Page 70 of Shadow Dance

“All right, we’ll start processing this, make sure it’s all backed up, encrypted. I don’t want any leaks. Meanwhile, you keep your head down. I know you’re ready to get out, but we need just a few more days.”

I swallow my sigh, the weight of his words settling on me with a grim heaviness. I figured this would be the case, but I’d hoped to hear something different. Now that Leo and Cedro have their hands on some of this evidence, they’ll want to move and I’d rather be far away from Cal’s when that happens.

“How many more days? Less than a week?”

“I think so. We’re close, really close. We just need to go over the evidence with a fine-toothed comb and secure the search warrants. Last thing we need is to move prematurely and fuck this up,” he says. “Is Oliveras planning on bringing you back to the compound anytime soon?”

“He gave me a week, too.”

Lewis is a silent a beat. “Okay, well, I’ll see what I can do about moving in earlier. You know what to do if things go south before then. We’ll pull you immediately. Sit tight for now.”

In reality,it would take a little over five hours to drive from Santa Barbara to Oakland, but I pull up to the house in about four. It was hard enough waiting even that long, considering that I was only ten minutes away when Cal’s text came through.

I don’t know why he and Maeve decided to come back early. But Cal is, if nothing else, unpredictable—which is why I came back to the house and checked that safe as soon as I could. I knew that if I blew my chance, I might not get another one for a long time.

The driveway is empty when I arrive, but I’m betting that’s because Cal’s Mercedes is in the garage. Pulling into my usual spot, I grab my stuff and let myself inside, unsure of what I’m going to find. It’s rare that Cal is here without Griff and Mac.

The house is quiet. Cal meets me near the door, looking uncharacteristically worn. He’s high, but the usual bravado and brashness that accompanies that is absent, leaving him sort of pale and haggard.

“Thanks for coming back, man,” he says, lifting his chin. “I know you had to cut your vacation short.”

“I wasn’t up to much,” I say, looking around for signs of Maeve. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Maeve and I had a little argument, and she didn’t wanna stay in Marin, so I brought her back.” He sniffs, shrugging. “Thanksgiving’s over anyway.”

“All right. Well, I’ll be next door if you need me,” I say, nodding toward the French doors.

“Actually, do you mind hanging around a minute? Maeve’s sleeping, but if she wakes up, I don’t want her to be alone.”

I slide into my usual spot at the counter, where I’ve spent countless mornings watching Maeve make breakfast, sipping on the coffee I made her.

“This guy owes us, so Dario asked me to collect. No one expects that shit during the holidays, you know?” he says, sweeping his wallet and keys from the counter. “I’ll be right back.”

I don’t know if that’s true or not, but it doesn’t matter. “Sure.”

“There’s beer in the fridge,” he calls, letting himself out the front door.

I wait until I hear him leave the driveway, consulting my app to ensure he’s moving down the hill, before knocking on the bedroom door. When no one answers, I open it slowly, peeking in.

Maeve looks up from her phone, recoiling when she sees me. Her right eye is bruised a dark purple, swollen enough that her eye is half shut.

The room shrinks, everything blurring around me until all I can see is her beautiful, but damaged face. “What the fuck happened to your face?” I bite out, coming farther into the room. “Cal did this to you?”

“We had a fight.” She shakes her head, tears filling her eyes. “Because I wouldn’t … have sex with him.” Her words are a whisper by the end, and she looks down.

When Cal said they had a fight, he left out the part about treating the supposed love of his life like a fucking punching bag. Walking over to the bed, I sit beside her and take her hand. I don’t know what to do here, but I don’t want to hurt her more. She’s been through enough. “Are you okay?”

“Not really.”

“What do you want to do?” I ask quietly.

“What is there to do?” she asks. “I just have to wait for a chance to leave and then take it. I know you said you’d help me, but I don’t know how much longer I can wait.”

“There’s no one you can stay with for just a few days?” I ask. “No friends?”

“Have you seen me with any friends?” She wipes her nose with a trembling hand. “I have no one here, Jaime. No one but you.”

“What about your family?”

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