“Ow! Let me go, you big bully!” She smacked him with her purse a few times before Tank reached up and grabbed it.
“I’ll tie you up if you don’t behave. I just caught you trying to sneak into a safe house. You’re lucky we don’t call the cops right now.”
Sasha’s eyes rounded with horror. “But I didn’t do anything! I was just trying to see if Kay is even in there. I had to warn her. Devin is looking for her, and it won’t take him long to figure out that I’m gone.”
Eli crossed his arms. “Explain.”
She shrank under his glare. “I was at home yesterday waiting for my boyfriend, Devin, to pick me up. We were supposed to be going to the movies, but then he called and canceled. He said he had a business meeting up north that he couldn’t miss. Well, I’ve been catching him in lies lately, so I didn’t believe him.”
“I’m going to need the CliffsNotes version,” Eli growled.
“I’m sorry. I’m just not exactly sure what all this means,” she wailed.
Matt put a hand on her shoulder and she instantly calmed. “Take a deep breath, Sasha, and start from the beginning. Your boyfriend suddenly decided to take a weekend trip, and so you followed him?”
She twisted the strap of her purse between her fingers. “Yeah, I did. He was pissed, too. I could tell he didn’t want to let me in the room. I was convinced he had another girl in there, but I was wrong. So I just figured I was being paranoid. But then this morning I found a slip of paper in the bathroom with all these words on it.” Her hand slipped into her pocket and pulled out a small scrap of paper.
“Long drive. Night. Dollhouse. Blue shutters. Gym. Dance. Snow. 116,” Eli read. “It’s just random words and numbers.”
Sasha shook her head. “It’s not random. Each of those words corresponds to something Kay said to me when she called. The first time she called, she told me how it was a long drive and you drove at night. She thought your house was so cute. Like a little dollhouse with blue shutters.”
“They’re descriptors,” Tank said. “He was pulling out keywords from your conversations to see if he could identify where she was staying.”
Eli turned back to Sasha. “Who is this guy? Does Kay know him?”
“No, they’ve never met. Not to my knowledge anyway. I’ve tried to introduce them several times, but he always has an excuse. He even met me at Kay’s apartment once. We were going to order pizza and watch movies, but he got a phone call and left before she got home.”
Eli closed his eyes. “And that’s how he gained access to her apartment to steal the figurine.”
Sasha nodded. “It must have been. He said he had to go to the bathroom. I never thought he’d take something.” She swiped at the tears on her cheeks.
“It’s not your fault, Sasha. What happened earlier today?”
She looked down at her hands again. “He told me he needed to go out, so I decided to follow him. He drove down this street, and I could tell he was checking out each house. When I saw number 116, the cute little dollhouse with the blue shutters, that’s when I figured out what he was doing. That he’d somehow figured out where she is. I went around the side of the house to look in the window, just to see if I was right.”
“Where is he now?”
“I don’t know. He drove off, so I figured he was on his way back to the hotel. This might be my only chance to warn Kay before he figures out that I know.”
Tank suddenly leaned forward, his attention fixed on the surveillance screens. “We’ve got action on the back of the house. Someone coming in fast.”
On the screen, a black-clad figure emerged from the trees behind the property. With no hesitation, the figure headed straight toward the house. A chill ran up Eli’s spine. He’d only seen that kind of single-minded determination a few times in his life. Paid assassins and sociopaths.
Eli sprang forward. “I have to get back in there.”
KAY AND MARA both sighed as the credits rolled on the romantic comedy they’d just finished watching. The hero of the movie had been a little too Hollywood-perfect, and of course the actress in the lead had been perfect and thin and blond. In other words, so not her life. But it had still been the perfect combination of sappy and funny. Exactly what she’d needed.
“I’m really glad you came,” she told Mara. They were both backed up to the wall with their feet dangling over the edge. Mara had ditched her socks an hour ago and her bright orange toenail polish was on display. Kaylee looked with dismay at her own feet, covered in thick black socks. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a pedicure. A little me-time was long overdue. Especially now that there was someone to admire the results.
“Me, too. I was sitting at home alone, feeling sorry for myself. This is way better. I think I know what I’m going to do now.”
There was a loud bang and then the sound of glass shattering. A few seconds later, the alarm screamed out its distinctive warning.
“What is that?” Mara asked, sitting upright.
Unlike the last time the alarm went off, Kay instantly knew something was wrong. She sprang forward off the bed and grabbed Mara by the arm. She pulled her out of the guest room and into Eli’s room. Her eyes fell on the playpen in the corner of the room.
“Hope’s still asleep. Grab the baby!” Kay turned to lock the bedroom door behind them. It wouldn’t stop someone from getting in if they wanted to, but hopefully it would buy them a few extra seconds.