“It’s nice to see you girls working together,” the woman said as the grilled cheese making process began.
“We just thought it would be a nice break for you,” Juliette said evenly. “You’re always making supper.”
“Always making chicken casserole,” Vi muttered under her breath and got kicked under the island by Juliette.
Mrs. Tompkins didn’t seem to hear her, to which Juliette was thankful. “You girls are such dolls. I’m certainly going to miss you both when I’m gone.”
Juliette chuckled uncertainly. “Gone? Gone where?”
She thought maybe the woman meant dead, but she still had loads of time left before thinking about that.
“My daughter wants me to move in with her,” the woman surprised them by saying. “She’s been asking for ages, but it wasn’t time.”
The buttering of bread was forgotten as both Juliette and Vi stared at her.
“But you said no, right?” Vi broke in. “I mean, you’re not going to go live with them, are you?”
But Juliette could see the flash of guilt in the woman’s eyes even before she lowered them to the counter.
“I don’t have very long in this world,” she said instead. “Each day is one day closer to when I won’t be here anymore. You girls have been my family for three years and I wouldn’t change that for anything, but I miss my children and grandchildren … and great grandchildren,” she added with a chuckle. “I think it’s time I spent some time with them now.”
“That’s rubbish!” Vi blurted. “We need you here.”
“No,” Juliette cut in softly. “I think it’s a wonderful idea.”
Vi rounded on her. “What?”
Juliette kept her attention on Mrs. Tompkins. “You’re always welcome to come back anytime.”
Relief loosened the knots along Mrs. Tompkins’s thin shoulders. They lowered from their place at her ears and she offered them a tiny smile.
“I will miss you girls,” she admitted, her gray eyes glistening. “I was worried about leaving you alone here, but the last few weeks have really changed my mind. You’re both so happy and finally working together. It really warms my heart.”
“Well, you’re a crazy old lady,” Vi muttered, grabbing two slices of buttered bread and turning away, but not before Juliette caught her sweep quickly at her cheek. “Just abandoning us to run off with your real family.”
The pan hissed as the slices were thrown down on the hot surface, drowning out whatever else Vi was grumbling.
“Don’t listen to her,” Juliette told Mrs. Tompkins. “She’s just naturally miserable.”
Mrs. Tompkins laughed. “I hope you’ll consider coming down to see me once in a while. It’s only one city over.”
Juliette agreed. Vi stayed over the pan, grudgingly jabbing the bread with the tip of her spatula.
It was well after everyone had eaten and Vi had stalked off to her room and Mrs. Tompkins had retired for the night that Juliette realized Killian never called. Granted, she still didn’t have her own phone—the cost was just not worth it—but he usually sent some kind of word with Jake or Melton and neither had said a word.
Wiping her wet hands on a dishrag, she padded from the kitchen in search of her guards. She found them in a small huddle with Javier, Laurence, and Phil in the sitting room. The five were talking in low whispers that made the back of her neck tingle.
“I’m sure of it,” Javier was saying, his close set eyes a little too focused. “Same one about ten minutes after you arrive each time.”
Jake and Melton exchanged glances.
“We haven’t seen anything,” Melton said at last.
“Maybe it’s someone that lives in the area,” Phil suggested.
Laurence shook his head. “I checked all the cars in a nine block radius. Doesn’t match the description.”
“Guest, maybe?”
Javier shook his head. “Drives by the house exactly ten minutes each time.”
“Did you report it?” Jake asked.
Laurence nodded. “Called it into Frank an hour ago. No response yet.”
“There was a fight at one of the casinos,” Jake explained. “I heard it was messy. Guy got shot.”
Juliette shivered and stepped away from the doorway. Her gaze jumped to the front door, closed and secured by three locks and a deadbolt and still she wondered if it was enough. What if someone still managed to get in, especially now that there was a possibility that someone was following them? Was Vi safe? Maybe they needed to go to … where? The police? A hotel? There was nothing the police could do that Killian’s men couldn’t and a hotel was just out of the question.
“Ma’am?”
She jumped at the unexpected intrusion to her inner panic. Her head jerked up to find Jake standing a few feet away from her, arm extended. A phone was nestled on his palm.
“A call for you,” he said, seeming unperturbed by the fact that she was clearly eavesdropping.
Swallowing audibly, she took the device and thanked him. He inclined his head and left her alone. She pressed the phone to her ear.
“Hello?”
His response was immediate, warm and soothing. It rushed over her with the power of a fluffy blanket, enveloping her and chasing away the chill and dread.
“Hey.”
Her heart danced a tango of relief and the flutter of girlish delight. “How was the incident?”
She hurried up the stairs to her room. She shut the door behind her and went to the bed.
“Messy,” he replied with a tired little sigh.
“What happened?” she pressed as she crawled onto the stiff mattress and propped her back against the headboard.
“Nothing you need to hear about before bed. What are you wearing?”
Her laugh filled her tiny room. “I think you should come over and find out.”
His low groan sent shivers scattering across her skin, raising pimples and making her nipples harden. “I’d be there in a heartbeat, except I was thinking of spending some time with Mar before she up and vanishes again. I’m not even wholly certain she’ll be at the house when I get there.”
Rancorous bitterness swelled in her chest, filling her with a sort of loathing she hated herself for feeling.
“That’s a nice idea,” she forced herself to grind out. “We can always meet up tomorrow.”
“Angry?”
She shook her head, even though he couldn’t see it. “No, it’s good you spend time with your sister. I know you haven’t seen her in a while so…”
“Thank you, darling.” There was a pause, followed by his sigh. “I’m nearly at the house now. When do you work tomorrow?”
Disappointment an iron weight hanging from her neck, Juliette stared across her room at her closet as she answered, “Later in the afternoon at the diner. It’s my first day back in a week and I’ve only got four hours right after lunch, but before supper, which is the deadest time in the whole day. It’s going to be awful.”
“Why do you stay there?” he asked.
“Can’t leave.” She picked at a loose thread on her comforter. “I still owe them money from all the advances.”
“I can—”
“No, you can’t!” she broke in quickly. “It’s fine. It’s days I don’t work at the hotel anyway so it saves me from having nothing to do all day.”
“You know what I would really like?” He didn’t want for an answer, but went on. “A woman who actually lets me do things for her.”
Juliette raised an eyebrow he couldn’t see. “Haven’t you done enough for me? Besides, I only keep you around for one purpose and it’s not to buy me things.”
There was a pause, then an amused, “That so? And what purpose is that?”
She drew in a deep, exaggerated breath. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? Clearly so I can beat you at laser tag and make myself feel better.”