“Or we couldnotplay with a psychopath,” Cass suggested.
“That’s boring,” Harmony said.
“Do you really want their attention on you?”
“It seems they already see me.”
“You always play with fire. I hate it,” Cass grumbled. “If you do respond, I vote for,lose my number, psycho.”
“Nah, that’s too on the nose.” Harmony smiled. “I prefer a lot more foreplay.”
Cass groaned. “You’re not allowed to flirt or play with a potential murderer.”
“Then you’d better entertain me.”
“Challenge accepted,” Cass said, pointing toward the waterfront. “I’ll race you to the Glenmore turnaround. Loser buys lunch.”
Harmony arched her brow. “I’m driving. I’ll clearly win.”
“I said what I said.”
They slid through traffic, laughter bright, not nearly worried enough for two women who might already be marked as prey, sights lined up on their backs. But backing down wasn’t in either of them. They might as well laugh while they were still alive.
They parked and climbed out. Cass hopped onto the low wall, arms out like a girl on an imaginary tightrope. “Tell me something true.”
“Gravity works.”
“Something emotional.”
Harmony joined her on the wall. Together, they looked like a postcard of women who should have fewer secrets. “I don’t know who I’d be if I stopped listening.”
Cass lowered her arms. “Then don’t stop. Just remember to tell me whatever you hear.”
Harmony’s phone vibrated again. Three new messages stacked like waves.
You aren’t safe.
Safe is a story scared people tell themselves so they can sleep at night.
You love being a part of this.
Cass exhaled. “Okay, that’s it. We’re going to the police.”
“To say what? That someone has discovered modern technology?” Harmony slid the phone away as if it were hot. “Screenshots and shrugs?”
“We tell them you’re being threatened.”
Harmony glanced over her shoulder at a couple strolling hand-in-hand. “Threats need air to be real. I’m not giving them mine.”
Cass dropped down from the wall. “You’re stubborn as hell.”
“I’m efficient. Besides, the messages are useful.”
“How?”
“They tell me what the sender wants me to feel.” Harmony brushed dust from her palms. “And what someone wants is almost always where they’re weakest.”
Cass made a face. “Please stop sounding like a therapist with a knife hidden in her boot.”
