Ready, Aim, Under Fire (Lexi Graves Mysteries, 10) Read online

  “Did she make you?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Good. Which way did she go?”

  “Umm, I don’t know. See, the thing is, it’s like… ahh.”

  I took a deep breath. “What happened?”

  “I kind of, sort of, fell asleep a little bit and then I woke up. And Debby’s car was gone and I don’t know how long and I’m really, really sorry, Lexi!” Lily blurted, the words spilling into my ear in one long rush.

  “Shit!” I squealed, clamping a hand over my mouth.

  “I know!” she wailed.

  “Can you guess how long you were asleep?”

  “Maybe thirty minutes. I was so tired. Poppy wakes me up all the time and I got cozy and…”

  “I’ll call you back,” I said before hanging up. I tucked the passport under the notepad and darted toward the door, checking the peephole. No one was in the corridor. Thirty minutes or more were plenty of time for Debby to make it back to the hotel from her parents’ house. Without a lookout at the hotel, I couldn’t know for sure; and I couldn’t risk being caught without finding some reason for being in the room. I might not get another chance. “DNA!” I whispered to myself hurriedly, remembering the other part of my mission. I looked around for something I could grab for Garrett to cross-reference and caught sight of some green plastic by the sink.

  Ducking inside the bathroom, I grabbed the toothbrush and dropped it into the plastic baggie I carried in my pocket. With any luck, Debby would assume the maid erroneously disposed of it. I checked the peephole again and saw the coast was clear, so I opened the door. Immediately, the voices drifted towards me, and one, I was sure, belonged to Debby. She and whomever she spoke to seemed very close but they weren’t talking in English. I snatched a fleeting look towards my room at the far end of the corridor. There was nowhere to hide along the way and Debby might have been able to recognize me from behind. I couldn’t go the other way or I was certain to run into her.

  That left me with only one exit. One I hoped I’d never have to use again but I had no choice and no time left to think of anything else. I gently pushed the door to the corridor shut, letting it close with a light click as I jogged over to the floor-to-ceiling sliding doors. I unlocked it and slid it open, stepping out onto a small balcony before easing the door closed behind me. The last time I’d made an escape this way, I was on the same floor and had nothing to aid my climb down. Consequently, I was forced to jump, hurting my ankle in the process. This time, as I peeked over the edge, I could see another balcony almost directly beneath me. I swung one leg over the railing and then the other, perching the toes of my shoes into the gaps.

  Inside the room, the door opened and Debby entered, looking into her purse. If she looked up, she would surely have seen me despite the privacy curtains in place. I crouched very low and ran my hands down the railings until I was almost hunched over. Glancing down, I let one leg go, then the other and swung myself down, dropping onto the balcony below, my heart thumping like a bass drum.

  I paused, waiting to be discovered, but no one challenged me. Wiping my damp palms onto the legs of my jeans, I repeated the move, only this time, dropping onto the ground. I pressed myself against the cold brick of the building and regained my breath. As I calmed my heart, I decided that I was never, ever leaving a hotel that way again. On the plus side, I was a lot speedier at making a fast exit than I used to be, which was something to be proud of.

  Chapter Eleven

  I called a frantic Lily on the way to my car. “I am so sorry!” she cried. “Are you okay?”

  I assured her I was fine but was also considering buying an emergency rope ladder. “It was fortunate you called when you did,” I told her. “I had just enough time to get out of her hotel room before Debby entered. A couple of minutes later, and she would have caught me.”

  “I will never sleep again,” wailed Lily. She paused and I heard her yawn. “Never,” she added, her voice distorted by another yawn.

  “Don’t worry about it. I got what I came for and I’m fine.” I debated over telling her about my swift and vertical exit but eventually decided not to. Lily sounded pretty traumatized already and I didn’t want to exacerbate it. If she knew just how close I came to being discovered, she would have been mortified.

  “I will make it up to you,” Lily promised. “In any way you like. With any cocktail, baby cuddle, or pizza you want. Maybe all three.”

