Page 20 of Dangerous Lies

The cup of coffee warmed her hands, but she no longerfeltsafe. The killer had proved hecouldgetto her whenever he wanted, and she’d played right into his hands. Rose hadn't told Ginger everything yet. He hadn't stopped pacing for more than a couple of seconds. At the hospital, all he worried about was if she would die.

“Your van and all of your supplies from inside the apartment are in the driveway,” Casanova said.

She chewed on her lower lip, wondering how to ask the next question, but figured blurtingitout was the best way. “Did anyone happen to grab one of the spiders?”

Ginger stopped mid-step and turned toward her. Grim giggled from the chair, and Casanova shook his head.

“You think I stopped to collect a spider when I thought you were dead?”

She winced, knowing the severity of what had happened, but also wondering if the spiders would lead her to more information about the killer. “Shit, I didn't complete the job.”

Her reputation depended on keeping her clients happy. Yes, shecouldexplain a killer had taken her from the job site, but she had togetthe job done.

“Your job sucks,” Casanova said. “I've never had to stop and think about who cleans up after us. We go in, kill the bad guy, and leave. Not once did I think about the repercussions of my actions. Today after the cops finished with the apartment, Grim and I cleaned everything. I have to say again your job sucks. I'm considering putting plastic down before each kill.”

Grim huffed. “You barely helped me. As for the plastic, we already had this conversation. You can't walk up to a group of terrorists and ask them to step out of the room while you prepareitfor their demise.”

Her eyes burned with tears that they’d finished her job for her. She didn'tknowhow she would ever repay them for their kind actions.

Ginger dropped to the seat next to her on the couch and pulled her to his side. His touch only made the tears fall faster. She couldn't remember the last time she’d cried, butitseemed like the floodgates had opened.

“It'sthe adrenaline crash,” Ginger said.

“He's right,” Grim added. “Everything is about to crash down. The weight of almost dying hits some people hard after the thrill wears off.”

“Thrill?”

Grim shrugged. “Some peoplegeta thrill out of dodging death, but they still crash from the rush. Everyone handlesitdifferently.”

“I find sex helps,” Casanova said.

“You think sex helps everything,” Grim grumbled.

Rose smiled despite the tears. “I believe coffee helps any problem.”

“Then you haven't had a good orgasm.” Casanova grunted as Grim’s elbow pushed into his side.

“Always sex on his mind,” Grim said. “I think we need to talk about the Detective you punched, Ginger. While the paramedics worked on Rose outside the apartment building. I picked up a conversation between Evan and his boys in blue. He wanted them to arrest you for hitting him.”

“Who did you punch?” Rose asked, but she had afeelingitwas Evan.

“The fucker who showed up at the scene the other day,” Ginger replied. His body stiffened next to hers. “He can try and have me arrested, but Xavier will have the charges dropped. Lucas said he would dig deep into the guy's life, but I plan to give Cy the go ahead to take him down.”

“Good call,” Casanova said.

Grim rolled her eyes. “Lucas is just as good.”

Neither of the two men said a word.

Rose’s head was already fuzzy, and she didn't want to even comprehend why they needed Cy over Lucas to hack into Evan's life. She already had a call to the Chief to discuss his behavior and ask him not to be allowed at any more of her job sites. She'd done some delicate work for him in the past, the papers hadn't mentionedthe job he called her to the house to clean up. Nobody talked aboutit, but he’d called her late one night in tears and asked her to cleanup his daughter’s suicide. She’d bawled the entire time. He had promised he owed her. She never imaged she would need to call in the favor, but it was past time that she talked to the Chief about the killer. Detective Miller never believed her but the Chief would.

“Were the police going to look into who abducted me?” she asked.

“I have a meeting with the Chief tomorrow,” Ginger said.

“I'll join you.”

Ginger tensed. “I thinkit'sbetter if you stay home andgetsome rest.”

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