“Nora, your voice . . . it’s because of the fire, right? That warehouse that burned down . . . you were in it. Has there been damage to your throat from all the smoke you inhaled?”

Leo stares at me. “You were in a fire? I thought . . .” He’s not sure why he hadn’t noticed how rough I sound. I can tell it bothers him, that he’s missed something this important.

“Have you been to a doctor?” Brazuca asks.

I shake my head.

He doesn’t like this. It’s one of the reasons I don’t enjoy being around cops, or even ex-cops such as Brazuca. They’re too used to getting their way, making veiled threats that pass as suggestions.

“She doesn’t want to talk about it,” Leo says.

“She has to talk about it. There are people trying to kill her.”

Leo dislikes this male posturing just as much as I do. He frowns at Brazuca. “She knows that. And it’s only one person right now, so you can just chill.”

Brazuca stares at me. “Do you have anything to say here?”

“No.”

“Goddamn it, you should! Nora, listen. I went to Detroit to look for you. Just got back, actually.”

This takes a moment to process. “Why would you do that?”

“Call me crazy, but I was worried. I used to be your sponsor, you know.” And he used to be more than that, I think. “I was on an assignment and you came up. I investigated an overdose death for a client and, by chance, discovered that someone connected to the Three Phoenix triad used a biker gang to keep watch on a woman. That woman is you.”

“I’ve heard of Three Phoenix. But they collapsed twenty years ago when their boss, Jimmy Fang, fled the country to escape trial,” says Leo. He’s incredulous. I don’t blame him. It’s all a bit hard to swallow.

“Three Phoenix was part of a larger network of criminal organizations out of Asia; it had connections to larger triads like 14K and the Big Circle Boys. They were fluid and worked well with other crime syndicates. They didn’t watch you themselves—didn’t have to. They used a gang that operates out of the port. I’m assuming that when they found out you were in Detroit, they decided it was the perfect opportunity to get rid of you. Someone called someone else, and boom.”

“Except no boom,” says Leo. “She’s still here. What’s this about, Nora?”