“He’s not going to pee all over, is he?” Mitch asked, taking a step back from the cat.
“I can’t guarantee anything.” Maggie smiled sweetly, and his eyebrows rose. “I’m kidding,” she said quickly. “He’s very well trained. I just need a box or something to put some litter in, and then he’ll be fine.”
He made a noise in his throat signaling his dismay.
She left him with the suitcase and wandered off. The kitchen, living, and dining rooms were all connected in a vast open floor plan. High ceilings made the area seem larger than it was, and the entire back wall was windows facing Central Park. The view couldn’t be beat and was the main reason he’d bought the place.
He didn’t know the first thing about decorating, so he’d paid someone a crap ton of money to do the décor, which had been described to him as rustic minimalist. A dark brown, leather sectional surrounded a primitive wood coffee table. On the opposite wall, a seventy-two-inch TV hung majestically.
Maggie was staring out the windows with a pensive look on her face. He truly felt for her. After what she’d been through the last week, she must be terrified, but she was holding it together remarkably well. He respected her for that.
“Pay me, and get out!” screamed a high-pitched female voice. Maggie jumped.
“Oh, here we go,” Mitch muttered. “Shut up, you mannerless fiend. Can’t you just say hello?”
“Hello,” said Harold.
Mitch did a double take, and Maggie laughed. Harold sat perched in his cage, head held high. Oliver came over to investigate.
“If I let him out, will the cat eat him?”
She rolled her eyes and ignored him. “Don’t tell me, let me guess. You hired someone to decorate, you have a cleaning service, and you don’t spend much time in these rooms.”
“All of the above. Feel free to look around. Anywhere but the last door on the left. That’s my office. Stay out of there.”
“Yes, sir.” She gave a sarcastic salute. “Where can I put my stuff? And how long do you think this will be necessary?”
“Take it to the guest bedroom. It’s the first door on the right.” He pointed in the general direction of the hallway. “Adam says they’re making headway on the case and getting closer to finding Manuel. They served a warrant on a pawnshop he was doing business with and confiscated a bunch of guns he was trafficking. I’m sure that pissed him off good. Honestly, I don’t know how long it will take, but we—Adam and I—think you should stay out of sight until he’s in custody.”
“What? No offense, but that could take forever! I’ve got to clean up my place. I’ve got a business to run, patients to see. I can’t just disappear for who knows how long!”
“Is all that more important than your life?” Mitch raised his voice. “Manuel is not someone to fuck around with, Maggie. He’s dangerous and crazy and does not want to get caught. And if he does get caught, he most certainly does not want to know there’s an eyewitness to his armed robbery standing by to testify against him. He’d have no problem eliminating you. But I’m not going to let that happen.”
There was a long pause while he let that sink in.
“What about you?” she asked softly.
“What about me?”
“You’re also an eyewitness he won’t want around. You’re in just as much danger as I am, even more.”
Mitch sighed. He and Adam had already had this discussion. She was right. The two of them were a threatManuel would not take chances on. If—scratch that—whenhe was captured, Mitch had no doubt there were already contingency plans in place to have the two of them killed.
That was the irony.Afterthey finally had Manuel in custody was when the danger to them would begin in earnest. The problem was, Mitch wasn’t confident he would wait until he was caught to make the kill order. It was entirely possible he’d already decided on a preemptive strike.
“I know. I’m going to work as hard as I can to catch this son of a bitch and then deal with anyone he sends after me. After us.” His tone softened, and the reality of what they were facing sank in. Her eyes filled with tears.
“I won’t let anyone hurt you, Maggie. I promise you that.” He put his hands on her shoulders, and she straightened.
“I know. I trust you. I’m not afraid, just frustrated. This sucks!”
“Being stuck with me, you mean?” He smiled. “I’ll try to keep the asshole level down to a two or so.”
She laughed. “Ugh, I have no doubt putting up with you will be a pain, but I meant having to rearrange my whole life and having no freedom. Can I even go out running?”
“I have a treadmill.”
“I’ll take that as a no.” She walked over to her suitcase and, using both hands, began dragging it toward the hall. It was stuffed to capacity, apparently holding everything but the kitchen sink. In her defense, they had told her they didn’t know how long she’d be away. She appeared ready for anything.
