, the agent stuck to the script.


    "Finn? Who''s Finn?" he said, ying dumb. "I''m sorry, miss, I don''t know what you''re talking about."


    Evangeline fell silent for a moment, concluding she had let her imagination run away with her.


    The agent started describing the property again, but she cut him off, her voice cool and even. "You can stop looking for me. Frankly, I wouldn''t dare live in any ce you found. Why don''t you keep it for yourself?"


    The agent knew she was angry about how he''d treated her earlier. He shot a desperate, pleading look at Finn. He never should have run his mouth. Finn had threatened that if this didn''t go smoothly, he would send people to "harass" him regrly and leak all the shady dealings from his past.


    He had no idea how Finn had dug up that dirt. It wasn''t anything criminal, just a collection of minor infractions, but if his clients found out, his career in this city would be over. And he could tell from Finn''s demeanor that he was a man of his word.


    "I''m so sorry, Miss Whitmore!" the agent said hastily. "I gave you the wrong directions earlier, I swear it wasn''t on purpose. We didn''t have anything that met your needs at the time, and I was getting flustered."


    "But just now, I found a listing that''s perfect for you. It''s a great value, and to show you how sorry I am, I''ll give you a fifty percent discount on mymission."


    Evangeline had been about to hang up, but the mention of a fifty percent discount made her hesitate.


    "What''s theplex called?" she asked.


    The agent sent her the address Finn had given him.


    When Evangeline saw it, she paused. She''d heard of the ce-it was a mid- range apartmentplex, and while the security wasn''t on par with the wealthy districts, it was far better than average.


    The rent was also quite expensive, definitely beyond her budget.


    As she was weighing her options, the agent added, "The owner of this unit lives abroad and doesn''te back often, so she wants to rent it out. But because the ce isrge and the rent is high, it''s been sitting empty for a while. The owner finally relented and said she''d be happy to have two or three professional women share the space."


    "She''s a bit of a neat freak and prefers tenants who are clean and have stable jobs. When she described what she was looking for, I immediately thought of you."


    "The other two women are already confirmed, and their circumstances are simr to yours. When you split the cost, the rent is only a little more than what you''re paying now. You should really consider it."


    He followed up by sending the property address and some general information about the two potential roommates to her phone.


    After hanging up, Evangeline looked over the files. One of the women was in her early twenties, a recent college graduate in an internship program.