  “I will take you up on that,” I assured her. “Now go home and get some sleep.”

  “Okay,” replied Lily. “Not gonna argue even though I swore I would never sleep again.”

  “On the job,” I reminded her. “You can sleep on a regular schedule otherwise.”

  “Regular schedule, pfft!”

  After we hung up, I got into my car and sat there for a moment, basking in my relief at not being caught. I’d been in far worse situations than that but still couldn’t quite get used to it. If dramatic exits were included in the job description, I was definitely not cut out for a career in serial espionage. Not even a serial toothbrush theft. I patted my pocket, checking for the toothbrush and felt relieved to feel the hard plastic through the cloth. It was probably too much to expect my luck to hold out any further and, with the new information, I didn’t need to watch Debby any longer today, especially now that Lucas had a bunch of emails for me to browse through. I decided I would drop the toothbrush off at MPD before I went back to the agency and pick up a coffee on the way. I needed nothing more than a relaxing dose of caffeine and some alone time with a highlighter pen. Just as I turned on the ignition, my phone rang and I jumped, feeling startled. Apparently, my nerves were a touch more frazzled than I thought.

  “Hi, Maddox.”

  “You sound out of breath.”

  “Some impromptu exercise.”

  “At the gym?” he asked warily.

  “No, more like parkour but without the talent.”

  Maddox hesitated. “Should I ask?”

  “Probably not.”

  “Are you safe?”

  “Yes.” I was reasonably sure I was. Just to be extra sure, I hit the lock button on my car doors.

  “Good. Can you make it over? I have the information you asked for.”

  “Sure. I can be at your office very soon.”

  “I’m not there now. Can you come over to my apartment?”

  I hadn’t been to Maddox’s apartment for a while. The last time I went there, he wasn’t home, having gone temporarily away on assignment. On one of the more recent occasions, he invited me inside, and I accidentally picked up a booking slip for a romantic weekend. That was how I found out Maddox was dating again. His dating life was none of my business but it stung a little, however irrational that may be, to realize he had moved on. As far as I knew, the romance fizzled out faster than it started but that was none of my business either. I tried not to think about what made the news sting so much, but I had a horrible feeling it involved the green monster, jealousy. If things had been different, Maddox and I might still have been together. I pushed that thought away. “Okay,” I agreed. “I’m on my way.”

  I drove out of the parking lot, noting Debby’s car was still parked close to the entrance, and headed for Harbridge. Maddox owned an apartment only a few streets from the Quellers. Instead of driving into the residents’ parking lot, I found a place on the street and crossed the sidewalk to press the buzzer. Maddox buzzed me in and was waiting for me when I got to his door on the second floor. “Did you get laid off?” I teased. “Should you be at home at this hour?”

  “No, I didn’t. My role changed slightly a while back and my hours are more flexible now.” He turned and I followed him inside, shutting the door behind us. We went into the living area. His laptop sat on the coffee table with a heavy-looking bag next to it. A couple of pieces of paper were on the table but I wondered if he just cleared all his actual paperwork out of sight from my prying eyes. I was already curious about what exactly he was doin
g in his new, more flexible, but mysterious role. “I checked the travel details and managed to find a reservation for Debby Patterson on a number of flights, plus a passport renewal while she was overseas.”

  “How far back did you go?”

  “I searched the parameters you gave me and got this list.” Maddox handed me a sheet. I scanned over it, feeling certain that the dates matched up with the passport stamps I’d partially photographed.

  “There’s some big gaps here,” I said.

  “I noticed that too, but I figured she could have taken the train or ferries. Europe has an excellent train network and she could have easily crossed international borders that way.”

  “There’re no other records of her entering or exiting the US except for when she left ten years ago and of course, when she most recently returned,” I observed.

  “Her story stand up?” he asked, walking around me and out of the room. I heard him go into the kitchen and when he returned, he had two cups of coffee. He passed one to me and I nearly died from gratitude.

  I scanned the list a second time, then opened my phone camera roll and double-checked the dates with the stamps. “So far.”

