I felt myself flush hot, from my scalp to my toes. All the words dried up on my tongue. He reached up and touched my chin just right at that moment, a tender, definitely not all professional gesture. His fingertips felt strong and warm beneath my chin. I thought he might kiss me again, but instead, his fingers fell away.
“You think about where you want me sleeping tonight,” he told me. “Right now, I’ve got to go.”
He was leaving?
“Wait—why?” I glanced up at him, meeting his inscrutable blue gaze.
“There’s something I need to take care of. A contact I need to meet.”
“I want to come,” I said.
Russo shook his head slowly. “Not this time.” He didn’t elaborate. I couldn’t help but feel the sting of the rejection. I’d thought we were a team. But he was already backing away from me. Moving toward the bamboo fencing at the edge of the property.
“You make sure to stay near your sister or brother while I’m gone.”
“Okay,” I said, trailing after him, but I sounded almost as petulant as I felt. He’d shooed me off to the kids’ table to wait.
He hesitated, hand on the handle of the gate. “Maybe send the webslinger packing.”
I hesitated. “Okay.”
“Good. You gonna be okay?”
“Do I have a choice?”
Russo chuckled. “Don’t get into trouble while I’m gone.”
“No promises,” I said.
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” He opened the gate and let it slap shut behind him. He sent me one last long look over his shoulder before he turned the corner and disappeared. I wondered who the hell he was going to talk to and why he was freezing me out.
I sat there staring after him for a minute or two, thinking he might come back and get me. Also, I dreaded facing Mateo and Jude.
My phone pinged. I grabbed it out of my pocket, half-hoping Russo had changed his mind and was texting me to meet him out front. But it wasn’t Russo.
Ready or not…
From a random number. I suspected it came from the stalker app. I felt a little twitch of unease in my stomach.
The CanceledKill account had sent me the same taunt.
I looked up the number. Yep, the app just like I thought. I took a screenshot, then blocked and deleted it.
I glanced down the empty sidewalk. I should try to catch Russo. Then again, did I really want to go whine to him now? Main Street felt a little emptier than usual. No cars sitting at the light. No pedestrians on the sidewalk.
Ping.
Ready or not.
Different number this time.
Ready or not.
I blocked that, too. Took a screenshot as I glanced up and around the backyard. The koi fish were my only companions. The phone messages unnerved me a little, but they were just that—messages. One fish slapped his tail against the pond’s surface but then went uncharacteristically still. The uneasy quiet that followed felt sinister. Like the koi wanted to brace themselves for something. I slowly walked away from the bamboo gate, back to the curving pebble path of the Zen garden.
Ping.
I flinched.
