“Mara wasn’t soft,” Ryker said.

“She was weak enough to trust the wrong people,” Voss said, stepping closer to the table. “She thought she could hide those kids from me.”

“Is that why her car went off the road?” Ryker asked, his tone deceptively casual.

Voss paused, his hand hovering over the documents.

He looked at Ryker, a strange, calculating expression in his eyes.

“You think you’re very smart, don’t you?” Voss murmured.

Before Ryker could answer, Voss’s phone on the table began to vibrate.

The screen lit up, displaying an incoming text message.

Voss glanced down at the screen, and his smile instantly vanished.

“Is there a problem, Gideon?” Ryker asked.

His voice was perfectly level.

He did not move an inch, his broad frame cast in shadow against the window.

Voss stared at the glowing screen for a long second.

His thumb swiped across the glass, silencing the device with a sharp flick.

He placed it face down on the polished mahogany table.

“A minor distraction,” Voss said, though the skin around his eyes remained tight. “Nothing that concerns you.”