She nodded toward the open door. “What did you do to her?”
“Huh?”
“Croix. You two were laughing your asses off when I came in here.”
“So?”
“So she’s been staring daggers at me since I darkened her door.”
“You’re jealous?” He shrugged, amused. “I guess I’m just charming.”
Shee frowned more deeply as she reached to touch her dressing.
“Don’t play with them.”
“I’m not.”
“I know they can itch—”
“They don’t. The bandage is ripping out my hair.”
She yawned.
“Tired?” he asked. “Maybe you should lie down?”
She thrust a hand into her pocket and pulled out a folded envelope, holding it up for him to see. “No time.”
“What’s that?”
“Angelina found Martisha’s address, before she moved into the hotel.”
“I guess that’s where we’re headed?”
She nodded and headed into the hall. “Yep.”
He followed.
“Hey,” he said as they stood waiting for the elevator doors to open. “Tell me about the guy you buried the other night.”
Shee’s chin dropped to her chest.
“Shit.”
&&&
Chapter Forty-Four
Martisha saw the black pickup truck pull to the curb in front of her house. She recognized the big man at the steering wheel.
How did they find me so fast?
Didn’t matter. Too late now.
“Mom?” said a voice in the phone at her ear. “Are you still there?”
She smiled. “I’m here. Gotta go. Me luv ya.”
Her daughter finished with the family sign-off and hung up. They both knew when the other was too distracted to chat.
Martisha sighed. She shouldn’t have packed. She should have just grabbed her passport and run. But as she stuffed clothes into her overnight bag she had realized she couldn’t run.
She couldn’t pack her daughter and her family into her bag.
They’d still be out there.
He would come.
I’m so tired.
The couple dropped out of the truck and headed for her door.
Mister Mick’s girl.
Martisha had seen her fall into the water. She thought she’d shot her, though she’d only been trying to scare them away.
She thought the darkness in her life had claimed another victim.
But no. Shee’s alive, walking to her door with the big man.
That’s something.
She wondered if she could warn them.
No. Best not.
She didn’t want to give that vengeful, demon of a man any more reason to go after her daughter.
I’ll snip my thread clean.
The couple mounted her front stairs. Mick’s girl saw her through the big front window. They locked gazes, and Martisha tried to will all the knowledge in her head into the girl’s brain as she raised her gun.
I’m sorry.
Shee grabbed the man’s arm to warn him.
Martisha pressed the nose of the gun to the soft flesh beneath her jaw and pulled the trigger.
&&&
Chapter Forty-Five
Now I understand why they had me pop the old man in Minneapolis.
Tyler spat on the ground and peered through his rifle sight again. He couldn’t shake the feeling The Loggerhead Inn was more than it seemed.
First, it sat nestled at the end of a one-way road, surrounded by water and nature preserves. If you were on the Inn’s street, you were there for the hotel or the smattering of private houses.
Excellent defensive position.
For that reason, he’d decided to paddleboard to the clump of trees west of the hotel. He didn’t want the staff spotting him again. Didn’t want some army of housekeepers showing up.
On the upside, he felt even more confident Shea “Mick” McQueen had holed up in the hotel.
He peered through the scope again. The barrel-chested doorman remained at his post.
The couple from the airport had left in the Ford F150. After watching the man rough up the guy in the parking garage, it had buoyed Tyler to see him leave.
He chewed on his options.
Maybe I’ll just storm the place.
Mr. and Mrs. America would probably return. His odds might be better without them around.
But the damn cameras.
Red and green glowing eyes peeked from every crevice of the building.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, the housekeeper he’d met earlier guarded the west perimeter.
Who asks their housekeepers to march back and forth outside?
Tyler lowered the scope and stared at the dirt.
Do they know I’m coming?
The place seemed on high alert. Weird. The client had known how to reach him—called him directly. Weird. The girl holed up with McQueen might be another old target. Weird.
His leg growing stiff, Tyler shifted, reconsidering the entire operation.
Everything about this job feels—
A twig snapped as he moved and Tyler winced more out of habit than concern. The noise had been barely audible—
The housekeeper stopped her marching and turned toward the clump of trees.
Tyler froze.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
She remained still, head cocked.
What is she? Half bat? Some kind of Terminator robot?
Tyler glanced at his feet and looked up again. That quick. The time it took for his heart to beat.
The housekeeper was gone.
What the—
He raised the scope to his eye and leveled the crosshairs on the doorman. He still stood like an overfed statue. No one had alerted him. The little woman hadn’t moved to the porch.
The patch of trees around Tyler felt darker. He glanced toward the edge of land flanking the Intercoastal Waterway where he’d landed his paddleboard.
At least delay...
He could push his plane ticket home a few more days. Give himself more time to run recon on Hotel Fort Knox.
Tyler straightened to full height and secured his rifle on his back. He didn’t like moving without knowing where that crazy maid went but—
“Ow!”
Something bit his arm. Sharp pain exploded from shoulder to wrist. He slapped at the spot with his opposite hand, fingers touching metal. He whimpered as the object protruding
