Chapter 17: Onyx
“She’s at The Grande,” I told Cooper as I sat in my office overlooking downtown.
“Fancy,” he said. “She tell you why?”
“No, and I didn’t ask.” I took a sip of my coffee. “But . . . it’s not exactly rocket science.”
“True,” he conceded. “What room?”
“Seven fifteen,” I said as I watched the screen on my laptop.
“Want it watched?”
“Obviously,” I told him. “You hit any results on the sheets yet?”
“No,” he growled. “It’s either contaminated or he’s clean and not in the system. Whoever this is, is a clever fuck.”
I frowned as I continued watching the CCTV from Angel’s street. “Escalating quickly though,” I told him quietly. “From dead flowers to slashed tires to cum on her bed. I don’t like her being at the hotel. Too many fuckers and too easy access to her and her rooms. It’s stupid of her. Careless.”
Cooper whistled softly. “Hey, you okay? You sound like you care or something.”
That earned him a chuckle. “I don’t like stupidity. I also know she is a lot of things, and stupid isn’t one of them. Careless? Yes.”
“I take it we’re definitely not going to stop looking into this?” he asked wryly.
“Stop? I don’t know the meaning of the word.”
“And are you going to tell her?”
“Fuck no,” I scoffed. “She lost that privilege when she walked out of my house this morning.”
“Good, I don’t like it when you’re in touch with your emotions,” he added dryly.
“Don’t worry, Coop. I’m still as dead inside as you are.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” he quipped before he disconnected.
I returned my attention to the CCTV coverage. The car I’d noticed last night had, for the past three weeks, been either directly outside her house or on her street. It hadn’t been there today or yesterday, and I was not naïve enough to think it was a coincidence.
They knew she was gone.
Did they know I was watching?
I’d spent hours watching footage, enough time to know that it was the same person, most likely male, and unfortunately for Angel, they were clever. The license plate was disguised, and the SUV was a common make that could blend and had no distinguishing features to make it stand out. The few times I had seen the driver get out, they knew to avoid anything that could identify them. They walked with their shoulders hunched, their head covered, but they didn’t stand out. If you saw them walking past your front yard, nothing about them would make you look twice. Even with the hoodie and the hunched shoulders, they blended.
I looked up when I heard the door get tapped, and Angel stood outside my office. She looked wary. She should. After I leaned back in my seat, she opened the door, recognizing the permission to enter. I watched as she turned to close the door firmly behind her. Her hair was tied back in a low ponytail, her makeup minimal, and her dress was dark gray and business-like. She was dressed in her armor, and she probably didn’t even know it.
“Hi,” she greeted me, and I waited patiently. “So, I just wanted to tell you that I spoke to the police and there’s no update.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Angel frowned slightly at my tone. “You’re pissed.”
“Am I?” I fixed her with a dead stare. “Why would you think that?”
Angel looked over her shoulder before facing me again, and I saw her slight reaction to Johnathan, who was passing my office. He almost tripped over his own feet at seeing us both in the same space. His eyes darted to the door, and his eyebrows disappeared into his hairline when he saw it closed.
Angel watched me watch him, and she rolled her eyes. “Why doesn’t he take a picture? It’ll last longer.”
