I watched as Mya slept on an air mattress. Her blonde curls tumbled around her small face. She looked peaceful even though I knew she wasn’t. After David and Remy left, it took three mini bottles of wine before she finally stopped crying and passed out.
She was a welcome distraction. Thinking about her problems allowed me to forget my own. It had taken five more minutes of arguing before David realized his normally docile wife wasn’t giving up the fight.
Good for her.
I wrapped a blanket around myself and settled onto my own air mattress, wishing the copious amount of wine I’d guzzled down would have the same effect on me as it had on Mya.
An excavator and a bomb. He obviously has some skills.
When will he attack again?
* * *
“Do you think we should paint our faces black?” Mya asked the next night.
“I don’t like the fact that you’re coming,” I said, watching her pull her hair into a ponytail. “David will have a coronary if he finds out.”
“He won’t find out,” Mya assured. “You and I won’t tell anyone, and we know Rat won’t tell either. He’s too afraid of Remy to let anything slip.”
“I wonder why he’s afraid of Remy,” I said. “I mean, I’ve told Remy on several occasions that he has the mannerisms of a caveman, but otherwise I don’t find him scary.”
“David’s told me a little about when they served in the military together. I wouldn’t say Remy is scary either, but according to David, Remy has had to get out of worse scrapes than David ever had to—which is saying a lot considering everything David went through.”
“Did David tell you what kind of scrapes?”
“Not really,” Mya said with a shake of her head. “You know he’s always protecting me. Sometimes I wonder if he thinks I’m a child. He always tells me the G-rated version of things, never the R-rated. At this point, I’d settle for PG-rated.”
“Tell me some of the stories David told you.”
“Well,” she said thoughtfully. “I know that Remy was doing reconnaissance work. I’m not really sure what that is, but he was led astray. By the time he was able to finish his assignment, he wasn’t able to make it to the meet-up point in time and had to cross through enemy territory on foot with hardly anything to protect himself. And we both know how Remy stands out. I’m surprised he wasn’t captured.”
“How frightening,” I said, wondering about Remy’s escape. “But it still doesn’t make me afraid of him. If anything, I’d think he was a hero.”
“That’s what I think too. But it’s the things David doesn’t say that make me wonder how much really happened. Do you know they can have an entire conversation with just one look? It’s true,” she said. “I’ve seen it happen several times.”
“They’ve been on missions together. I’m sure it’s something that comes with the job.”
“True. I just don’t think Rat would be the type of person who would be afraid of just anyone. There’s a part of Remy’s past that we don’t know and David won’t tell.”
“You wouldn’t want to know,” a voice said behind us.
I jolted and swung around to find Rat leaning against the door.
“You could’ve knocked,” I scolded, clutching my heart.
“I don’t knock,” he stated simply. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, but what do you mean we wouldn’t want to know about Remy’s past?” I asked.
“I’m not here for storytelling,” he said.
“I didn’t ask for storytelling,” I said.
“Yes, you did,” he said, crossing his arms with a bland look. “Remy’s past is his, not mine. If you want stories, then ask him. Anyway, it’s not his past I’d worry about.”
“Then what should I be worried about?” I asked.
“The fact that you’re going to break into an office would be a start,” he stated. “Listen, if you want to know why I’m willing to help Remy, then ask him. I don’t help just anyone.”
“You’re helping me,” I said.
A sinister smile darkened his face. “You should worry about that instead of worrying about Remy.”
* * *
Rat pulled alongside the accounting office of Adam Worshen. Just as would be expected, it was dark at quarter after midnight. The street lights were the only illumination on the quiet street.
“Give me a minute to check the place out,” Rat said, easing out of the black van.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Mya said. “I don’t trust him.”
“I don’t trust him either, but so far he hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“I know. I just get this feeling.”
“He was upfront with us. He said he’d get us in but then we’re on our own. He also said if the cops show up, he’s deserting us. If Rat was completely untrustworthy, he wouldn’t have warned us.”
“True. But why is he helping us to begin with? There’s nothing in it for him.”
“I think it has to do with Remy. What better way to snub Remy than by leading us into possible trouble? Rat has no faith that we’ll be able to get in and out without being caught. I’d bet the pot that he’s counting on us to get busted.”
Our conversation ended as Rat slipped back into the van.
“There is an alarm on this building,” Rat said. “I can get you in, but you’ll only have five minutes to do your thing. Maybe less.”
“Only five minutes?” I asked. “That’s not long enough. How am I going to find anything in that time?”
“Pros do it all the time,” Rat stated.
“I’m not a pro.”
