“That’s why you’re not going at all!” I barely managed to keep myself from shouting it.
She gave me a sweet smile that I knew was anything but sweet. “Ash, I'm calling you out. You're being an ass. I've already told you that I can take care of myself. More, I've proven that. You've seen it.” She gave me a half-smile. “How does your nose feel, by the way?”
Red crept up the back of my neck. “This is different. This isn't about you getting in a free shot on someone who isn't expecting it.”
“No. You're right,” she agreed, to my surprise. “It's about you going after people who, for all you know could have murdered somebody. And I'm not going to let you go tearing off after them.” She looked up at me, her expression frank. “I know you. You're going to get hot under the collar if you see them. You're going to think about what they did to Isadora and you're going to lose your temper. If I'm there at least you'll stay in the car.”
“No,” I growled, my stomach twisting at the thought of Toni being anywhere near danger. “This isn't up for discussion.”
“Right again.” Her eyes narrowed and the look on her face hardened. “It's not. You and I both know that if you physically wanted to hold me back from going, you could do it. But make no mistake, if you leave here without me? I won't be here when you get back.”
The impact of her words hit me, and I took a step back. I drew in a slow breath and tried to keep from feeling the sudden stab of panic that went through me.
But she didn’t give me time to fully process her words before she continued, “I promise, if I leave, you will never see me again, and if you try to come after me, I will call the cops. I'm not joking, Ash. If you walk out that door without me, we're done. For good.”
***
To her credit, Toni didn't sit in the car with a smug smile on her face. She actually looked nervous as we started down the road, and it took everything I had not to offer to turn the car around and drive her back. She clutched her phone like a talisman, and I knew that, at the first sign of trouble, she'd be calling Agent Marcum.
I wasn’t expecting trouble. I wasn't expecting anything, really. Just because there was an apartment listed under the name Lily Trask didn't mean anything. It didn't mean that Daniel Trask was using his former step-daughter's name.
And it definitely didn't mean that we were wrong about Lily being dead, and that she was using her step-father's last name.
This entire thing was stupid. I knew it, but I couldn't seem to stop myself. I had to know the truth.
Please don't let Toni pay for me being stupid and stubborn. I don't know who that thought was directed to, but I felt helpless and just sending that simple thought out there felt like it was better than nothing.
“This isn’t too far from where I grew up,” Toni said as I swung a left.
We were only about a half mile from our destination. It was a residential area for the most part, the buildings a mix of older homes and those had been set up into multi-family apartment homes. I slanted a quick look at Toni as I came to a stop at a traffic light.
“My parents’ house is two blocks north,” she said, gesturing. She gave me a proud smile. “A genuine house. We keep telling them they should put it on the market for a cool million and move somewhere. Retire somewhere with a beach.”
Aside from wanting the distraction, I wanted to know more about her, so I went with it. “If they're interested, give them my number. I'm always looking for real estate.”
Toni laughed softly. “My dad's told us more than once that the only way he’ll leave that house for good is when they take him out in a body bag. It’s been in the family for over a century. It'll probably stay in the family even longer than that.” She reached over and stroked her fingers down the back of my hand. “How brave are you?”
“Is this a trick question?” I asked warily.
“Well, I already know you're stupid. I mean, we're here, right?”
From the corner of my eye, I could see her staring out the front of the windshield, a smile on her lips.
“But that's not what I mean. How brave are you?”
I frowned as I started forward again. “I've honestly never thought about it.”
“You might want to think about it. If you really want this thing between us to work, you need to.” She twined our fingers together, and I knew she was only half-teasing. “My parents are going to want to meet you...and my brothers have already told mom and dad about...what happened. Or, at least, the part that they know about. And since that includes me going to jail...” Her voice trailed off.
But I didn't need her to continue. I could only imagine what her parents thought of me.
A picture of my mother's face popped into my mind. "Whatever you do, Ash," she'd once told me. "Try hard not to make an enemy of the parents of the woman you fall in love with. Treat her right and they will treat you right. Treat her wrong…" She'd laughed softly then, and had looked over at my father.
Even though all four of my grandparents had died when I'd been young, I knew that there'd been animosity of some kind between my father and my maternal grandfather. I didn't know what, but my mom's statement had always made me wonder what had happened.
Now, my insides were twisting enough to make me want to puke. Suddenly, finding a kidnapper and possible killer didn't seem quite as nerve-wracking. “So,” I asked, striving for a normal tone of voice. “Are they big on holding grudges?”
“It depends,” Toni said as she glanced over at me, her eyes dancing. “If you impress my mom, you've got a chance because she has my dad wrapped around her finger. But if you screw up with her? It won't be pretty.”
“Great,” I muttered, nosing into an empty spot just down the street from where we needed to be. It wasn't exactly a legal parking spot, but I wasn't worried about getting a ticket since we weren't getting out of the car.
I didn’t have time to brood about Toni’s parents, though. There could be answers here. Answers to what happened to Isadora. To Lily. To my parents.
“Which one is it?” Toni asked, squeezing my hand.
“Bottom left.” I pointed with my free hand.
“So I guess we just sit here until...” Her voice trailed off and her hand tightened on mine until it was painful. “Ash.”
I followed her gaze.
My heart gave a hard, painful slam as I saw a light flickering through a gap in the windows. A shadow passed in front of it, paused. The curtain swayed slightly, and then the shadow moved away. For several long minutes, neither Toni nor I moved or spoke. We just watched.
Then Toni tugged on my arm. “Ash. Look.”
He was clad in a long, dull gray jacket, striding up the sidewalk casually. Nothing about him would draw attention. Not really. But as he looked right, then left, his movements almost deliberately lazy, his gaze zeroed in on me. His eyes slid past the black sedan we'd come in. It was a little too high dollar for this area, but it was the most sedate vehicle I owned. The dark tint kept him from seeing through the window, but I had a feeling he still knew who was inside.
Shit.
“It’s him?” Toni asked softly.
“Yeah.”
I watched as he glanced around once more, and then headed up the steps.
Toni let out a breath as she turned to me. “What do we do now?”