Page 29 of Saving Bonnie

Fuck. I have to get out of here.

I go through the apartment without slowing my pace. Turning, I go to hit the button on the lock and hesitate. Seven, seven, fifty-nine. The amount of money the son of a bitch took from Bunny. I have half a mind to…

Behind my thigh, I curl my hand into a fist and glance above the door before continuing. Kassy’s watching—or she damn well better be. The phone rings before I reach the last step.

“You okay?” Kassy lowers the volume on her favorite superhero anime.

“Yeah.” I drag in a breath, going toward the parking lot. The scents in the air are savory now that the kitchen turned to the lunch menu. My stomach growls in appreciation.

“Going for a shower and something to eat.” So I’m not covered in Bunny’s scent. I pass in front of the kitchen window, making it a point not to turn.

“Okay.” But there’s a note of doubt in her voice. “You just seem kind of uptight.”

“I’m good.” She doesn’t need any more details. “Anything to report?” Like I didn’t just spend the last ten minutes watching Bunny move around the kitchen and dining area. She’s wearing one of those damn aprons withPiping hotthen the coffee label printed across her chest.

“No.” Kassy sighs. “There’s still nothing to report,” she says with a hint of annoyance. “I would have called you if she’d come by.”

Kassy’s been part of the team long enough for me to know she’d wake me if the target was on-site. Somehow, I still can’t help asking any more than I can keep from logging into the camera feed. Is it Bunny’s safety I’m thinking about? Maybe I just need to see her for myself.

“Ugh, damn.”

I stop short, glancing around as I backtrack to hug the wall. “What?” Should I switch to the camera, or will I miss what she has to say?

“It’s them.” The change in Kassy’s voice drags me from my thoughts.

Instinctively, I pull the phone away from my ear and switch screens. I need to know what I’m up against.

Pinching the screen, I widen the picture. Two women are heading toward the front door. Neither is Conrado’s mother. “That’s not her.”

“No, it’s the busybodies I told you about.” The underlying annoyance in her tone is impossible to miss. “Can you do the lipreading thing and tell me what they’re saying?”

Bah.Of all the things to be concerned about. Annoyed, I exhale loud enough for her to hear.

“They might be speaking Spanish, but I know they’re being bitches,” she spits out. “Just watch their body language.”

Pettiness shouldn’t bother me. I’m here for one reason, and I don’t need to compromise my cover. Yet, as the two women approach, I’m somewhere between concerned and annoyed.

Switching screens again, I type a quick message.Fix me a bacon-and-egg taco. I’ll pick up. Flipping through the views, I stop at the dining room. Bunny reaches for her phone, glances at the camera then pushes through the doors into the kitchen.

“Are you still there?” Kassy asks.

“Yeah.” I grasp the lanyard on my ID holder, pull it over my head. The fact it can pass for a detective’s credentials usually keeps people from asking questions. “Where are they?”

“Oh,” she says, sounding surprised. She pauses for a second. “They’re halfway down the block.”

I check on the two women. They’re in their late twenties to early thirties, in uniforms from a nearby bank. One’s in a skirt, the other has slacks with a zipper struggling to stay closed. Overall, they don’t seem too happy. Doesn’t surprise me they’d be nasty to Bunny.

“Cover me.” This is a practiced setup. I turn the corner, phone at my ear. Kassy knows to keep an eye on the camera while I pretend to be deep in conversation.

“You got it,” she replies. “You’re about three paces ahead of them.”

I shorten my stride so we can get to the door at the same time. “Everything is linked and ready to go,” I say into the phone.

My attention is on the sidewalk, as if I’m focused on the call. Damn women are taking their sweet time, but their shadows finally come into view. “Sure, I can review the footage, just give me a few to grab a bite.”

I end the call and step forward, looking over in time to stop in front of the door, as if I’m giving them room to pass.

Both women stop and stare at me.

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