“Good, until I saw Xavier yesterday. Duke doesn’t believe me, and neither does Grace. She told me to go see a therapist—a fucking therapist. You believe that?”
I had to tread lightly here because his friend Xavier Belson had been lost on a mission, KIA. “Nothing wrong with seeing a guy who looks like Xavier.”
“I tell you, It was him.”
I figured I had maybe one chance at this. “Pete, I saw the after-action report. Xavier didn’t make it back.”
“You too? I tell you, he’s running some covert op. He’s here in LA. I saw him.”
Trying the same thing a second time would not help the situation, so I went a different direction. “An op? What kind?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”
“Copy that. Let me know if I can help.”
When we hung up, I sighed with yet another problem hanging over me. I had my own issues and wasn’t equipped to provide the help Pete obviously needed.
Peyton
My hands shookas I cupped them under the water of the faucet. After the fourth rinse, I finally cleared the puke taste out of my mouth. Determined to be stronger, I stood up straight and cleared my head with several deep breaths.
He wanted to prey on my fear. That’s why he’d sent the note. To feel strong, he needed me to act weak. Well, fuck that.
I was smart enough to be afraid of him, but I was determined not to let my fear become desperation.
“Beg me to spare you. Beg for your life, like Cassandra did,” he’d demanded in Atlanta.
It had made me even more determined not to give in, not to break. I’d beaten him once in Atlanta, and I would do it again and escape. I would leave LA, and I would survive. I would not give in or give up and feed his ego.
In the mirror, I noticed a few strands of hair on my left side had been unlucky enough to get some barf caught in them.
The restroom door opened suddenly. “My God,” Marci croaked. “What happened?”
The smell of vomit in the small space made it impossible to lie about puking my guts out, but I couldn’t possibly tell anyone it had been the flowers and that awful note that made me upchuck. “I really shouldn’t have had the leftover tuna casserole this morning.” I leaned over to rinse the ends of my hair.
“Maybe you should go home and rest.” Marci remained in the doorway.
I needed an escape plan first, and being here among people was safe for the time being, especially with Terry in the office. The monster wouldn’t dare show himself here. “Nah, I feel better now.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ll consider it if things go bad again. Besides, I’m staying with March for a night or two, and I don’t have a key.”
“Oh yeah.” She grimaced. “You poor thing. Grace told me what happened. That’s terrible. I can’t imagine how violated you must feel after someone broke into your home.”
Shaking my head, I worked on the ends of my hair. “I don’t recommend it.” Having my escape money stolen the day before I needed it sure rated as a ten on the violation scale. Hair ends rinsed, I straightened and moved to the paper towel dispenser.
Grace appeared behind Marci. Catching my eye, she smiled. “I saw those flowers. They’re lovely.”
“I put them in a vase for you,” Marci clarified, as she moved out of the way for Grace. “You’ll need to add water.”
“Thanks,” I answered, drying my hair with some paper towels.
Grace walked in and immediately wrinkled her nose. “Upset stomach?”
“Food poisoning,” Marci answered for me. “Leftover tuna casserole.”
“Do you want to take the rest of the day?”
