Page 36 of Always Salty

The less she knew, the better.

And not because I didn’t want her to know, but because it’d keep her safer in the end.

My house was dark and quiet by the time that I pulled into my garage and shut the door behind me.

It was always dark and quiet, but there was something off by the time I made it inside and shut the door.

Someone had been in my home and…cooked.

I rolled my eyes at the cinnamon rolls on my counter.

I moved closer so I could read the note that was set beside them.

Dima,

Vivi wanted to make these for you, and she forced me to make them in your oven so your house would smell good. Hope I didn’t overstep.

Brecken

I sighed.

Milena, Nastya, Vivi and now Brecken.

I really needed to get a better system.

Or, possibly, lock my doors.

Not that that would matter, seeing as they all had keys.

Taking one of the middle cinnamon rolls, I shoved half of it in my mouth while I headed for the shower.

I hadn’t stayed with my friend.

I’d moved positions and watched the drama unfold.

Cops and FBI agents had swarmed the location, locking everything down and pretty much forcing their way into businesses and homes to ask who’d seen anything.

None of them had, according to the news and police bands.

Once I was sure that I’d been careful enough, I headed out and hadn’t found a place to stop for a shower in twenty-four hours.

I needed a shower and sleep, fast.

After shoving the last of the roll in my mouth, I took a quick, scalding hot shower at the temperature that I noticed my girl liked to keep her water on—yes, I’d tested the temperature of her apartment’s shower when she turned the water on exactly where she liked it.

Though the water burned my skin off, I quickly acclimated enough to speed through my shower.

I did feel a lot cleaner at the temperature of hell than I did at my usual temperature, though.

I had to laugh at the scald marks on my chest and back and went to bed completely naked a couple of minutes later.

When I next opened my eyes, it was twilight, and I reached for my phone to check out the cameras.

Keely didn’t work today, but she did have plans with her friend, Dorie, again at her apartment.

I’d scoped out the place by asking Lev to get me access to the traffic cams on that street and found that the apartment Dorie and her boyfriend lived in was in the less desirable part of town.

Last night when I was reviewing the footage, I decided that I agreed with Dorie’s boyfriend.

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