  Maddox smiled. “Glad I could help.”

  “Oh, sorry!” I looked up from the sheet and pulled a face, suddenly aware that I forgot to express my thanks. “I should have said thank you. I didn’t mean to be so rude!”

  “I wasn’t implying you were!”

  I gave him an embarrassed smile. “Thank you, anyway. I really appreciate you looking into this. It’s a big help.” I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. My theory that Debby Patterson never left the country was truly squashed, first by the passport evidence, and second, by Maddox’s research. She really had been away traveling.

  “No problem at all. So how are things going with you?”

  I thought about my lucky escape through the window and settled on, “Good. You?”

  “Good, too. I’m not planning a wedding though. Found your dress in your mom’s magic book yet?”

  I pulled a less-than-pleased face. “I haven’t even opened it.”

  “That sounds like a good start,” laughed Maddox. “Set a date yet?”

  I paused and sipped my coffee to give my mind time to wonder why Maddox was asking. I was pretty sure he wasn’t all that interested in wedding plans, and especially not mine. Was I supposed to invite him, I wondered? He was my ex and that was awkward, and Solomon probably wouldn’t like it, so doubly awkward. But he was also my friend and it would have been wrong to exclude him. Plus, there was a time when I had a lovely fantasy about him being the man waiting for me at the altar. Now, however, it just made it unbearably uncomfortable for me. “No,” I said, stating the simplest answer and the honest one. “We haven’t talked about it.”

  “How much do you know about Solomon?” Maddox asked. He relaxed on the couch next to me, placing one arm on the edge where he balanced his cup.

  “Plenty!”

  “No, I mean, how much do you really know?”

  I opened my mouth to protest that I knew everything before I stopped and thought. I knew a lot of stuff. Like Solomon’s parents had died in tragic circumstances, leaving him responsible to raise his younger sister and brother. He flat-out denied ever watching Glee, despite owning the boxed set, and was an excellent cook. He could fire any weapon handed to him, ride a motorcycle, and ran a successful business. He made love like I was the only woman on earth and every time might have been his last. However, I was pretty sure Maddox didn’t want to know that.

  “I know all kinds of things.”

  “Do you know where he was before he came to Montgomery?”

  “Um…” I wriggled under Maddox’s scrutiny and took another sip.

  “Whom he worked for?” Maddox persisted.

  “He worked with you!”

  “He was under contract. Do you know where he came from?”

  I had to search my brain for that answer, then realized Solomon never said. Neither had Maddox. “No.”

  “Do you know where he lived?”

  “He lived in Montgomery a little while. Before that, he, ah, uh…” I trailed off.

  “Did he live in an apartment or a house before moving into the Chilton house?” I stared blankly at Maddox, the coffee forgotten. “What about his friends?” Maddox asked. “Do you know who they are? His former colleagues? Have you met anyone who knew Solomon before he came here to help MPD with a case?”

  “He has a background in financial crimes,” I stuttered. “I know his sister.”

  “Who were his employers? Girlfriends? Where has he lived? What was his favorite restaurant? Where did he vacation?”

  “What is this?” I cut in. “Why are you asking me all these questions about Solomon?”

  “Because I don’t know any of them and I don’t think you do either.”

  “You’ve known him for longer than I have!”

  “I knew his name. I worked with him. I don’t know him.”

  “Well, I do!”

  “I hope you do. I’ve been thinking about it ever since you got engaged. I was worried when you started dating, especially given the circumstances of how we ended, but I’ve worried more ever since Solomon made it clear he planned on marrying you. I hoped you knew the answers to everything about his past, but I don’t think you do. I don’t think you know anything about the man you’re planning to marry and that scares the hell out of me!”

  “None of that is your business!”

  “I’m your friend. You’re my business.”

  “If you are my friend, you should know when to stay out of my affairs!” I set the cup on the coffee table, entirely missing the mat in my annoyance as I jumped to my feet. Who was Maddox to question me like that? Or to infer that I didn’t even know the man I shared my life with, and whose ring I wore?

