Page 43 of Death Wish

“How about a movie to go along with the pie and ice cream?”

She thought about the work still yet to be done and knew she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything except Jesse. “Great idea. Any preferences?”

“No sap,” Tegan said. “Just came off a nasty breakup. I don’t want any reminders.”

“Got it.” When a signal showed the oven was at the desired temperature, Simone slid the pie inside and headed for the living room. “Let’s see what the owners of this place have in the DVD cabinet.”

After a little debate over the offerings, the women settled on National Treasure. A little romance but not too sappy. Adventure because who didn’t love a good treasure hunt story. A happy ending. A perfect movie.

The only hitch was her two companions took turns checking the perimeter and watching out the windows. No way for her to forget that Jesse was heading into trouble. No doubt in her mind that Trevor wouldn’t cooperate. Worse, if pushed too hard, he would resort to violence.

CHAPTER TEN

JESSE PARKED A few houses away from Trevor White’s rental bungalow and turned to his companion. “You know your role in this?”

“Of course. Silent bad guy.” Rayne laughed. “My favorite role to play. Thanks for giving me the chance to do this, Jesse.”

“Listen, White thinks he’s a tough guy. He doesn’t respect women and thinks nothing about laying his hands on them.” Jesse scowled. “He put his hands on Simone and sent her to the hospital.”

Rayne’s hands fisted. “I hope she had the good sense to file charges against him.”

“She did. He spent time in the gray bar hotel for it. My guess is he has a grudge against her for that plus he doesn’t like the fact that she escaped his clutches.”

“Well, then, this little interrogation should be a lot of fun. Ready?”

After a nod, Jesse opened the door and met Rayne on the sidewalk. Together, they approached White’s residence.

No lights burned in any room. Was White out or sleeping? Jesse signaled Rayne to activate the comm device in her ear and to check the front of the house. He rounded the side of the house to inspect the backyard and the locks on the door and windows.

Simone’s ex wasn’t a trusting sort. Everything was locked up tight.

“No entry.” Rayne’s voice came across as a whisper in Jesse’s ear.

“Copy. Come to the back.”

She walked around the corner of the bungalow and joined Jesse. “Locked?” she whispered.

“Yeah.”

“Allow me.” She slipped past him and crouched in front of the door with her lock picks in hand. Seconds later, the tumblers dropped. “Done.”

“How did you do that so fast?”

“Leftovers from misspent teenage years. Sometimes it comes in handy.”

His lips curved. Nice. Following a last glance around to be sure he hadn’t missed a security system or a camera, Jesse signaled Rayne to stand to the side of the frame in case White or someone else was waiting for them.

Twisting the knob, he eased open the door and waited for a reaction inside the house.

Nothing.

Breathing a little easier, he slipped into the bungalow and motioned for Rayne to join him. They waited in silence for two minutes.

Nothing stirred in the darkness.

Excellent. They conducted a room by room search until they came to the last room with a closed door. Must be the main bedroom.

Jesse grasped the knob and twisted. He pushed the door open a crack and peered inside the darkened room.

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