“I doubt he’s waiting at my car,” Laurel said.

  “According to the rules of every movie, he’s definitely waiting at your car now,” I said.

  Laurel laughed. “Okay, can one of the agents escort us to my vehicle?”

  “Yeah, they can follow us to the freeway and scowl and write down license plates and time stamp things. It will be very official,” I said.

  Michelson waved over a sheriff and one of his agents. He got the sheriff to coordinate shifting cruisers away from my car while he briefed his agent. “Okay, you guys are clear to go. Agent Wilson will escort you to the rental vehicle and follow you back to Sac County. As soon as you arrive at your respective residences, check in with me.”

  “Is Wilson going to write down plenty of license plates?” I asked.

  “Yes, and he will scowl.” Michelson kept it deadpan, but I appreciated the callback. “If you see anything suspicious at any time, let me know.”

  “Yes, sir.” I saluted.

  “Don’t be an ass.” Laurel grabbed my arm and stopped me from saluting.

  “Anything,” Michelson said.

  “We got it.” Laurel grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the car.

  We didn’t say anything until we were over the bridge and back on the county road. Laurel directed me to the fire lane where her car was.

  “You really okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah. You got more physical than I did.”

  “I’d argue with you because you ran two miles and that sounds like a lot, but my jaw hurts where that bitch kicked me. So we can call it even.”

  She started laughing again. Not as hard as before, but still. “You still haven’t explained how that happened.”

  “One of the sheriffs pulled me outside while they were arresting her. The sheriff sat me on the edge of the porch to check me over, make sure I wasn’t injured or whatever. Then they marched Grandma Brewer out and she broke away from them and kicked me in the face.”

  Laurel found that hilarious. “I guess they weren’t expecting an old lady to resist arrest?”

  “She’d been resisting arrest the entire time. I think they might be incompetent.” I said it conspiratorially. This was surely new information.

  “There’s merit to that suggestion.”

  I pulled up behind Laurel’s parked car. Agent Wilson drove past us. He waved for Laurel to stay put. He parked diagonal across the lane. He jumped out and walked the perimeter of the car. Then he checked underneath it. After a look at the surrounding tree line, he motioned for Laurel to get out.

  “That seemed super necessary,” I said.

  “You’re the one who said Brewer was definitely waiting at my car.”

  “Good point.” I rolled down my window. “Agent Wilson? Should you check the interior of the car as well?”

  “I hate you,” Laurel said quiet enough so Wilson couldn’t hear her.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Wilson walked briskly to my window. “Ms. Kallen, would you mind giving me your key fob?”

  Laurel dug the key out of her pocket and handed it over me. “Thanks, Wilson. Couldn’t do this without you.”

  “No problem, ma’am.” He clearly wasn’t picking up on her sarcasm. He popped the trunk and checked inside. Then he opened the driver’s door and stuck his head in. After a minute, he closed the door. “All clear.”

  Laurel got out and took the keys from him. “Wilson, I know you’re escorting us back to Sac County, but could you follow Cash all the way home? There’s a uniform stationed there, but I think it would be better to have you check the house. She’s a little nervous after today.”

  “Yes, of course.” Wilson nodded very seriously at me. “Nothing to worry about, Ms. Braddock.”

  “Thanks, Laurel,” I shouted.

  “You’re welcome, honey. Be safe.” Laurel blew a kiss at me and climbed in her car. She was the worst. I was definitely still in love with her.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I woke up to Nickels jumping on my bed. It felt late. The city outside was quiet like it was just before dawn. Nickels was sitting too close to the edge of the mattress so her weight pulled it down too much. I turned on my side and snuggled back into my pillows and my cat. But then I realized the fuzzy purring cat was very much not on the side where my bed was currently dipping down.

  “Fuck.” I sat up and opened my eyes.

  “Hey, Braddock.” Henry pushed me back down.

  “Get the fuck out of my house.”

  “Now, now.” He looked down long enough to draw my eyes to the gun in his hand. The room was dark, but the ambient streetlight was enough to clearly outline the shape.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “We didn’t get to finish our conversation.”

