I chuckled back at her. “No. Hey, listen, though. I need to give you a heads up. Remember when I said that we thought a cop might be watching the place, but then it turned out to be a false alarm?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, it’s seeming less and less like a false alarm,” I said, my heart pounding. “I’m gonna look into that before I come up, so just don’t make any sudden movements or anything.”
She hummed. “I probably should quit walking around naked, then, huh?”
A jolt of excitement shot through my body and straight down to my groin. “Don’t play games.”
She laughed. “I’m fine, Ash. Blinds are closed, no unnecessary lights on. I know the drill.”
“Good. I’ll be there soon.”
“Okay. See you then. Bye.”
“Bye.”
I hung up the phone, then waited. I refused to turn on any music or even turn my AC up too high. Even though the phone would reverberate through the entire car if it rang, something about sitting in silence while I anticipated a call from the soldier just felt better to me.
As much as I wanted to be wrong, I fully expected to receive a call immediately after I hung up with Denise. It was so shocking when I didn’t receive one that I almost considered calling the soldier back, just to see what was going on. It just didn’t strike me as plausible that our new use of the safe house had attracted natural attention that quickly. Someone had tipped the place off, and given that it wasn’t me, it was difficult to convince myself that it wasn’t Denise.
She was smart, though, smarter than I could ever hope to be. Those random, flirtatious comments on the phone, it was almost like she was trying to soften me up. Maybe she guessed that I was fishing. If she did, she’d know enough to tell the copnotto leave, that if he did, it’d be obvious to me that they were working together.
Fuck.
I’d let my dad and Arturo get in my head, and I didn’t know what was right anymore. I wished there was a way to confirm that Denise wasn’t working with the police, but I had no idea what that way might be.
Finally, I pulled up to the safe house and spied the darkened, unmarked squad car across the street a few cars down. The man inside looked young, with short black hair and glasses. The kind of cop I hated most, an arrogant one who thought he was ten steps ahead of the game. Screw a steak and potatoes meal. I feasted on being able to show those cops that they were no different from any other blue boy running around, chasing wispy leads. This was different, though. This was a possible coup, and I needed to play my cards right.
I kept my eyes forward as I parked, but he’d noticed my car pull up and was watching it, waiting to see who got out. My windows were tinted, not that it lowered suspicion, so to speak, but he couldn’t see me upon arrival. I waited for an opportunity to hop out and walk into the building, but he was no dummy. He kept his eyes dead set on my car and was damn near unblinking. I pressed the button to call the soldier back, and he answered immediately.
“Hey, boss.”
“Hey. I pulled up, but he’s got his eyes on me. I need you to run him off somehow or block him.”
“I got it. You’ll know,” he said, and the line went dead.
Several minutes had passed, and I was starting to get annoyed when, suddenly, a trail of white vans with a famous Chicago construction company’s logo on the side double-parked in a line, blocking the line of sight between the cop parked on the street and me. Confident that I wouldn’t be seen going into the building, I climbed out of the car, taking all of my stuff with me, and I quickly slipped to the building and through the front door. I sent a quick text once I was inside, thanking the soldier and telling him to give it another five or ten minutes before he pulled off, and then I made my way over to the elevator and took it up to the top floor where the studio safe house was located.
The door was unlocked when I got there, so I let myself in. I started to call out, but I heard Denise’s voice and stopped.
“I know, Mama. I’m working on it. It’s gonna take some time. I’ve got a few irons in the fire here, and hopefully, I’ll be free to leave soon.” She paused, listening. “Cali is great. I’m glad you’re gonna be back around some family.” Another pause. “I will. I’ll be with you there soon, I promise.”
Though I could only hear half of the conversation, the half I could hear didn’t make me comfortable. Irons in the fire? Leaving soon? Cali? Just exactly what was Denise planning?
“Okay, Mama, I’ll talk to you soon. I love you, too. Bye.” Denise walked around the corner from the bathroom and jumped a little, but then she smiled. “Oh, hey. I didn’t hear you come in.”
Maybe it was the stress of the pressure from my dad. Maybe it was not knowing how that cop outside found our safe house. Maybe it was something else altogether, but I snapped. My hand went to my waistband, and I grabbed my gun and pulled it out. I pulled it up and pointed it at Denise, cocking it as I did so.
“Are you working with the police?”
Denise looked as if I had just slapped her across the face. “What!”
“I risked,” I started, taking steps toward her, “my life, getting you a second chance. My dad is about ready to murder me just for continuing to back you, so I need you to tell me straight-up, right now. Are you working with the police?”
Denise’s bewildered expression faded, leaving an angry one in its wake. “Why would I be working with the police? What have theyeverdone for someone like me?”
“I don’t know. Maybe you feel like you’re out of options. Looking for help from an unusual place?”
