“I’m not going to the station,” I said conversationally as we turned into my room.
Maggie scoffed and held open a large duffle bag for me to shove clothes into. “Yes, you are. We need to get this on record.”
“He threatened Anvi. He had agun. I’m not dragging her into it.” I packed two of my largest, baggiest sweatshirts along with the essentials for about a week.
“Nothing is going to happen to anyone,” Maggie said, exasperated. “He’s just trying to scare you. Which is exactly why you need to report it officially.”
“Can you guarantee that?” I gave my room one last sweep. The fairy lights I’d hung above my bed seemed to twinkle sympathetically.I’ll see you soon, room, I promised.
Soren was waiting for us, frowning down at his phone, but as soon as Maggie entered the lobby, he put it away. He slipped his hand around her lower back as we walked out.
“Talked to Steffi,” he said gruffly. “They’re gonna increase security anyway, just in case.”
“We should set some patrols, too,” Maggie said.
“Goodbye, chicken.” Steffi intercepted me for one last hug. “I’ll see you soon.”
Outside, the sun had fully risen.
“Where to?” Soren asked and tossed my duffle bag into the trunk of their Range Rover. “The station down here would probably be pissed if we took you all the way back to Maggie’s precinct. But… fuck ‘em.”
Maggie looked at me with raised eyebrows, and I shook my head.
“We’re going home. Apparently, Bridget doesn’t want to make a statement,” she said scathingly.
To my surprise, Soren chuckled. “Payback for being so stubborn when it was you in trouble.” Maggie rolled her eyes.
“Give me your phone.” She held out her hand to the backseat where I was sitting.
“Why?”
“Because Lachlan said if we’re dealing with someone who can track your IP address, they can track your phone.” Lachlan was Maggie’s most intimidating pack member, but he knew more about cybersecurity than probably anyone.
“Can I make a call first?” I asked.
“Yeah, but make it quick. We have to assume whoever is watching will come back,” Soren said.
I hopped out of the car and considered my options. If I called Nathan, he wouldn’t let it rest, and I was determined not to involve anyone else in this mess. Better to let whoever was watching me think I was being obedient.
I called Lisbeth’s cell. It went to voicemail, as I expected.
“Hi Lisbeth,” I said after the beep. “I’m… going to be out of the office for a few days. Personal emergency. Sorry for the late notice.”
I hung up. There was still a good chance Lisbeth knew about what was going on, so it was better to keep things vague.
When I climbed back into the car, Maggie took my phone and turned it off.
“I could have done that,” I said, exasperated.
Maggie considered that. “Well, yeah, but this way is more official. Lachlan is going to scan it for malware when we get home, too.”
I looked back once as we drove out of the front gate. Why did it feel like I’d never come back?
Chapter 16 - Nathan
Bridget hadn’t been to work in two days. The first day, I had told myself she was probably sick. The second, I told myself that maybe she wasreallysick. By 10 a.m. on the third day, I was panicking.
“You haven’t heard from her?” I asked Anvi for the fiftieth time. We’d both been calling and texting her, but she hadn’t answered us.