  “That doesn’t really justify waking me up in the middle of the night. You’re disturbing my cat.” We both looked at Nickels. She stretched and went back to sleep.

  “When else are we going to talk? You have cops outside twenty-four seven.”

  “It obviously didn’t stop you.” Not that I was freaking out or anything.

  “Chill, man. I’m here to tell you how you can make this all up to me.”

  I managed to not laugh or punch him, which I thought showed real growth. “Do tell. I’m on the edge of my fucking seat.”

  “You owe me, bitch.”

  “Whatever.” I wondered if he was planning on killing me. It seemed likely that he would try at some point, but I was getting distinctive “wanna chat” vibes. So maybe not tonight? My gut was feeling more annoyed than scared. I decided to lean into that.

  “I saw that little gallery you opened. It’s perfect,” he said.

  “For what?”

  “Everything. You can launder money through it fucking easy. We can massively scale up shipments. We’re going to be party drug central. Definitely doing molly and K. Maybe GHB. Shrooms and acid for sure. And your old standards, of course. Xanax and codeine and shit.”

  “Yeah, sure. And we can just change the signage out front to say ‘massive drug operation.’” I put my hands up and gestured to indicate a big sign. “Oh, and ‘DEA, FBI, Sac PD welcome. If you have a badge, come on in.’” I called it like I was at a carnival.

  “Keep your voice down.”

  “Please. It’s not like the uniform out front can hear me. He’s obviously not very competent.” I nodded at Henry.

  “If you’re not going to take this seriously, I can just go with my original plan. Kill you and move to Mexico. I don’t need you. I’d rather clear my name, but it’s no sweat off my sack to shoot you in the head.”

  “Vivid imagery. Thanks for that.”

  “So this is what you’re going to do. Call your lawyer in the morning. Start preparing a statement to hang Kallen and retract anything negative you said about me.” The shadows behind Henry shifted. I forced myself to keep eye contact with him. “Once we square that mess, I’ve lined up suppliers. As soon as I give the go-ahead, we can be operational in a week.” The shadow took shape. It was Lane. This was not good. “I’m not an idiot. I know we can’t actively deal from the gallery. Not at first. Let Nate know he’s not taking any jobs out of state. We need him here for distribution.”

  Henry had given this a lot of thought. I didn’t like it.

  “No,” I said.

  “No?” He wasn’t expecting that.

  “No. You’re fucking delusional.”

  “Fine.” He raised the gun. “Get up. We’re going for a ride.” He gestured toward the street with his gun.

  Lane swung something at his head. It connected with a dull thud. Henry slumped and fell to the floor.

  “Come on.” Lane grabbed my arm and yanked me out of bed. Nickels hissed and darted away. Lane and I sprinted down the hall. She threw open the front door and we ran. Halfway through the yard, the uniform was out of his cruiser. “Inside. Bedroom at the end of the hall.” Lane pointed. He ran inside.

  We stopped and leaned against the cop car, gasping. Within a few seconds, we could hear sirens start a few blocks away.

  “Jesus fucking Christ, dude,” I said.

  “You’re welcome.”

  “You’re my goddamn hero.” I put my arm around her. She threaded her arms around my waist. We were still breathing hard from our sprint. “Should I go wake up Robin and Andy?”

  “Yeah. Let’s.” Lane took my hand and we approached the porch. I watched our open front door for any movement while Lane rang the Wards’ bell and pounded on the door. “Robin, Andy,” she called.

  Three cruisers pulled up from opposite directions and more cops ran in my side of the duplex. It was nice to have police on my side for once. And all I had to do was befriend half the detectives and find a worse criminal for them to focus on.

  Robin opened the door. She was wearing short-shorts and a tank top. “What’s going on?”

  “Grab Andy. Henry Brewer just broke into our place,” Lane said.

  Robin turned and ran to Andy’s room. A minute later, they joined us on the sidewalk.

  “Sorry, pals,” I said.

  Robin leaned into my side. “We’re all safe. It’s okay.”

