The Dangerous Thief (Stolen Hearts #3)(48)
When she didn’t say anything, Stan went on. “I know you want something. Isn’t that all you do? Drink?”
“I can kill him,” said James into her ear.
Willa covered her mouth with a palm so Stan wouldn’t see her smile.
“Don’t worry, Wil. He’s going to get his in just a few seconds.”
Wil? Was that her nickname now? Was that hot? Will was a guy’s name but it was James saying it. James could probably call her Bruce and she’d get turned on. When Stan’s cell phone started to ring, she stared intently before she realized she probably shouldn’t be staring. Too late. He’d picked it up and thanks to the earpiece, she could hear both sides of the conversation.
“Who is this?” asked Stan as soon as he answered.
“Hello, Mr. White,” said Toni in a high-pitched voice that was barely recognizable. “My name is Traci Lords. I work with the OnStar service for your vehicle and we have picked up some erratic driving.”
“What? There’s no one driving erratically. I’m not even in the car.”
“Oh. Can you verify that the car is where you left it? Otherwise I’d be more than happy to alert the police—”
Stan was already running to the nearest window and Willa ran too because this was truly a moment to savor. And there was Stan’s precious, precious car doing doughnuts in the street.
“Wow,” said Willa. “I guess they have big balls, huh?”
The ball comment was too much. A look of horror crossed his face as he started to back away. “You!” He pointed a finger. “You did this to Delilah.”
She was about to ask who the hell Delilah was until she remembered that it was the stupid name he gave the car. “Hey, Stan. Is your car running? Because you better go catch it.”
He was still looking at her with a look of abject hatred as he ran out of the apartment.
“Going... going... and gone,” narrated Willa as Stan left.
Jennifer took over then. “Okay, Willa. According to the schedule, you should have at least an hour and Austin will keep Stan out of the way. But just because you have time doesn’t mean you need to take it. Search that apartment like there is a ticking time bomb next to you. This might be your only chance before you get pulled out.”
“Umm... where should I start?” Willa turned in a circle and looked around the den. All of a sudden, everything looked as if it were a hiding spot and she became overwhelmed with all the possibilities.
“You know Jadon Belli better than any of us. Think. This is something he values. He didn’t have it at his office because he knew it was vulnerable. So he brought it home for safekeeping. Where would he want to keep something safe?”
What did she know about Jadon? Well, a few weeks ago she thought he was the run-of-the-mill emotionally distant father. Now she knew he was a murderer. So what the hell did she know about him? “His office. I’ll start in his office.” She strode out of the den and down the hall until she reached the wood-filled office: dark oak floors, walls of built-in bookshelves, and a polished mahogany desk that was a tad too big for the space of the room.
She went through all the drawers as Jennifer gave her tips in her ear about looking for false bottoms and checking the floor for signs of wood that would come up or where a safe could be hidden in the wall. After she gave up on the office, she moved to her father’s bedroom and then to the den, but she didn’t find a single thing. As her frustration built up, James’s voice came on. “Jadon’s on the move, Wil. Finish up and get out of there.”
“I haven’t found the documents, though.”
“Then they might not be there. We don’t know why he’s coming back and there’s a good chance he has eyes on you. If he reviews the footage, we’re done. You gave it a good try. We’ll figure something else out. Now get downstairs.”
“There has to be something we can do. Does everyone think I should leave or is it just you being protective?” Then she realized there was one person she hadn’t heard from. “What about Scott?”
There was a brief silence over the line before Toni said, “I agree with Weston. Come on down. There’s a lot more in play than just Jadon right now and your apartment is overwhelming evidence that you’re in danger. You’ll be safer with all of us.”
“You’ll be safer with me,” said James.
James Weston. She sure as hell didn’t want to admit it, but she had to defer to the experts. She’d tried her best, but there was no use trying to save the world if she ended up dead before she could help anyone. “All right. I’m leaving.” She started for her bedroom, but stopped. Everything in her apartment had been destroyed and she might never come back, but there wasn’t one thing in that room that she couldn’t live without.
There was nothing she needed. She turned for the door when she heard Toni say, “Something isn’t right.”
“What isn’t right?” She approached the elevator. But right as she reached for the down arrow, the doors slid open and her father stood right in front of her with a murderous rage she never imagined possible plastered on his face.
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Willa fell back as her father came in. “Where is Stan?” he demanded. His eyes bounced around the apartment as if he were expecting a monster to run out of the shadows. It was then she realized the red on the side of his face.