Manny waited.
I palmed his shoulder. “I trust them.”
“How much do you know about them?”
Cassie had taken over as Dixie’s boss. She’d consider it her task to guard her friend’s possessions. Certainty built in me. I had to take a trip to the seventh floor. Cassie and Riordan’s apartment.
Without bidding, my mind went to the last time I was up there, and all the boxes I’d smuggled in to the apartment on the other side of the hall. Items that I’d had no business in taking, at least from anyone else’s point of view. They had to stay hidden for a while longer, or any trust I had would be dead in the water.
“Leave it with me,” I said to Manny, though I couldn’t share his concern or dedicate any thought to it now.
He let me go. Down the hall, Arran walked with Genevieve. If he saw me, there would be yet another interruption.
Out of sight, I slipped into the brick-lined stairwell and climbed.
Pressure built in me the higher I went. I had free rein of the warehouse, my access allowing entry to any area bar private ones, but I was skulking around like a thief.
Near the top of the steps, I paused and considered my options. There was no quick way to get a key from Cassie or Riordan, and I couldn’t walk through a locked door.
The fire escape. That was it. Cassie had a bad habit of taking walks on the roof. What were the odds that she’d left the gate unlocked to her and Riordan’s fire door?
I continued up to the eighth and through the access door in the stairwell, emerging on the roof. Cold wind blasted me, and the city spread out beyond the steaming vents and the low brick wall that was the only thing between me and a sheer drop. For abeat, I stared at the winding river. The bank where Karla’s body had been left. Then followed it to the harbour, where Esther had been dumped. Twisting around gave me a view downriver to the cliffs. Beyond that was the boathouse where Dixie had been left for dead.
That was why I was doing this. All my actions wore her name as justification.
My mind caught up, and I cursed myself for lingering.
Had to be quick. It was still daylight, and I couldn’t be spotted.
I crossed to the gate on the east side and swallowed a laugh of success. Open, exactly as expected. I entered the narrow cage and descended the damp metal steps down the side of the building.
At the bottom, I crouched on the grate and leaned to peer into the nearest window. There were no signs of movement within the slice of room, but that guaranteed nothing. Cassie could’ve come back upstairs. Riordan might still be in bed. The crew worked nocturnal hours.
There was only one thing for it. Twisting the handle, I swung into the apartment and shut out the day. Then I held still, stooped at the end of the hallway, out of sight of the living room.
A voice came. Riordan’s. “…you’ve got it. Though with you two following Arran and Genevieve down the aisle, you’ll be giving Cassie ideas.”
My heart pounded.
Was he on the phone? I couldn’t hear a second voice.
Cassie and Riordan’s apartment was a good size, with huge arched windows and an open-plan living room and kitchen. Coffee scented the air, along with a light perfume and something metallic, as if Cassie had been sharpening her knives.
I’d broken in at the end of the bedroom corridor. If Riordan was leaving, I’d have the place to myself. If he was sitting down to breakfast, I had to break right out again and wait.
A click came. The front door opening?
Slipping my phone from my pocket, I activated the camera and used it to peek around the corner.
Shade filled my screen.
I snatched the phone back, but the tattooed enforcer followed, his eyes wide as he took me in. I jammed my finger to my lips.
“What the fuck?” he mouthed, sheathing a blade.
I shook my head urgently.
Shade leaned back and called, “Riot?”