  “Yeah. It’s all good.” Lane put her head on my shoulder and reached across me to squeeze Robin’s hand.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  Andy leaned in front of us and took a selfie. She started tapping the screen. Robin snatched the phone. “Hey,” Andy said.

  “Do not post that.”

  “Why?” Andy tried to take back her phone.

  “Because I’d rather not end up on social media in my pajamas.”

  “Fine,” Andy said. Robin handed her the phone and she tucked it in the pocket of her gym shorts. “So what’s going on? Why are we out here?”

  “Henry Brewer broke into our place,” I said.

  “Shit.” Andy leaned forward as if she could see what was happening through the walls. “How’d he get in? I thought the cop was watching for him. How’d you get out? Are you guys okay?”

  I shrugged. “Lane came up behind him and smacked him in the head.” I looked at Lane. “What did you hit him with?”

  She grinned. “Fluid mechanics textbook. I bitched all semester that I couldn’t get it in ebook, but who’s complaining now, motherfucker?” She tucked her hands in the pockets of her yummy sushi pajama pants and leaned against the police car at the curb.

  “I see you put on pants before saving me.”

  “I wasn’t going to chase down a soon-to-be felon in my bikinis, thank you very much.”

  “What if he had killed me?” I asked.

  “You’re just mad that you’re out here in your underwear.” Lane looked pointedly at my boxer briefs. They were trunks. Very short trunks.

  I tugged at the hem of my T-shirt. “I don’t love it.”

  “Calm down. We’re all barefoot and sleepy and feeling exposed and shit.” Andy craned her neck to look in my open front door.

  “Don’t get all observant on me, punk.”

  Robin squeezed my arm. “They’re coming back out.”

  Two of the officers emerged and came toward us. I met the cops in the middle of the yard.

  “Did you get him?” I asked.

  “No, ma’am. Not yet. I’m sorry,” the taller cop said. “Vogt saw him going out the back. He chased him, but we lost him over on H Street.”

  “Are you for real?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  If this dude ma’amed me once more, I was going to hit him. “He’s not Michael Myers. How hard is it to catch one guy?”

  “We’re still looking.”

  The other cop nodded very seriously. “Detective Duarte is on his way. Dispatch is still trying to reach Detective Reyes.”

  I took a deep breath and tried to remind myself that they were doing their best. But I was still a little confused how their best led to Henry getting away again. “Can I go inside for my phone? I’d like to call him and Kallen.”

  “Sorry, ma’am. We need the all clear from our captain before letting you back in the house.”

  “Right. Got it.” My cat was probably terrified, I had no pants, and Henry was still missing. This was fine. I went back to Lane, Robin, and Andy. “They didn’t get him.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Lane looked around as if Henry was going to come up behind us. A couple of the neighbors were looking out their windows, but the red and blue lights were keeping them indoors.

  “Andy, can I use your phone?” I asked.

  “Sure.” She unlocked it and handed it to me. I scrolled through her contacts to Laurel and hit call. It rang for a while before she picked up.

  “Andy? Are you okay?” Was how Laurel answered.

  “It’s me. We’re fine.”

  “Shit. You scared me,” she said.

  I heard rustling. I imagined her sitting up in bed. “Sorry.” Hearing her voice made me feel so much better and I hated myself for it.

  “It’s cool. I just wasn’t expecting a call from Andy at three in the morning. What happened?”

  “Henry decided he wanted to do a slumber party.”

  “Fuck. Seriously?”

  “I know. We didn’t have any snacks prepared and I’m not even wearing cute pj’s, but it’s fine.”

  “Cash.”

  “Everyone is fine. We’re out here with Andy and Robin. The cops are looking for Henry and we are hanging out in the street barefoot.”

  “What about Lane?”

  “She knocked Henry out with a very large textbook. Probably saved my life or whatever,” I said. Lane chuckled and bumped me with her shoulder.

  “Shit. Okay. I’m coming over right now.”

  “Bring Reyes. Dispatch is trying to reach him, but—” I stopped when I heard a deep voice in the background behind her.

