“We weren’t sure what to get Kendall, but wanted to get her a little something,” her dad said, keeping his voice low. “While we were looking for the tree, she mentioned that she’s an Aries and her mother was a Cancer. While we were loading the tree, your mom called Jayne at the jewelry store she likes and had a simple necklace made up with a bloodstone and a moonstone charm—the zodiac birthstones—that we’ll pick up later today.” He paused, then added with a smile, “And then of course she couldn’t resist and ordered her some clothes, too.”
Helia smiled while Collin responded that she’d like those. The mention of the gift, though, reminded her of the beard products she’d bought downtown before the dart incident. They’d taken the bag with her in the ambulance, and she’d asked her parents to bring it home. She’d somehow had the presence of mind to keep it a secret from Collin, and her mom had tucked it safely in the closet in her room.
“I need to head over to my house for a few minutes,” she said, rising from the couch and setting her hot chocolate on the side table.
Collin’s gaze shot up. “I’ll go with you.”
She frowned. She definitely didn’t want that. “It’s across the courtyard and a little beyond. I’ll be fine.”
“Still, I’ll go,” he insisted, placing a box of glass ornaments on the coffee table.
“It’s a few minutes and—” As if another reason might pop out of thin air, she looked frantically around.
“I’ll go with her,” Kendall said, walking into the room carrying a plate of cookies fresh from the oven. “And besides, you can see us the entire time, if you’re that worried,” she added,pointing to a window that would indeed give him a view of their journey.
“Is there something we should know?” her mom asked, joining the group.
Helia didn’t like putting Collin in the awkward position, but it served her purpose. He wouldn’t tell her parents anything about the upcoming DEA operation, but he also knew that he’d worry them if he insisted on going.
He rolled his lips and shot her a stern, mildly irritated but resigned look. “Fine. I’ll keep an eye on you from the window.”
“Really, should we be worried?” her dad asked.
Helia cast Collin a look, feeling a little bad leaving him to answer. She didn’t want to risk a bigger conversation, though, so she gestured to Kendall, and they slipped out the door as Collin placated her parents.
“He’s a little protective,” Kendall said as they jogged down the steps.
“Not a bad thing, considering. But when I need to sneak his Christmas present back to my parents’ so I can wrap and pack it, it’s not ideal,” she conceded.
They chatted quietly as they made their way to her water tower house, stopping to wave at the window before stepping in.
“Two minutes is all I need,” Helia said to Kendall as she headed to the stairs. The girl nodded and wandered over to the fireplace to examine the pictures on the mantel.
Stepping into her room, she stilled. The air was off, and her skin rippled with awareness. Scanning the space, she saw nothing amiss. Except maybe the bed. She always left her comforter smooth, but now a large wrinkle ran down the middle. And the pillows lay askew. Slowly, she turned in a circle, cataloging the space. When nothing else jumped out at her, she decided Collin’s unease, and the earlier break-in, were making her jumpy.
Walking to the closet, her eyes caught on the curtains. She stopped again and stared. She closed her curtains when she slept, but other than those nighttime hours, she kept them open.
With her mind focused on whether it meant anything that they were closed—as she couldn’t remember definitively if she’d left them open—the familiar squeak of her bedroom door closing startled her. She spun, ready to laugh at herself for overreacting, but froze as the door swung nearly all the way closed. And Kelly stood on the other side, back to the wall, gun in hand.
Helia stumbled, her butt colliding with the dresser, knocking over two picture frames. One bounced against the wall before landing face down; the other clattered over the side, shattering as it hit the floor.
Her attention fixed on the gun. She’d never actually seen one up close before, but thoughts of Kendall squeezed in there, too. She hoped the noise alerted her that something was very wrong and that she managed to slip out of the house.
“Who were you talking to?” Kelly asked.
Helia could think fast on her feet when faced with a calamity at any one of the events she organized, but in this? With a gun in her face? She stumbled. “Huh?”
“You were talking when you walked in. Is there someone downstairs I need to take care of?” Kelly hissed.
Terror for Kendall had her answering with the first thing that came to mind. “I was talking to myself.” Lame, but she had to go with it. “Grumbling. Collin didn’t want me to come alone. He was being overbearing. I was grumbling about that to myself.” She paused, fixated on the weapon pointed her way. “I guess I should have listened to him.”
Kelly eyed her but didn’t say anything. Three seconds passed, then she started forward. Helia took a tiny step back, all that the dresser would allow, frantically searching for a way to defend herself. The crocheted bowl she kept odds and ends in and thepuffy cloth frame of the remaining picture offered little help, though. Kelly stopped a few feet away, grabbed one of the ties that held the curtains back, then resumed her path forward.
Adrenaline punched through Helia at what she knew was coming. She wouldn’t go down without a fight, though, and she hoped Kendall was smart enough to slip out and book it back to the house. If Helia could hold Kelly off for even ten minutes, Kendall would bring Collin and the cops. She gave a moment’s thought to placing her trust in a twelve-year-old, but Kendall wasn’t your average preteen, and she’d rather place her faith in the girl than give it up altogether.
She’d never been in a fight before, but as soon as Kelly was close, she swung out at the arm holding the gun, then kicked out at her knee. Her former friendly acquaintance dodged both so easily, Helia realized how little she knew the social media manager. It seemed she’d barely taken a breath before Kelly’s arm was around her neck, Helia’s back to her front, and the gun pointed at her temple. She was too close for Helia to have any leverage to move, but still she struggled, clawing at Kelly’s arm and kicking back with her heel.
“You’re lucky I need you alive,” Kelly said before a searing pain ricocheted through her head, dimming her vision and swirling up a cyclone of nausea. “That’s better,” Kelly spoke again. Before Helia could clear her vision and will the nausea into submission, Kelly had her hands and feet trussed.
