I wonder if she’s come to try to do it again.
With a haggard sigh, I nod at Kri in confirmation. “Yep. That’s her.”
“Aaron hasn’t made contact with her yet, but he’s keeping an eye on her for us. Neither he nor the lobby guard confirmed whether you’re here yet.”
“She’s just hanging out in the lobby?” I scratch my head. Literally and figuratively.“I’m confused. Why didn’t she just come up in the elevator?”
Reed and I bypassed the lobby each time, going straight to the resident-only door that empties into the parking garage. Apparently, the building is more secure than I realized. Or maybe Kenzie doesn’t know which floor Reed’s unit is on.
“Visitors must show ID,” Kri states as if that should explain everything.
I tip my head, intensifying my gaze to prod her to continue.
“Not only did Kenzie refuse to fork over her ID, but she won’t tell the guard her name. Now they’re having a standoff.”
“Why am I not surprised? That’s classic Kenzie.”
I massage my temples to keep the burgeoning headache at bay.
But the headache is downstairs, ardently trying to force her way into a somewhat secure building by sheer intimidation and persistence.
“Listen, Lila. It isn’t my place to say this, but I get the feeling she isn’t gonna stop until she sees you. Whatever beef you two have, she seems genuinely worried. Her texts are a smattering of apologies and concern about your safety. Maybe it’ll be easier to bite the bullet, give her proof of life, then send her away.”
Level ten thousand nonsense sputters out of me. “Sure. But first, can you get my ding-dong popsicles out of the dishwasher? I need to floss before we have cake.”
For five seconds, Kri’s face freezes like she’s buffering. Then she arches one eyebrow and looks me up and down suspiciously, probably wondering if I’m a threat to national security.
Oh boy.Even those familiar with my chaos would stumble to handle that whopper. I probably should’ve given her a warning about this side of me. Either that or warmed her up first. Perhaps a mention of ninja fairies in the garden before I leveled up to the popsicles.
Attempting to play it off, I casually toss, “Reed didn’t warn you about this, did he?”
“He did not.” Her shrewd eyes soften incrementally. “Should I be concerned?”
“Not at all. Assuming you also hear the voices, I’m totally fine.” I lean close, cup my mouth, and whisper, “Youdohear them, right?”
“Do you need medical intervention?”
And here we have my whimsical distraction technique in all its glory. Do you see why I will never stop living the nonsense life?
Neither of us is worried about Kenzie right now. Mission accomplished!
While I could lean into the distraction, I should probably cut my bodyguard a break.This spitfire can probably wrestle me to the ground and hog tie me without breaking a nail. I’d already given up hope of making her my new bestie, but I’d rather not end up restrained.
Not by her, anyhow. Reed and I can discuss a different type of bondage later.
But I digress.
Kri’s probably right about Kenzie, anyhow. She’s relentless. It’s best to get this over with.
I wipe the lunacy out of my expression and smile warmly. “I’m only kidding, Kri. That’s just this silly thing I do when I want to distract someone.”
Her unfairly strong yet feminine shoulders sag with relief. “And I fell right into your trap.”
I pat her upper arm comfortingly, only partially distracted by her muscles. “Don’t feel bad. Most people do. And even those who don’t fall for it end up smiling. So that’s a win.”My phone chirps with another incoming message. “Good gravy. Here she is again. Kenzie, the persistent.”
Kri studies me silently as I read more from the string of messages I missed while in dreamland. Or unconscious. Sedated? Whatever you want to call that coma sleep I just had.
I close my eyes and squeeze my cell like it personally wronged me. “You’re right. She won’t stop until she gets her way.” I plop the phone on the bed and stride to the bathroom. “Let me freshen up, and we can go down to get her.”
