Page 20 of Wanted 2
“Miss Kassandra?” he repeated.
I realized then that I must look a little odd, clutching my phone and ignoring everyone as I frantically flipped through search results.
“Has something happened?” Leonard pressed.
Like a video of just the Count’s clothes walking around in his office? Without the Count inside them? Of course, I could never show him that.
“No.” I shook my head. I had to play things cool, safe. And anyway, maybe Leonard didn’t show up on cameras, either. He did look strange, so tall and thin. “It’s been fine here, but glad to have you back.”
He nodded and didn’t say anything.
Feeling the need to fill the silence, I said, “The Count is letting Jeremy stay here for a bit, and he’s changed the rules. He allowed me my phone.” I held up my phone as if that proved I wasn’t breaking the rules. I rolled my eyes at myself and kept babbling, “It’s been interesting while you were out. Learned a few things. You know, about souffles and falconry.”
“Falconry?” Leonard’s head tilted to the side with interest.
“You’re not a Falcon-ist?” What were they called?
“Falconer?” he politely supplied the word. “Good lord, no. That sport went out of fashion a good two hundred years ago, maybe longer.”
Well, the Count hadn’t gotten the notice. The fondness in his voice couldn’t be missed when he’d spoken of Ecaterina.
“Falconry,” Leonard murmured as he returned to the chest.
I drew a steadying breath and dove back into my own business. Why was I psyching myself out? There had to be a rational explanation for the video glitches, right? Like the camera glitching out on skin color. I felt good for about two seconds before I recalled it hadn’t erasedmeat all. But then, maybe just that section of the camera hadn’t been functioning…on both cameras. Well…itcouldhappen. Couldn’t it?
Or maybe it was some kind of a laser shield over the safe that interfered with video recordings. That was a thing, wasn’t it?
“Are you certain nothing has happened, Miss Kassandra?” Leonard stood by the chest just watching me, brows furrowed in a perplexed line.
“I’m fine. Really,” I insisted, plastering a big, fake smile on my face.
My phone chose that moment to ping, announcing the arrival of a message. I didn’t have to look. I already knew who it was. But I looked anyway.
“Thirty minutes.”
I drew a sharp breath.Technically, I had longer than thirty minutes left. I had about four hours, but it didn’t really matter. I had the code. I’d give the damn thing to Don, hightail it back, pick up Jeremy and go.
The phone pinged again.
“Or else…”
Right.Again, another ping.
“Meet me here.”
A location poppedup on the screen.
Now, there was no way out.
7
Ipulled up behind the grocery store and parked my car next to a group of green, overflowing garbage dumpsters. Flies buzzed around the rotten fruit and veggies that had fallen onto the pavement. A health hazard if I’d ever seen one.
And trust Don to pick such a disgusting location…but then, it matched.
I clutched the key to the Count’s office in my hand so hard the metal grooves made angry red marks in my skin. The small slip of paper with the code to the safe burned a hole in the pocket of my jeans. I pulled it out and looked at the numbers again, though I had them memorized twice over.
I checked the location on my phone.