  “Just a sec, Cash.” Laurel muffled the phone to have a conversation with Reyes. “Okay, I’m back. Ionescu just called Reyes. We’re heading over.”

  “Cool. See you soon.”

  I should have asked her to bring me pants, but I assumed the cops would let me into the house long before they arrived. When Duarte got there five minutes later, I was getting frustrated. Ten minutes after that, Reyes and Laurel arrived and I was seriously displeased.

  Laurel hugged Lane, then looked me up and down. She started to smile.

  “Don’t start,” I said.

  “I wasn’t going to say anything.” She put her hands up defensively.

  “Can you get them to let us in?” Robin asked.

  “I can try, but I don’t have much sway anymore.” Laurel squeezed Andy’s shoulder and nodded at all of us before going to talk to Reyes and Duarte.

  “Where’s Nickels?” Andy asked.

  “Probably on the top shelf of my closet. That’s her current favorite hiding spot.”

  Reyes and Laurel came back. “You guys are clear to go back inside,” Reyes said.

  We collectively sighed and headed for the porch. “We’re not going to get to go back to bed, are we?” Robin asked.

  “You’re free to do whatever you want. But I would like to talk to you about some security concerns,” Reyes said.

  “That’s a no,” I said.

  “Yeah, I got that.” Robin opened her front door. Andy went inside.

  “I’ll make coffee,” I said. “Reyes, you want to head out back? We can meet you out there in a sec.”

  “Sure thing.” He clapped a hand on Duarte’s shoulder and led him through my house to the backyard.

  “Any cops in here?” I called. Two uniforms emerged from the hallway leading to my bedroom. “You guys mind giving us a minute?”

  They looked at me and Lane and Laurel like we were going to turn into Henry at any moment. Laurel nodded and they dropped the glare.

  “Yes, ma’am.” They went out the front door.

  I went straight to my closet and checked the top shelf. Nickels was exactly where I thought she would be. “Hey, Nick.” She meowed at me. “Yeah, I’m sorry. You did real good.” She meowed again.

  “Nickels okay?” Laurel asked from the threshold of my bedroom. She was giving the doorway a good two feet of space lest she be sucked in.

  “Yeah, she’s good.” I stuck my head out of the closet. “We’re going to be put in a safe house, aren’t we?”

  “Yep. We can say no again, but I don’t think it’s wise.”

  “Shit.” I ducked back into the closet to change my T-shirt to one I hadn’t been sleeping in. “Any idea how long?” I spoke up so she could hear me.

  “Until they catch him or the threat is managed.”

  “So no fucking clue.”

  “Yeah, no fucking clue.”

  I pulled on a pair of jeans and looked around for a baseball hat. “Is my Massey Ferguson cap out there?”

  “On the dresser.”

  I glanced out and found Laurel pointing at one of my dressers from her perch outside the door. “Thanks.” I crossed the room and grabbed the hat.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “What for?” I picked up a pair of Converse, but shoes suddenly seemed like too much. I tossed them back toward the closet.

  “I thought you were safe. I never would have suggested yesterday’s plan if I thought he could break into your house,” Laurel said.

  “I never would have gone along with it if I thought he could break into my house. This isn’t on you.” I couldn’t handle her hovering anymore, and it didn’t seem like she was going to come in. “You mind starting coffee? You know where everything is.”

  “Yeah. Sure. I can do that.” She turned, hesitated, then continued down the hall. Insecure Laurel was strange.

  Chapter Sixteen

  As far as apartments went, it was big. As far as living spaces to share with your ex-girlfriend for an undetermined amount of time went, it was laughably small. There was a living room and a dining room, but it didn’t appear we would ever get to use those considering the number of FBI agents and Sac PD lounging about.

  Okay, it was like two agents, Reyes, and Duarte. But Reyes was doing some serious mothering and it was overwhelming.

  “Do not under any circumstances go out on the balcony.” Reyes pulled Laurel back from the glass doors leading to the deck. He closed the gauzy curtain so we could only see the faint outline of greenery and the shimmer of water from the pool below.