  Maddox jumped up. “Lexi, I…”

  “I thought you’d gotten over us but you’re acting like you’re jealous. We split up, Maddox. We ended. It hurt me badly at the time but I survived it. Yeah, the circumstances between us weren’t great, which was why I decided to stay single for a while and work out what I wanted. Then, I fell in love with Solomon. I know it was hard for us to be friends at first but I thought we were there. I thought you were okay with it and happily dating again and… and…” Tears filled my lower lids. “Now you want me to question Solomon? You want to stir up some kind of idea that he’s what… what, Adam? That he’s not the person he says he is?”

  Maddox met my eyes, his face impassive, but his words shocked me. “He’s never said who he truly is.”

  “Screw this!” I stomped past Maddox. He reached for my arm and caught me at the elbow.

  “I’m not trying to hurt you; and I’m not trying to win you back. You made it clear you didn’t want me and I respect that. It hurt, but I respect that, and we found a way to remain friends. I am your friend. I want to know you’ll always be okay because I do care about you. I always will and there will always be a part of me that loves you. Yes, sometimes I’m jealous, but that’s not what I am at this moment. I care, Lexi. That’s why I’m asking you, what do you know about him?”

  The first tear broke free. “Do you know what hurt me most about us breaking up? It was knowing that I got it wrong. I saw something that wasn’t what I thought it was and you weren’t doing anything wrong at all. That hurts. And Solomon was there when I was hurting so badly, and… and… it was too late. I can’t change anything that happened after that. Whatever I did, someone was going to get hurt and all I could do was make sure it didn’t get any worse. I can’t keep going back to that place. It hurts me too much.” My jaw trembled and I brushed away the tears.

  “Did you ever ask yourself why you were there that night? Solomon sent you, didn’t he?” asked Maddox, his voice cool against my rising emotion.

  “I was there to do a job and you just happened to be there too. I wish I never saw you!”

  “Damn coincidence, wasn’t i
t?”

  My jaw stiffened at the implication. Solomon sent me on that job but it was to get photos of another target nearby. I’d just completed that task when I saw Maddox, who was working undercover, which I knew; but I didn’t realize he was still in Montgomery. “Let go of me,” I said in a low, angry voice. Maddox’s fingers loosened and I shook my arm free. “I know what I’m doing,” I told him, walking out before he could tell me that I didn’t.

  ~

  I stopped by MPD on my way to the agency and met Garrett in the lobby. “Toothbrush,” I said, handing the baggie to him.

  “I see that.”

  “Later,” I said as I turned to go, walking away, stuffing my hands into my jacket pockets and tucking my chin down. I didn’t want to engage in small talk, or any other kind of talk. I just wanted to immerse myself in my work and block out the rest of the world. Especially the part that included Maddox’s warnings and my inner voice that apparently only contributed to the harmony. What did I know about Solomon before the day I met him?

  “What’s up with you?” asked Garrett, falling into step beside me.

  “Nothing.”

  “Yeah, right. I’ve been married long enough to know the words ‘nothing’ and ‘fine’ mean entirely different things to women.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Like I said.”

  “It’s nothing, really,” I insisted. “Call me when you get the DNA results from the toothbrush?”

  “You bet.”

  I was grateful when Garrett stopped, leaving me to walk to my car by myself without pursuing what was worrying me. I don’t know if it was because of worry or anger. Maddox had no place asking me those kind of questions. It was none of his business what I did! Or what kind of discussions I had with my fiancé. Except, said a small voice, we had never had those kind of conversations. I brought up Solomon’s past previously but now that I thought back, he never really gave me an answer that I could fix upon or even recall now. Anything he said was vague, skirting around the topic without ever really answering me. I never felt any cause to worry. Solomon wasn’t the chattiest kind of man and neither of us spent a lot of time talking about the past. Mine was a whole catalogue of embarrassments and failures interspersed with plenty of fun. Not only with Lily, but tons of family time with more Graves than I could count, and a lot of shopping. I didn’t like talking much about it so that Solomon rarely discussed his past never worried me.