I spent the rest of the day going over the reports on the cases we closed last week. We had three more cases come in—a sex-trafficking case, a bodyguard needed, and a cheating-husband case. I was sick of the cases where we were looking into cheating spouses. A knock on the door had me looking up.
Stacy stood with her purse in hand. “I’m heading out. You leaving soon?”
I glanced at the clock. It was time to go get Ant. Kat and I had decided to leave Ant in school. The Ross family donated millions over the years. AA Security installed the security system in the school. When I contacted the principal about Ant’s return, she ran it by the other parents and agreed for us to add additional security. We didn’t think Juan would strike the same place twice, but I had added additional security to the school, just in case. I grabbed my things and headed out to pick up my son.
“How was school today, littleman?”
Ant climbed into his booster seat in the back of the Range Rover. When I looked at him, I couldn’t help feeling joyful.
“We had a real live police officer come to school.”
Dread filled my stomach. “Why was an officer in your class?”
“He taught us Stranger Danger and how to call 9-1-1.”
It sounded like a planned visit. That was a relief. “What should you do if a stranger walks up to you?”
Ant was going to the same preschool Asher and I had gone to. It was a private school near our neighborhood. They had good security and great teachers.
“Even if he has my favorite candy, I run.”
I had to hold back the chuckle. I thanked my stars every day that Ant is in my life. Kat and I both wanted another child, and we were working on it. I couldn’t wait for her stomach to swell with my child.
“That’s correct, son. We can work on learning your mom’s and my phone number so you can call us immediately.”
“You’re silly, Daddy. I already know your number and our new address. Those are the first things Mom teaches me when we move.”
Ant had suffered through years of running and changing residences, and they must have come up with a routine. I was glad Kat had already taught our son what he needed to know to get hold of us.
“Your mom is smart. We should pick up pizza so she doesn’t have to cook.”
“Yeah, pizza. Then can I play assassin and bad guy?”
Leave it to Kat to teach our son to play an assassin. We had to work on changing his play habits.
“How about cops and bad guys?” I suggested.
“Okay.”
4
Kat
I had seen the tail two miles back. I had tried to get home early so I could do research on Juan before Antonio came home. He didn’t want me worried about the case, but I couldn’t get Juan and what he had done to my family off my mind. I turned down another street and hoped the car behind me would go the other way, but it turned with me.
“Fuck.”
I parked the car in the driveway of our home and watched the car stop a couple houses down. I wasn’t born yesterday and knew what the driver had planned, so I worked my way around the side of the house. I wasn’t going to let him catch me. There was no way I was going to let someone come into my house and get the drop on me.
The man who came around the corner didn’t have any training. His boots crunched against the rocks on the side of the house. So he wasn’t someone Juan had sent after me. No, this guy was just an idiot and didn’t know who he was dealing with.
“Who are you?” I yelled as he walked around the corner.
“None of your concern, bitch!” His voice was hoarse from years of smoking.
I took a step to the side and tried to get a good look at his face, but the shadow of the house made it hard to see him clearly. “It is my concern since you followed me. Who sent you?”
“No one sent me. I want you to stay out of my business. You keep putting lies into her head.”