His involvement complicates things. Garret Sleet was the final person on my list for a reason. He spent the last five years inside Drayford, which meant the only way I could get to him was to be sent to Drayford myself. I confessed to seven murders so I could commit an eighth, but I was always supposed to disappear after killing Sleet.
I’m a wanted fugitive. I should be halfway to the Caymen Islands by now and yet I can’t find even the slightest trace of annoyance inside of me. Lachlan would have tried to force my hand, but even if everything had gone to plan, I don’t think Icould have brought myself to leave. Not now I’ve found my Little Lilac.
I check Hazel’s shift schedule, the one I may have, totally, without her knowledge, sent to myself from her phone last night. She’ll be at work by now which means I have about six hours to get everything ready.
I grab my old glasses off the desk, because if it works for Superman then who am I to argue, and pull on a long-sleeved shirt with a hood in case I need to hide my face. My backpack’s already packed with the equipment I need so I hook it over my shoulder and head up the stairs.
Lachlan messaged me an hour ago saying that the police were gone now. Clearly, they’re not very good at their jobs, but to be fair to them, the basement door clicks seamlessly back into place when I close it after me. There’s no handle and if you didn’t know it was there it would be almost impossible to spot the door hidden in the paneled hallway.
I swipe one of his specially ordered pastries, from the bakery he adores, out of the box on the island as I pass. My lips curl up as I take a bite because I know it will piss him off.
“One day, Lachlan’s going to snap and kill you and when they ask me to give a eulogy at your funeral I’ll get up there, like I’m about to give this big, heartfelt speech, and all I’ll say is ‘I told you so.’”
I laughed hard when Hope said that.
The custard Danish is mouth-watering though and I decide that Lachlan can kill me as many times as he likes if it means I get to finish eating it. I’ve been choking down cardboard sloppy joe prison food for the last three months and my eyes roll back in my head, the flaky pastry melting in my mouth as I look out the window over the kitchen sink.
My personal stakeout cop is still parked out front, so I backtrack out of the kitchen and up to the roof terrace.
I still can’t get over how neat my brother’s bedroom is. Even when I was in Drayford, with barely a handful of belongings to my name, my cell was still messier than this.
I pull the sliding terrace door shut on his freakishly ordered bedroom and hop over onto next door’s roof.
I think Clark Kent was on to something because an hour later I’m standing in a locksmith, with a bag full of groceries, as a man with a head like a boiled egg cuts a copy of Hazel’s front door key. My mugshot is on the TV behind the counter, but he doesn’t even blink twice at me as he hands over the freshly cut key and takes the cash I use to pay.
The walk to Hazel’s place is nicer during the day, just the barest hint of sunshine tiptoeing past the clouds. I take my hood down and run my hand through my curls, letting them fall over my forehead. The first thing I did this morning was call the security company and buy Hazel an alarm system. I paid extra to get it installed today because I hated the idea that she was living alone in that house.
When I get to the cute little bungalow, the new key slides perfectly into the lock and I tsk under my breath when punching 1111 into the new alarm turns the system off. Of course she would leave it set to the default code.
I take a moment to reprogram it and leave a note with the new code tucked behind the panel.
Hazel’s refrigerator is as sad as I remember. It takes a good thirty minutes to clean out the moldy take out and put away all the fresh groceries I bought. After I’m done, I check my phone. I’ve got about an hour until Hazel’s shift finishes.
I go back to the backpack I left in the hall and take out my equipment. Carmen, the same woman who sorted out my new identity, sent me this tech and its next level spyware. She probably wouldn’t be too happy with what I’m using the cameras for but as much as I want to be with Hazel twenty-four seven, Ihave a senator to kill. The camera feed links up to my phone so this way, I can keep an eye on her wherever I am.
Once I’ve finished setting up all the cameras, I duck into her bedroom then reset her alarm.
I get home just in time to watch Hazel find the gift I left her.
5
HOW TO BARGAIN WITH YOUR STALKER
Hazel
There’sa teddy bear on my bed. A little teddy bear that would be cute and adorable if only it was there when I left.
I knew Flynn had been here. The hairs on the back of my neck told me before I even opened the front door and saw the note with the new alarm code. The teddy pretty much confirms it though.
I let my bag slip off my shoulder and onto the rug at the end of my bed. My eyes skate over the room as I walk around it nice and slow. I poke the bathroom door open with my toe. It’s empty. “Bedroom clear,” I mutter like I’m an FBI agent before approaching the teddy as if it’s a bomb.
If you ignore that Flynn broke into my house to deliver it, the teddy is actually very cute. A purple bow is tied around the little guy’s neck with a tag attached to it. I reach out and flip the name tag over in my fingers.
Teddy Bundy.
I snort despite myself, then feel awful because puns about serial killers should not be funny. Flynn breaking into my houseagainis not funny and presents from serial killers are creepy not endearing. Sure, it starts off with teddy bears but before you know it, there’ll be a heart in a box on your pillow and sleepingwill be nothing but a distant memory you look back on fondly in your nightmare ridden nights of insomnia.
I slip my phone out of my pocket and type a message to my new stalker.
