Page 11 of Deadly Designs

Aja Blue punched the off button andstared at the phone in her hand. She couldn’t believe Christian wascoming to Virginia. She’d called him on a whim, thinking she couldask for his advice. Instead, he was dropping everything to get toher. Aja Blue’s heart skipped a beat.

Wow, she was excited to see him again. She needed toknow if the feelings she’d experienced after their brief encounterwere still there.

Horror struck as she realized what she currentlylooked like. She had just been on a plane and driven straight tothe office. She needed a shower and a change of clothes butcouldn’t go home. Thankfully, she had her luggage and thenecessities to clean up. She’d bathe at Jay’s apartment. Aja Bluehad planned to stop by his place anyway since she hadn’t been ableto reach him on the phone.

A sensation of unease washed over her. She hadn’tspoken to Jay since she’d left for Arizona a week ago. When she’dcalled the office, Sara Lea told her Jay had texted that he wastaking time off for personal reasons. Aja Blue figured he washiding from the cops. She’d hoped he was working on the Sinclairproject while he was away, but if he’d needed to be by himself,that was fine too. There was plenty of time to finish the poolhouse design.

Aja Blue thought about the wrinkled clothes in hersuitcase and decided to hit her favorite boutique. Before shestarted her car, she called the office.

“Aja Blue Designs. How may I help you?”

“Sara Lea, it’s Aja Blue.”

“Hey, boss. Are you still in Arizona?”

“No. I’m back but won’t be in until tomorrow. How arethings there?”

“Good. Quiet.”

“Is there anything pressing I need to take care ofright now?”

“No. We’ve got everything handled.”

“Great. Is Jay there?”

“No. He’s still out.”

Aja Blue’s brows bunched. She thought he’d be back bynow. “Have you heard from him?”

“Not since he took off last week.”

“Okay. Call or text if anything comes up. If you hearfrom Jay, tell him to call me immediately.”

“Will do.”

Aja Blue checked her surroundings before driving outof the parking lot. She didn’t spot anyone following her, so sheheaded to the boutique. Once inside, she browsed the selections,deciding on a floral sundress. She even found a cute pair ofmatching sandals. And,oops,that bottle of lovely-smellingperfume practically fell into her shopping basket with minimalprovocation. So did the dangly earrings that perfectly complimentedher new outfit.

Aja Blue thanked the owner after she packed herpurchases in a fashionable black and white striped bag with theshop’s logo. She slid her sunglasses on as she exited the store andcame to an abrupt stop.

“Hey, watch where you’re going, lady.”

She muttered an apology to the teenager on askateboard who almost ran her over. Aja Blue stared in disbelief asJohnny Cash peered into the window of her SUV. How the heck had hefound her here?

Ducking behind a parked car, she almost hit the alarmbutton on her key fob to scare him away, but something caught hereye instead. She hurried down the block. “Excuse me, officer. Ithink that man over there has been breaking into cars.”

“Where?”

She pointed to Johnny, who was still cupping hishands around his face trying to look through her tintedwindows.

“Stay here, ma’am,” the cop ordered with anaccompanying hand gesture. He spoke into a microphone clipped tohis shoulder and gripped his weapon before checking for traffic andcrossing the street. Aja Blue ignored his command and inchedcloser.

Johnny’s head jerked up when the cop ordered him tostep away from the vehicle, and his hands shot into the air. AjaBlue felt not the least bit sorry as the cop pointed his gun atJohnny and motioned for him to back up against his police cruiser.She almost let out a maniacal laugh as the cop frisked him. Sheused the distraction to jump into her SUV and motor away.Thankfully, Johnny and the cop were behind her, so she didn’t haveto pass him and see his expression. She was sure he was irate.

Aja Blue’s hands shook as she flipped on her blinkerand turned down the road to Jay’s apartment. Her eyes flew to therear-view mirror every few seconds, looking for suspicious carsbehind her. Johnny would likely be occupied for a while, but thatdidn’t mean he was doing this alone. He might have a sidekick. Ifhe did, they weren’t following her, but she was no expert onclandestine operations.

Using her onboard voice command, Aja Blue instructedit to contact Jay, and the call instantly kicked to voicemail, asit had every time she’d tried reaching him since she’d landed inVirginia. The niggling worry that had hovered since she hadn’t beenable to get in touch with him blossomed into a full-blown panic.She understood the need for time away, but he wasuncontactable.

Aja Blue parked in a visitor’s space at his apartmentcomplex. Jay’s building, located six blocks from the beach, hadseen better days. Jay liked it because he could walk to restaurantsand bars, and the rent was reasonable. That was because itresembled a World War II bunker with no frills or noticeable curbappeal.

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