We were all sensing the samewrongnessabout this. None of them knew that I’d laid down the law with Addie, but they were all on my side.
When the clock reached the first half’s two-minute warning, Sutton stood suddenly.
“I’m going to get hot chocolate,” she said to no one in particular, not waiting for a response before climbing up to the concourse level and disappearing.
Trey’s team held off Wallace’s drive, heading into the locker room at halftime with a two-touchdown lead. Shortly after the teams left the field, Addie got to her feet.
“I should get back to my team before they send out a search party,” she said with a laugh, then bent to hug my mom. “Thanks for letting me hang out for a bit. It was great seeing you all.”
“You too, Addie,” Mama said, oozing good manners. “Don’t be a stranger.”
Addie hummed noncommittally and left—without having looked at or spoken a word to me.
eighteen
. . .
Addie couldn’t help grinningto herself as she walked purposefully up the stadium stairs to the concourse level. Her plan to ingratiate herself with Lane’s family was going swimmingly, if she did say so herself. Birdie Lawless was eating out of the palm of her hand, and she was confident the rest of the family would come around in due time.
Including Lane, once she got rid of the pesky little problem that was Sutton Rausch. She was willing to chalk up his outburst from the night before as nothing more than a tiny little blip on their radar.
As though all the higher powers in the universe were looking over her, guiding her on her mission, Addie’s gaze landed on the rat in question when she reached the concourse, which was filled with people getting snacks from concessions or visiting the spirit stores set up with merch from each state championship team.
Sutton was straight ahead, where one of the concessions workers handed her a hot chocolate. Sutton tapped her credit card against the reader, slipped her mittens back on, and thanked the worker before walking away—in the opposite direction of where the Lawless family sat below in the stands.
Interesting.
The last thing Addie needed was to draw attention to herself, not when her entire plan hinged on remaining as far removed from trouble as possible until the time came to reveal herself. Theperfectopportunity she’d spent over a month planning for. Plotting every eventuality down to its most minute details until she was certain she could not fail.
It really paid to be a cop.
Still, she couldn’t resist trailing after Sutton, wondering where she was going and why she wasn’t immediately returning to Lane’s side.
If it was Addie, she wouldneverleave him.
That was merely one of the reasons why Sutton didn’t deserve him.
It had given Addie a generous thrill when Sutton had gotten up and left not long after her arrival, as though she couldn’t bear to witness them together.
The concourse level of the stadium was a giant oval that traced the outline of the field itself, allowing event attendees to walk in a loop without stopping. Of course, some parts were busier than others, and when they reached a stretch with no one around, Addie saw an opportunity to toy with Sutton.
Her body hummed with energy at the idea of hurting the other woman, but she stopped, slipping into the entrance of a women’s bathroom, blocking Sutton’s view of her. And not a moment too soon, either, as Sutton stalled and glanced over shoulder, as if sensing she was being followed. Sutton even went so far as to take a step in Addie’s direction before pausing, shaking her head as if tossing away the strange sensation of being watched, and proceeded in the other direction.
Addie crept out from her hiding place and followed.
In the early days of her career, when she’d been a regular old state trooper before joining the FBI, Addie had spent a lotof time at this stadium providing game day security. That was, of course, before she’d risen in the ranks. They handed out gameday jobs to the lower rungs of the power structure, putting rookies on what was essentially babysitting duty, not giving them a shot at meatier cases until they proved themselves.
Addie hadn’t minded, though. She enjoyed football, and the free food and gameday atmosphere were nice perks.
Thanks to all the time spent here, she’d become incredibly familiar with the layout, with all of its nooks and crannies.
There were so many blind spots along this concourse, and so many unused storage closets. It wouldn’t take much to sneak up on Sutton and easily knock her out before shoving her into one of those spaces. The corridor around them was abandoned. No one would see her or even guess it was her.
Well, no one except Lane. Her man was an incredible cop, and it wouldn’t take long for him to put the pieces together.
But Addie couldn’t risk it.
In that moment, Addie wanted so badly to end her, to kill Sutton and be done with it.
