| |
Deja folded a pair of jeans then added it to the nearly full box next to her bed. Her phone rang with an unfamiliar number. She hoped it was Nina. “Hello?”
“Deja, this is Stan Henderson. Nina’s dad. I got your number from Rodney.”
Shit. A call from Nina’s dad was the last thing she needed. “Hello, Stan. How are you?”
“I’m not doing too well. I’m not sure if you know, but Nina was in a car accident. Someone crashed right into the car she was in, and she’s recovering in the hospital now.”
Deja sucked in a breath. “Oh my god. That’s horrible.”
“Her doctor thinks it might be the same person that Nina says has been following her. Rodney expressed concern that something has been going on with the two of you lately, and I wanted to know if that has anything to do with all this.”
Deja bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know who would be following Nina. I can’t see how it could have anything to do with me. But there is something I want to clear up with Nina—something that might help her. Can I go to the hospital and see her?” Deja would have to explain why she’d been so elusive on the phone earlier.
“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea right now. I’ll have to check with her doctor. Is there a message I can relay to her?”
“No. I need to tell her myself. Please, keep me up to date. Tell her I hope she gets better.”
“Will do.”
Deja paced the small patch of open space in her box-cluttered room.
The situation with Nina had gone from bizarre to downright dangerous. Though Deja had been convinced the stalker had nothing to do with her or Kevin, she started to fear it did. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if Nina got hurt or killed. Nina had been a good friend and had two daughters who needed her.
She sent a text. “My friend was in an accident today. She’s in the hospital. Do you have anything to do with that?”
Her phone beeped. “Just get me the money you owe, and nobody gets hurt.”
Deja had to reread the text a couple of times. She couldn’t believe it. “I’m out. Keep the twenty-five thousand, but that’s it.”
Her phone rang, but she sent it to voicemail.
Deja joined Miles, who played his PlayStation in the living room. “Did you finish packing your room?”
“Nope.” Miles didn’t take his eyes off his game.
“This is serious, Miles. I want us packed and ready to go by Saturday.” Deja no longer cared about getting the remaining money from Nina. With her in the hospital indefinitely, it might take too long, and Deja couldn’t wait around.
Miles’s mouth dropped open. “Saturday? That’s too soon.”
“Soon or not, we’re leaving.”
Someone knocked on the door. She navigated around the boxes in the living room then squinted through the peephole. “Miles, go in your room and pack. Close the door, and stay in there until I tell you.”
“Who’s at the door?”
“Just do it,” Deja said.
Once Miles had left, she quickly opened the door.
Lanzo stood there, his wide frame even larger and more intimidating than the last time she’d seen him. “What the hell are you doing here?” Deja’s gaze darted around outside the door. Luckily, none of the neighbors were out.
“There’s a call for you.” Lanzo handed Deja his phone.
“Next time I call, answer your phone. I got your text, and there’s no way you’re backing out now,” the voice yelled through the phone.
“You didn’t do your job, and Nina almost got killed. I’m starting to think you have something to do with that. Like I said, I’m out. Keep the money and disappear. I’m coming clean with Nina, and then I’ll be gone too.”
“Hell, no. I told you there were complications. Get the other twenty-five thousand, and it will all be taken care of. I’ll fix everything.”
“I don’t need you to fix anything. You’ve messed everything up.”
“You need to get your head on straight. We had a deal. Tell your friend we removed the body but left the comforter with sandbags as a reminder that it’s only half done. You’d better get me the money. Put Lanzo back on the phone.”
Deja handed Lanzo the phone.
Lanzo nodded as he listened to the phone. “Got it.” He jammed the phone into his pocket.
Deja pushed the door closed. Lanzo stepped forward, knocking it back open.
He reached into his parka and pulled out a gun. He grabbed Deja’s chin and pressed the gun into her temple. “I’ll have my car parked outside until you give me the rest of the money. One wrong move, and you and your boy are goners.” He returned the gun to his parka, turned his back to Deja, and left.
Deja’s whole body shook. She closed the door and leaned against it.
She’d told herself that she was trying to make a better life for Miles, but it’d all backfired. Now, not only Nina’s, but Miles’s and her lives were on the brink of being permanently ruined. For years, she’d hated her mother because of her selfishness and drinking, but Deja had become even worse. She’d morphed into a conniving, selfish monster, and the worst part was she didn’t even have something like alcohol to blame. No, she had to take full responsibility for turning into her own worst nightmare.
Deja hurried to Miles’s room. She knocked then opened the door. Miles packed his favorite book into a large box. “Buddy, let’s get out of the house for a couple of hours. Do something fun.”
Miles looked up from the box. “Like what?”
“Chuck E. Cheese’s? We could get pizza, and you could play some games.”
Miles smiled. “Can we invite Bree and Laila? It’d be fun to see them again before we move.”
Deja doubted Rodney would go for that. “I can ask Uncle Rod. Go ahead and grab your sweatshirt, and we’ll go.”
Deja texted Rodney, and a few minutes later, he surprisingly responded that he would meet Deja because they needed to talk. Dodging Rodney’s questions wouldn’t be fun, but being in her apartment with Lanzo outside was worse. Regardless of how much she wanted to come clean to Nina, she’d sunk too far in it now. There was no way she could and still walk away. Now, she had to focus on a plan to get Nina out of the hospital so she could get the money out of the bank. Succeeding in that would determine if Deja and Miles would get out alive.