Shit.How could she talk to them without Jayce figuring out what was going on? Her hesitation left her caller to fill in the blanks.
“Are you thinking you might be seen by people or by cameras?”
“Uh—both, and if anyone is carrying a phone—”
“But there are no security cameras on or pointed at the building?”
“N—not that I could see…”
Jayce tipped his head, and she knew he was listening to her side of the conversation. Before he could overhear the other voice, she strode away and put the couch between them.
“You sound nervous. Is anyone else there?”
“No!”
“I don’t believe you. Hang up. I’ll call back on Skype and have you pan the room.”
“Ah. Okay…” She disconnected the call and told Jayce in a hurried voice, “You have to leave.”
“No. Not until you tell me what’s going on.”
Her phone rang again, only this time it was the Skype tone.Shit.“Hide!”
He ducked behind the couch.
“Stay right there. Whatever you do, don’t move,” she said.
“Hello,” she said to a black screen. The caller must have placed tape over the camera on the other end. “If you can see me, then I should be able to see you.”
“We’re calling the shots. Now walk around the room with the camera facing out to prove you’re alone.”
Doing as she was told, she panned the room from her vantage point.
The monster still wasn’t satisfied. “Move around. I want to see thewholeplace.”
“You want to see the whole room?” She took a deep breath, hoping Jayce would race to the bedroom. He didn’t, so she began walking around the room, avoiding the back of the couch.
When she had finished, the caller growled. “That’s not the whole place. Let me see behind the furniture and in the kitchen. Under tables. Under beds. In closets…”
“Yeah, fine.” She turned toward the kitchen, hoping to get there without revealing the hiding spot behind the couch. She glanced back over her shoulder and was surprised to see a pile of pink clothes on the floor behind the couchbut no Jayce.
She panned behind the couch and headed to the kitchen.
“I guess you’re a slob, leaving your clothes on the floor like that.” He laughed. Heard through the voice modulator, his laugh sounded absolutely evil.
“I was getting the laundry together,” she said, wondering the whole time where Jayce had gone and realizing he was now naked. Did he strip, go to her bedroom, and try to find something that fit? How? He didn’t have time. She was just relieved she hadn’t exposed her man to the asshole who had her mother.
Since when had she begun thinking of him asherman?
After she toured the kitchen, she had to show the caller the bathroom, pull back the shower curtain, open the linen closet, and finally expose the bedrooms—including the closets and under the beds.Where the heck did Jayce go?
“Okay. I guessmaybeyou’re alone. Now go back to the living room and point the camera at the door. I want to make sure no one tries to sneak in or out.”
When she returned to the living room, the pile of pink clothes were still on the floor, but they looked as though they stirred slightly.What the heck?
* * *
Jayce tried not to move a feather under the pink sweat suit now that Kristine was back in the living room. With his supernatural hearing, he was able to follow both sides of the conversation. Piecing things together, he figured that somebody had something precious to her, or she’d never agree to do whatever risky thing she was being asked to do.
