When I wake up, I’m not surprised to find myself alone. I am, however, shocked to see the apartment completely empty.
Usually, on the rare nights Reid gets me to stay over, I’ll find him in the kitchen making coffee or bacon, but today he’s gone.
I shrug it off and have a shower, washing my hair before climbing out, drying off, and helping myself to his wardrobe. I braid my hair and slip into a pair of his sweats, rolling them over at the waist a few times to get them to stay up before pulling on a large gray hoodie.
I’ll need to go home and change before heading back to Echo’s, but it will do for now.
I text Ben and grab my discarded clothes and shoes before moving into the sitting area. I wander over to the window to wait for Ben to arrive, wincing at the bright morning light. When I look down to the street below, I spot a black Lincoln pull up and see Zodiac step out with Reid right behind him.
Ice floods my veins. I have no reason for this reaction, and yet every instinct I have tells me to get the fuck out of here. I’ve learned the hard way to trust my gut and I’m not about to change that now.
Grabbing my bag, I shove my dirty clothes inside it with my gun holster and hook my shoes over my fingers before heading out, closing the door quietly behind me. I forgo the elevators and head to the stairwell, shooting off a text to tell Ben I’ll meet him around the corner near the park. I’d rather Reid thought I left earlier, that way I can play dumb about him bringing Zodiac and see if he’ll bring it up. If he doesn’t, then I’ll know this was an ambush of some kind.
This is the problem with Reid. The further I fall for the enigma of him, the more I realize he’s not worthy of my love or trust no matter how much I want him to be that person for me.
I head out through the underground garage, noticing that Reid’s bike is missing, but his car is still here. I cut through the back entrance and out into the park just in time to see Ben pull up in the black SUV.
I wince when a stone slices the heel of my foot, making me curse myself for not sticking the torture devices back on, no matter how ridiculous they would look with borrowed sweats.
Ben spots me and slows, so I wait before pulling the rear door open and climbing inside.
“Hey, Ben, thanks for coming to grab me.”
He looks at me in the rearview mirror, shaking his head. He has this big brother routine down pat.
“And what time do you call this young lady?” he teases, making me snort.
“Shut your pie hole and take me home. I look worse than I did when I was homeless.” He shakes his head at me with a big grin on his face before doing as I ask.
I lie back and close my eyes, letting last night’s events and this morning play over and over in my brain while I analyze everything.
Was it all an act to get me to lower my defenses and catch me off guard, or was Reid simply taking advantage of the situation he created? Either way, one thing is glaringly apparent, I can’t keep putting myself out there if Reid is going to continue playing Zodiac’s lapdog.
I’ve spent the last year putting things in place, changing the players around the board, but it looks like I might need to up my timeline a little because it seems Zodiac is getting antsy.
“Which home do you want to go to?” Ben calls back, making my eyes open.
“Better just go to the penthouse. It’s closer and something tells me there will be eyes on me today.”
“Everything okay?” he asks sharply.
“Yes, I’m likely paranoid, but paranoid is better than dead, right? Call Baker and Danny. They’re on rotation for today, but they aren’t due in for another hour. See if they can come in early and I’ll pay them a bonus.”
“They’ll do it without the bonus, you know that, but I’ll call them once you’re inside,” he agrees.
“Thank you, Ben.”
The rest of the drive is silent as I watch the city whirl by until we arrive in the center of my division, back to the penthouse I despise. I wait while Ben parks and