“Either you do it or you don’t. I’m not going to wait here all night while you decide.”
“Mya, you stay here,” I said. “If I can’t find Caleb’s file in the first two minutes, then I’ll run back out. That’s well before the five minutes are up.”
“If you’re going in, then I’m going in too,” Mya said. “We can both look and quit after two minutes. But I still think this is a bad idea. Why are we doing this anyway?”
“Because Adam stole Caleb’s money. If it was your money, I’d do the same for you.”
Mya gave a nod. “Let’s go.”
Rat gave us the order to be quiet as we followed him to the door. “I’ll silence the alarm but it will still be activated. As soon as I open this door, the clock starts ticking. I’ll wait for you at the end of the block. I’m leaving in five minutes with or without you.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
I watched the street as Rat did his thing. It took him less time to unlock the door than it takes me to tie my shoe. The alarm blared as we raced in. He headed to the alarm to silence it while Mya and I ran to filing cabinets.
“I’ll look under U,” I said. “Mya, look on Adam’s desk for a calendar or contacts. Anything that might help us locate him.”
This is such a bad idea, I thought as I fumbled through the file drawer. Caleb would kill me if he knew I was here. David would kill me if he knew Mya was here. I just bought us a ticket to jail.
I flipped through all the U folders using my cell phone as a flashlight. Nothing on Caleb Usher. I glanced at the time. A minute gone. I quickly refocused my search on a filing cabinet with no label.
A siren wailed in the distance. Mya and I both scurried to the door.
“Where’s Rat?” she squeaked.
“He took off as soon as he silenced the alarm,” I said, yanking open the door only to find police lights descending upon us. “Is there a back way out?” I asked.
We scrambled to the back room. There wasn’t a door, but there was a window. I flipped the lock and heaved the protesting window open.
“Quick, get out,” I said to Mya.
I followed after she shimmied through. We raced behind a string of buildings until we came to a side road.
“Rat said he would wait for us here.”
“I don’t think he waited,” Mya said, glancing at the deserted road.
“I didn’t think he would. Let’s get as far away from here as we can,” I said, listening as more sirens made their way to the crime scene.
We ran a block before I heard a car racing up behind us. Tires skidded to a halt.
“Freeze! Police!” a man shouted.
Mya and I froze in our tracks. A red flashing light bounced off the shadowy buildings.
Damn! This isn’t good. This is bad. Horribly, horribly bad. I willed my heart to keep calm, but it kept slamming against my ribs.
“Hands where I can see them!” he ordered.
Mya and I lifted our hands in the air.
“Turn around!”
We slowly turned around and were blinded by a flashlight. I winced and squeezed my eyes shut.
“Walk slowly to the car,” he ordered.
“Can you aim the flashlight down?” I asked, with bravery I didn’t feel. “I can’t see one step in front of me let alone your car or a badge.”
After a moment, I thought he wasn’t going to lower the flashlight. He finally did. I followed Mya to the car. Her head was held high and, thankfully, her eyes were free of tears.
“I’m so sorry, Mya,” I whispered.
“No talking,” the man ordered. “Put your hands on the car and spread your legs.”
“Not until I see a badge,” I said. “This isn’t a real cop car. Anyone can stick a light on their car.”
“Keep your hands up,” he said gruffly as he stepped closer to show me the badge hanging around his neck.
I glanced at the official Las Vegas Police badge and then up at him. “Peter?”
The dawning of who I was registered on Peter’s face. “Son of a bitch! What the hell were you thinking breaking into an office?”
“I didn’t break into an office,” I said, innocently. “I don’t have the slightest clue how to open locked doors.”
“That’s true,” Mya said. “She didn’t do it.”
“That would mean you did it,” Peter said, turning his attention to Mya. “If you’re going into a life of crime, I’d cover your hair. It’s like a beacon for cops.”
“I’m not going into a life of crime,” she said. “I’m here for support.”
“Give me one reason not to haul you both in.”
“I can give you three,” I said.
He raised a brow. “Let’s hear them.”
“One: We only entered; we never broke in. Two: Nothing was taken. Three: Your sister is in the thick of this and we’re trying to help find her. It’d be better if we teamed up.”
“Does Caleb know what you’re doing?”
“No. I haven’t spoken with him.”
“I think it’s time you did,” he said. “Get in the car.”
“Where are you taking us?” I asked, opening the door. I didn’t really have a choice about where he took us, but I didn’t want any surprises either.
“I’m taking you to Caleb’s. We’re going to have a chat.”
Eesh. There was nothing pleasant about the way he said ‘chat,’ and I had a feeling it was going to be another long night.