Desperate Girls (Wolfe Security #1)(95)

Ross smiled. “Hey, tiger. Congrats.” He leaned in for a hug, and Brynn played along. “I heard your good news.”

“Yeah, you, too.” She pulled away and looked him over. His complexion was sallow, and he seemed to be supporting his weight against the doorframe.

She pictured him struggling with Lauren Tull on her living-room floor, smothering the life out of her.

“So you’re up and around already?” Brynn tried to sound normal. “How do you feel?”

“Pretty good, considering. They’ve got me on pain meds.” Ross eased closer. “Are you okay? You don’t look happy.”

“I’m fine. Great. Reggie’s on his way over with champagne. I’ve got to run an errand first.” She slipped past him into the hallway.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

He reached for her arm, and she jerked back. The file slipped loose and cascaded to the floor.

She crouched down to slap the papers back inside, and Ross bent over.

“Holy shit!” He clutched his side, gasping.

“Don’t move! I got it!” Brynn snatched up the affidavit, the search-warrant inventory. She jammed everything back into the folder and tucked it under her arm, hoping Ross hadn’t gotten a good look at the papers.

He seemed to be preoccupied with his pain.

“Don’t pull your stitches.” She stepped away from him, anxious to get out of there. She’d meet Lindsey in the lobby and talk to her at the police station. Anywhere but here.

“Brynn, what the hell’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Talk to you later.”

She race-walked to the elevator without looking back and hit the button. She stared at the glowing numbers, holding her breath as she waited for the sound of Ross returning to his apartment. She jabbed the down button again, then the up button. She didn’t care, she just wanted off this floor. At last, she heard the sound of his apartment door opening and clicking shut again.

Brynn blew out a breath. She glanced over her shoulder at the empty hallway. She took out her phone and debated calling Erik. She should.

Ross had a gun. He’d borrowed it from a friend for self-protection. The realization turned Brynn’s blood cold. She’d never thought Ross capable of using a gun. She’d never thought him capable of a lot of things before this moment.

A door opened behind her, and she spun around to see Ross in the hallway. He wore a gray hoodie now, and his hand was in one of the pockets. Brynn’s heart lurched.

Dear God, where is the elevator?

Ross stayed beside his door, though, not moving closer.

“So, Brynn, what’s your plan?” he called.

“Huh?”

“Your plan? You don’t have a car here, do you?”

“Oh. No, Erik’s picking me up.”

The elevator dinged. The doors slid open, and Brynn jumped inside, bumping into a woman in workout gear.

“Brynn, wait.” Ross started down the hallway. “Hold the elevator.”

She stabbed at the close button, and the doors whisked shut. The woman beside her snickered. But then the car lifted, and she realized they were going up. She glanced around. There was also a man in business attire, who was probably headed to his apartment, while the woman in workout clothes was going to the fitness room. Next stop, Brynn would jump off and take the stairs down.

She dialed Erik’s number, and he picked up on the first ring.

“Erik, it’s me.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m at my place. I’ve got a problem. With Ross.”

“He’s out, Brynn. He got discharged this morning. Are you alone at your apartment?”

The door slid open, and Brynn stepped out. The businessman headed down the corridor, and the woman disappeared into the gym. Brynn moved for the stairwell nearby.

The stairwell door opened, and Ross stepped through. Her stomach flip-flopped. He was sweating and breathing hard from the exertion of the stairs, but his eyes were alert. His hand was in his pocket, and she saw the outline of a gun pointed in her direction.

“Hang up, Brynn,” Ross ordered.

Her throat went dry.

“Now.”





“BRYNN? BRYNN?” Erik cursed and swiped at his phone. He swerved around a slow-moving car, prompting a blare of horns behind him.

“Where is Ross?” he demanded the instant Skyler answered the phone.

“Ross? He’s at home. Why?”

“Home at his apartment? Or Pine Rock?”

“They haven’t left yet,” she said. “Keith’s picking him up at three and driving him back.”

“Shit!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Get to the apartment now. Ross is there with Brynn, and I think he might hurt her.” Erik pulled an illegal left turn and stepped on the gas.

“Ross might hurt her?”

“Call Jeremy, too. I’ll call 911.”

“What the hell’s going on, Erik?”

“I’ll explain later. Just get there!”

Ross stuffed her cell phone into his pocket. “How’s your boy, Brynn?”

She glanced around, but it was just the two of them in the foyer. The woman from the elevator was alone in the fitness room now, jogging on a treadmill with a pair of earbuds stuffed in her ears.