Touch & Go (Tessa Leoni, #2)(125)

“Naturally.”

“Three minutes,” Tessa said, and walked away.

She could feel his eyes on her back as she departed. And it wasn’t a bad thing. More like a warm, giddy feeling that promised good times to come.

Tessa reconned the house. Front door had a bolt lock and a chain. Too time-consuming. She turned her attention to a back garden door. Older, only the key-in, key-out lock, which five minutes later finally gave way to her steadily improving lock-picking skills.

She took her first step into the rear-facing kitchen, already breathing hard. Sky was lightening. Shadows disappearing. Full daylight dangerously close.

She got halfway across the peeling vinyl floor.

Then heard a floorboard creak above her head.

If that was Kate Chapman’s bedroom, she definitely wasn’t asleep anymore. Most likely, neither was Justin. A man experienced with firearms, and with at least eleven million dollars on the line…

Moving carefully now, feeling out each old, creaky floorboard…

She made it to the front door, located at the base of the main staircase. Above her, a toilet flushing. Footsteps, padding along the hall.

Don’t come down, don’t come down, don’t come down…

Easing out the chain lock. Carefully twisting the bolt lock. Then, the final twist of the knob…

The front door groaned open. Noticeably, audibly. Then, above her, silence. Total silence. And not the good kind of silence. The aware kind of silence. Justin, Kathryn, or all of the above, knew someone had arrived.

Wyatt appeared in the open doorway. He was moving cautiously, his body turned sideways, approaching from an angle to be less of a target. Tessa held up a single finger to her lips, then pointed to the ceiling. He seemed to take the hint, easing silently through the door, to join her at the base of the staircase.

“I think they know,” she murmured low. “Other egresses?”

“Fire escape,” Wyatt whispered back. “First and second floor. I might have greased the rungs. But you didn’t hear that from me.”

Tessa was impressed. Good trick for future reference.

“We gotta move fast,” she murmured.

“Isn’t Chris Lopez alive because of your previous restraint?”

She nodded.

“Then I say, he owes you one. Kathryn is his niece, after all.”

Tessa got the message. Lopez did owe her one. She made the call, then, sixty seconds later, was holding out her cell at the base of the stairs, while Lopez boomed through speakerphone:

“Kate. I know you’re awake. Now stop f*cking around and get your ass down here. I just heard what happened to Justin. Cops are gonna be here any second and we gotta get our stories in order. Come on, I’ve already been waiting…”

Total silence.

“Kate! I’m not joking around. You either talk to me, or that’s it. I’m washing my hands of this. Police come around, I’m gonna tell them all about it. Yep, my niece was sleeping with my boss. Yep, she wanted his family to go away. In fact, I actually heard her say on several occasions, if only they’d drop dead…”

A woman’s voice suddenly, from the top of the staircase. “Uncle Chris?”

“Duh!”

“You sound funny.”

“I’m screaming up a goddamn staircase. Throw on some clothes and get down here.”

Tessa could hear floorboards now, as well as low, indistinct murmuring. She was holding her breath. Slowly, she forced herself to release it, keep a light grip on her firearm.

Then, the first floorboard creaking.

“Uncle Chris?”

Tessa moved her phone slightly, cued Lopez.

“In the kitchen,” he called over speakerphone.

Another stair groaning. Tessa and Wyatt easing back into the shadows of the landing.

Kathryn Chapman appeared moments later. She wasn’t in pajamas, but already clad in jeans and a tailored navy blue top. The kind of clothes, Tessa thought, you might wear to board a plane.

The girl turned toward the kitchen, and just like that, Wyatt stepped forward, slapped his palm around her mouth and dragged her back.

Kathryn’s face paled, her blue eyes widening into saucers. She spotted Tessa and, far from being reassured, struggled even more. Which told Tessa a couple of things, such as Kathryn clearly viewed her as the opposition, and as such, during their first conversation, had most likely lied through her teeth.

“He’s up there, isn’t he?” Tessa murmured now.

Kathryn attempted to shake her head, though Wyatt’s thick arm held her in place.

“He’s told you he’s taking you away. Got some money set aside.”

Kathryn didn’t try to respond, just flushed.

“Forget for an instant that the man has betrayed his own wife. He’s also betrayed his only child. This is the guy you want to run away with?”

Kathryn’s gaze turned mutinous, which Tessa took to mean yes.

Clearly, no help from this woman. So Tessa went with plan B. She opened her mouth and screamed at the top of her lungs.

“No, Mick. Don’t hurt me. I don’t know where he is. Mick! No, no, no! Mick!”

Footsteps, hard and fast. Justin Denbe responding to the evil mercenary’s name and springing into action. Hammering down the stairs. Careening into the foyer, pistol at his side, already in a crouched position in the open doorway.