Page 57 of Olivia

Anna stood, needing to move before grief wrapped its hands around her neck.

She needed to go to the warehouse—she needed to know if there was a lower basement.

She needed to know if she could trust Jackson.

Her eyes dropped to her watch, and she knew she had the safety of the darkness.

Diaz was at Sloan’s, and now was as good a time as any.

She grabbed her car keys and headed out, her entire body trembling.

It was a risk going to the warehouse—but she had to know, and to do that, she needed to play it smart. Maybe this was part of Jackson’s plan and she was walking straight into a trap.

She reversed out of her driveway and lowered the garage door, hoping she wasn’t making the biggest mistake of her life.

But she had to know.

ANNA

Anna’s eyes bounced between the mirrors and the road, never stopping the entire way to the warehouse. She parked six blocks from the warehouse and entered the pancake diner, sliding into a booth before pulling her book out of her bag.

This wasn’t unusual for her. Sometimes she sat in the diner and read for hours, ordering coffees just so the owner didn’t kick her out because he needed the table. Before she’d leave she’d place a large take-out order to pay her dues for the loss of business she’d created by sitting at his table for hours on end drinking coffee. After the first few times, he’d never insinuated she leave again.

She looked up at Molly as she walked toward Anna in her pale yellow, striped uniform. “I haven’t seen you for a few weeks,” Molly said as she came to a stop at the table.

Anna smiled. “I know; I’ve been busy. How have you been? How is your daughter?”

A smile lit up Molly’s face—a beautiful, innocent smile. “She started school this week. I don’t know where the years have gone. When she was a newborn, everyone told me to slow down and enjoy every stage of her life, because time would go so fast and I’d never have that time with her again. But like all mothers—especially those with their first child, I think—I felt overwhelmed. I had no idea what I was doing, I was stressed out and worried constantly.” She shook her head. “Now, I would give anything to go back to those days, when it was just us—her sweet little body cradled in my arms. No matter what we’re doing, time is the most precious asset we have.” She smiled at Anna. “Speaking of time, I need to talk less and do more work,” she said with a laugh. “The usual order?”

Time.

Anna forced a smile, finding herself yet again envious. First of Becky, and now of Molly—of the normal, sometimes mundane, lives that they lived. A life Anna had sacrificed for her mission to find Olivia and enact revenge.

Anna had sacrificed the last three years, and she’d do it over again, but now she couldn’t help but question if there was a faster way to do this. She remembered Jackson’s words:Two is always better than one.Was he right? Could she trust him? She’d soon know if he was playing her or not, and then she could make her decision.

“The usual order?” Molly repeated, eyeing Anna curiously.

She’d been so lost in her thoughts she’d forgotten to answer. This was what happened when her mind was on Jackson—she made mistakes.

“Yes, the usual, please,” Anna said. “I need to make a phone call, I might be a little while, but don’t give away my food or my table,” she said with a smile.

“It’s your table, Anna. I promise,” she said, as she scribbled on her order pad and then walked to the kitchen to clip the ticket on the rack for the cooks.

Anna left her book on the table so if anyone came looking for her, it would look like she’d stepped outside quickly. She used the back entrance, her heart pounding in her chest. Biting cold air hit her as she stepped outside, but at least it made her alert. Her eyes swept over the empty parking lot as she brought her phone to her ear, pretending she was on a call while pacing in a circle, then seemingly absentmindedly moving toward the paths that led into the woods behind the diner. She felt eyes on her, but she didn’t know if it was paranoia. She didn’t turn back, though—she slipped into the woods and crouched low in a bush for a few minutes to see if anyone followed. When they didn’t, she kept low, creeping through the trees and staying off the path. These trees connected to the back of the warehouse, where she’d sat watching the Feds wheel out the barrels.

Anna slowed as she neared the warehouse. It loomed in the dark like an evil shadow in the night. Using the trees for cover, she darted to the west wall of the warehouse. The back of her neck tingled and adrenaline raced through her veins.

She paused, listening for any noise inside, but she knew Diaz wouldn’t send his men back here—there was nothing left. This warehouse would be sold soon, Diaz never to return to it. She pulled a key from her pocket and unlocked the padlock, sliding the door open.

It seemed impossibly loud, like a siren in the night.

It was so dark she couldn’t see her own feet, but she pulled the door shut, her breath an echo in the empty warehouse.

Anna turned on her flashlight and swept it over the concrete floors. She paused on the steel staircase and railing where she’d first met Jackson—well,metwas a stretch. Where she’d first landed a fist to his jaw was more correct.

But she didn’t have time to gloat about that. She moved toward the stairs that led to the basement. The back of her neck tingled. Everything felt wrong—creepy—like the ghosts of the people Diaz had killed lingered here, watching her.

She took the stairs two at a time.

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