It bothered her he knew, but most drafters used the same password as a matter of convenience. “Twenty, five, one,” she said. “And now I have to kill you both.”
Silas gave Cam a disparaging glance when he laughed nervously. “That’s what I put in.”
Fidgeting, she leaned over to look. “Twenty. Enter. Five. Enter. And then one.”
Grunting, Silas tried again, and Cam whistled, his phone angled to light the maze of wires and circuits. “You sprung for the three-digit model? What are you afraid of, woman?”
“Just herself,” Silas said as the panel beeped, and with a solid click, the magnetic lock thunked open. “It’s a large part of her charm.”
“Thank you for that assessment, Doctor.” Peri reached for the door and yanked it open. She had been planning on catching a few winks before heading to Newport, but that wasn’t going to happen now.
“You’re a doctor?” Cam was asking as she strode in. “Doctor of what?”
Silas grumbled something back. She wished they’d stay out, but they followed her past the unused back offices and out to the remodeled front. She left the lights off, knowing the way and not wanting to advertise her presence. She felt safe in the dark. “No lights,” she said when one of them bumped into a chair, and she frowned at the thought of the dirty snowmelt they were tracking in.
“Peri, listen to me,” Silas said as he caught up. “I know you think you have this under control, but Bill is playing you. You’re doing everything he wants you to.”
There was a whisper-thin layer of dust on everything. Outside, the street was empty and silent, but in a few hours, it would be busy with life that never touched her, even when it walked in her door. Maybe it wasn’t a sanctuary, she thought as she looked at her knitting stuffed behind the register counter. Maybe it was a prison.
Opening a low drawer, she found the spare fob to her car. “Don’t touch anything,” she said as she slipped the thin metal plaque into a pocket. Her secondary passport and ID were right beside it, and she tucked them away as well.
Silas came up behind her, and she pushed his hand off the counter. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t go after him, but you’re going to need my help,” he said as she wiped his prints away.
Grabbing her knitting, she threw it in the trash.
“Hey,” he said, brow furrowed as he pulled the yarn back out and set it where it had been. “You need to slow down.”
“Don’t make me put you in the holding cell,” she threatened as she opened the register and took every last folding piece, shutting the drawer with a cheerful ting.
The familiar sound cut through her like a bullet. Throat tight, she pushed past Silas. The man wasn’t taking no for an answer. Cam, at least, had accepted the situation if his glum look and slumped shoulders were any indication.
“I’ll drive the car, then,” Silas insisted. “Give you a chance to sleep. Help you plan it out. Stay where you tell me. When you tell me. I’ll never even see Bill.”
Like that’s a promise he has any control over, she thought as she tugged the microwave out from its built-in cupboard. It was heavy, and Silas lurched forward to catch it, easily manhandling the heavy appliance to the counter.
“Sorry about the prints,” he said, using his coat to try to wipe them clean.
But she’d given up on leaving a pristine site, and she went on tiptoe to reach the three Glocks and extra clips hidden behind the microwave. “When have you ever done anything I’ve ever told you?” she said as she put one in her boot and another in her pocket. The third she hesitated over until Silas put his hand out, and then she tucked it at the small of her back, hating how it felt.
“Huh,” Cam whispered, his shadowy self shifting from foot to foot. “Boy, do I feel silly. I keep my guns in a locked cabinet.”
Shit, Cam. He shouldn’t be seeing this, but she was fairly confident he wouldn’t say anything to the authorities.
Silas took her elbow and turned her away from Cam. “You need an anchor. I need to be there if something goes wrong.”
“Peri, are you sick?” Cam asked, his tone suddenly wary as he came a step closer.
“Yes.” Peri wedged Silas’s hand off her elbow and moved around him.
“No,” Silas shot back, his shoulders hunched. “There’s nothing wrong with her. She’s perfect. Don’t ask me to stay behind. I know I’m a lousy partner, but I can help.”
Standing in the middle of the room, Peri pushed her hair up off her forehead as she weighed the trouble of going upstairs to get a new set of clothes against them following her up there. “Silas, I need to know you’re safe. It’s easier for me to do what I have to do if I know you’re safe.” There to catch me if I fall.
Seeing her softening, Silas pressed close. “In two days, LB will have enough Evocane substitute for a few months,” he said softly, but it was obvious Cam heard. “By then, things should be settled and I can start getting you off the addictive stuff piece by piece.”
Cam’s expression shifted, losing the rich-boy besotted lightness and taking on a wary, walk-away-now look. Fine. It’s better that way.
“Please.” Silas touched her face, bringing her back to him. “I can’t keep up if you don’t let me, but if you walk away from me now, I’ll never find you again.”
Even in the dark she could see his love. Blinking fast, she looked over the empty tables to the hazy lights beyond as she remembered the peace she’d made here. It hadn’t been a lie, but even if she could settle with Bill and return, WEFT would hound her forever. There is no peace but what you make.