Chapter 4
Jayce had spent the better part of the day flying over and searching Hell’s Kitchen. His vision was sharp, even at night, and he had no plans to quit. The only reason he’d have to pause, and only briefly, would be to grab a bite to eat. Rat wasn’t his favorite meal, but he’d spotted some scurrying down a side street. Hopefully he wouldn’t have to resort to that.
As he was thinking about his empty stomach, he caught a break. Kristine exited a building on Eleventh Avenue. It wasn’t a pretty area, but it was certainly convenient to the places she and her mother frequented. Kristine had told him that her mother was now an acting coach at an acting school on Ninth Avenue. Kristine was a firefighter on Eighth. Did her mother need her rent that badly?
As he followed Kristine from above, he thought about how her neighborhood compared to his refurbished condo in gentrified Charlestown. It was on the river, and even though it was a ground-floor unit, he had access to a deck and a great view. He could walk to his firehouse on Beacon Hill. Granted, it was a longer walk than hers…
Speaking of walking, where was she going?
She was making impressive progress, walking at a good clip and heading toward Times Square. Then she cut over to Madison Avenue. Stopping in front of a tall building that could house anything from businesses to apartments, probably both, she eyed it carefully.
She also peered up and down the street, searching for who knows what. Then she walked around the nearest corner and eventually studied the same block from the back.What could she be looking for?
Jayce continued to circle high above her but not high enough to escape notice. Through a ninth-story window, someone pointed to him and ran off for a moment, only to reappear with binoculars. He flew higher and checked his tail feathers in another window. Sure enough, the dirt was mostly gone, and his bright-yellow and red tail feathers were peeking through.
He headed for the roof and found some grime to roll around in. Hoping he hadn’t lost Kristine, he hopped onto the edge and peered over. She seemed to be heading home.
Now that he knew which building was hers, he could shift quickly, redress, and hopefully find an apartment labeled “Scott.” Although, if her mother was an actress, she might not go by her real name. He’d just have to follow Kristine as closely as he could without getting caught. Maybe a light would go on in one of the units and he’d spot her inside.
He knew he was grasping at straws, but at this point he’d do whatever it took to locate her place and get her to let him in. Then he landed near the cardboard box where he’d left his clothes…only there was no cardboard box. Or clothes!
Shit!
* * *
Kristine had returned to her apartment and was beginning to cook dinner by rote habit. She wasn’t particularly hungry. As she ruminated over her mother’s and her situation for the hundredth time, a knock at her door interrupted her thoughts. “Who the hell could that be?” she muttered.
Realizing it must be a neighbor since no one buzzed from the outside, she wiped her hands on a towel and strolled to the peephole. When she saw Jayce standing there, she almost dropped the towel.
How did he…Mixed feelings swamped her. On the one hand she was angry he hadn’t listened to her and left her alone to deal with her problems. On the other hand, she wasgladhe hadn’t listened and badly needed him to hold her and tell her everything would be all right.
After a few seconds of hesitation, she opened the door. He probably wouldn’t go away if she didn’t at least talk to him. Just as she was about to ask him what he was doing there, she took a good look at him and gasped. He was wearing a pink sweat suit several sizes too small. His face was smudged with dirt, and his hair stood on end. “What happened to you?”
He glanced down at himself and casually asked, “What? You don’t like my new look?”
She grabbed his arm and yanked him toward her. “Get inside before anyone sees you.” After slamming the door shut, she stared at him.
He looked like he was trying to suppress a smile. “I was going to tell you I lost a bet, but I really do want to be honest with you. I had a slight accident.”
“An accident?” Her anger fled, quickly replaced by concern. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. But I was worried about you and may have been distracted. Areyouall right?”
“Yeah. I—I’m fine.”
“Sure you are…” His sarcasm was hard to miss.
As she was about to argue, her phone rang. This time it was her cell phone. “Hello.”
The underwater voice said, “I trust you came up with a plan…” Her mother must have given them her cell phone number. Maybe that was a good thing and meant her mother was still alive.
How the hell did they know I was finished scoping out the place? Oh yeah… They’re watching me.She glanced at Jayce, took a deep fortifying breath, and willed herself to stay calm. “It’s possible, but it’s not going to be easy.”
“If it were easy, we’d do it ourselves.”
How could she make them understand how tricky it would be? “Look, by ‘not easy,’ I mean there are many, many things that could go wrong.”
“Like?”
