Jeff stroked his son’s hair. “She knows. But maybe she wants to live alone.”
“Why?”
“Some people like it better.” Jeff didn’t want to get Evan’s hopes up. Besides, Evan might be enamored of Tara now, but that didn’t mean he understood the long-term ramificationsof Jeff’s getting serious about a woman. He was an impulsive four-year-old. He might decide tomorrow that he wanted his dad all to himself forever. “And her home is in Virginia. She might not want to move to Colorado.”
“We could live in Virj-neeya.”
Jeff half laughed, half sighed. Everything was simple when you were a kid, wasn’t it? “We’ll see.”
“We can ask her when she comes back.”
“I love your enthusiasm, but maybe we should wait a few days, okay? Give her some time to get used to us.” He glanced at his watch. Shouldn’t she have returned already? Her purse sat on the small desk built into the wall, so she was definitely still around.
“She’s not back yet?” Dad asked with a frown as he strode into the room.
“Maybe she’s reading on the toilet,” Evan said.
Jeff laughedin spite of himself. “Could be, peanut. I’m sure she’s fine.”
He checked his watch again, the back of his neck prickling. Under normal circumstances, he might not think her absence was a big deal. Maybe she’d wanted to stretch her legs, or she was on a phone call. But right now life was hardly normal. Underthesecircumstances, Tara would know he’d worry about her. He riffled through her purseand found her toiletry bag, wallet, and iPhone. “All she has with her is her burner phone, so she’s not fixing her makeup or buying food.”
“Call her.” Dad glanced at Evan with a quick smile. “Maybe she got lost. This place is confusing.”
Jeff tipped his head in acknowledgment, pulling out the phone to dial. “Come on, Tara.” He let it ring until it went to voicemail. He left a quick message,not at all confident she’d get it. “Hey, kiddo,” he said to Evan, keeping his voice as even as possible. There was a chance he was overreacting. “You think she’s lost?”
The boy scrunched up his face in thought and then declared, “Probably. Maybe she’s not good at directions.”
“Could be.” Jeff glanced at his dad, who gave him a slight nod.
Evan’s brow wrinkled. “She might be scared.” He tightenedhis grip on Pickles. “I get scared whenI’mlost.”
“Me too.”
“You do?” Evan’s eyes widened.
Jeff nodded.
“Can you go find her?”
He kissed his son’s forehead. “I’m on it.”
Keep her talking. Tara needed to distract this madwoman until someone came looking for her, or she figured out how to turn the tables.
“What do you want from me?” Tara asked.
Did she have anything on hershe could use as a weapon? A means of distraction? Only her burner phone—which the woman hadn’t let her answer when it rang a minute before—and she’d probably get shot before she reached it anyway. Everything in the tastefully appointed gray bathroom was bolted to the wall. The only loose object within reach was a short stack of paper towels that had fallen from the dispenser.
“I’d like foryou to finally die.” The incognito blonde kept the gun trained on Tara’s torso as she sidestepped to the door and turned the deadbolt.
Shit. So much for a serendipitous interruption.Think, Tara. Blood rushed in her ears and her fingers tingled. She’d had worse odds before. The woman was taller—not to mention armed with a deadly weapon—but Tara had a few skills.
“You might want to reconsider.I gave the police the things you touched. Your fingerprints are bound to be on something.” Tara shifted an inch closer to the stalls. “My money’s on the envelope. Did you know paper holds fingerprints really well?” She’d read that somewhere recently. “Turns out the oils in your finger just soak right in and won’t rub off like on glass or plastic.”
The blonde’s eyes narrowed. “It won’t matter.I can make evidence magically disappear.” She said it with such confidence. Whether or not it was true, she seemed to believe it, which made her dangerous as hell.
Tara raised an eyebrow and tried to keep her breath steady. “Really? How?”
Blondie gave her an indulgent look. “When you have enough money and power, you can do just about anything.”
