Page 84 of Redd

Chapter Eighteen

Redd

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Sitting in my car,I watched the house. Nothing seemed out of place from what I could tell. I had spent the past two weeks watching, and paying attention to every detail.

Two cars were in the driveway, a small, white two door coupe, and a silver crossover. Bijou's mother always left before everyone else. Bijou had mentioned that she worked a town over, and she never came home before five at night.

Her father would come and go, leaving at all different hours. Some days, he'd bring her sister to school, others he'd let her take the bus—not that she always got on it.

I had watched her on three different occasions hide in the bushes and wait for him to leave. She'd go back in the house and hang around for a bit, until a young boy would show up and the two of them would take off. Today was one of those days.

Where the hell does she go?

It was puzzling, because she always came out of the school at the end of the day.

Fuck, I'd kill Vicki if she did something like that.

The car pulled away and I was finally starting to feel like I had some idea on the general routine of this family. They were pretty predictable for the most part. And I hadn't seen any cars that didn't belong parked nearby or making loops to keep eyes on the place.

Diablo's home was too risky to stalk. I drove by a few times, slowing a little to see if anything had changed on the outskirts of his wall since I had been there. Nothing looked different.

Bijou was getting impatient, and keeping her away from her family was going to be impossible soon. Every single day she'd have these grandiose ideas about how to contact them.

Through the mail, buying a throw-away phone, leaving small clues in places she knew they frequented.

I refused to let her. It was too dangerous.

It was hard to tell who was a part of Diablo's mass and who wasn't. Val and Dom, they were dressed to play the part, but that didn't mean there weren't others out there. People that looked no different than you and I, eagle-eyed and on the prowl for Bijou.

I was not taking that risk, and neither was she.

Driving home, I payed close attention to the cars in my rearview mirror. So far, everything had been quiet. I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

Something was coming, I could feel it.

Opening the door, I stepped inside. A wave of aroma skirted out of the kitchen and swirled around my face. Taking in a deep breath, my stomach growled.

“Hey, what are you making?”

“Bagels.” Bijou grabbed the handle on the oven and tugged it open. “They're almost done, a few more minutes.”

“They smell amazing.”

“Thanks,” she said, lifting her face to greet me with a smile. “I wasn't sure if I remembered the recipe right, but it looks like I did.” Wiping flour off her hands and onto her waist, she rested her back against the counter. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“What did you see? Did you see anyone?”

“Same as usual, your mom and dad went to work, and your sister took off with that boy again.”

Bijou's face scrunched up tight, lips crinkling with disapproval. “I can't even imagine her doing something like that. My father is going to kill her when he finds out. God, I wish I could just talk to her.” Wagging her finger, she leaned to the side and turned off the oven. “You know, if I was there, she wouldn't be doing that.”

“You don't know that.”

“Yes, I do. I'd set her ass straight.”

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