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“Breathing will get you through anything,” Mom had said.
“In and out,” Tabitha whispered now.
She breathed in. She breathed out. She closed her eyes. Then she opened them again.
There was a light outside, and she darted to the window to peek out.
“Shit.”
The guards were back. Apparently, they didn’t have the entire night off. Not like she had suspected. Either that, or this guy’s absence had been noted. He hadn’t been on the phone during the time they’d been together until they’d gotten in the car to come back.
Had he missed a check-in?
A rich guy like Flannigan probably had endless security measures in place to keep him safe. If she’d been wrong about the safe, and she’d been wrong about him getting drunk, she could have been wrong about other things, too.
Maybe there had been a guard watching them while they were at the bar.
Fuck.
Three different cars were pulling into the driveway. Before the people inside started getting out, Tabitha realized it was time to bail. Her hard work might have been for nothing, but she wasn’t going to die here tonight. She had to avenge her family, and she couldn’t do that if she was dead. She took one last look at the safe, and then she started running.
She didn’t bother to put things back the way she’d found them. There was no reason to, and she didn’t have any time to waste. She knew there was no way anyone would know what she’d been looking for.
Then again, she didn’t think she’d have trouble finding the map, either.
She took off down the hallway, racing to the very end. She stopped at the window and looked down. She was on the second floor, but this window didn’t open. Tabitha grabbed it, trying to push the window up, but when she peered out, she saw that two of the guards had shifted into tigers.
Fuck.
Of course, this asshole had tiger-shifter guards.
She didn’t want to use her magic to push open the window and then leap down into the path of tigers. She was strong, yeah, but tigers were vicious fuckers. If they caught her before she managed to get a spell out, she’d be toast.
It was better to avoid them altogether if she could.
To the right of the window, there was a closed door. She knew from the floorplans she’d looked at that this led up to the attic. She heard the front door of the mansion burst open.
“Sir?” Someone called up into the mansion. Brent was knocked out cold, still, so it would be a minute or two before the guards managed to find him.
Tabitha knew she didn’t have a moment to spare. She tugged open the door, closed it behind her, and took a deep breath. She listened for just a second, making sure the attic was empty, and then she scurried up the narrow, dusty stairs.
There was no way she’d be getting out of the front door of the house. There was no chance she’d be leaving without being noticed. Unless she could fly, which she couldn’t, she was going to be stuck hiding in the house for awhile until everyone left or until she managed to fight her way out: whichever came first.
When she reached the top of the stairs, she produced a small orb that glowed just enough to guide her through the messy attic. She found a corner to sit in and she made herself uncomfortably comfortable.
The attic was messy, filled with boxes, and loaded with forgotten items nobody cared about. She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. She could practically feel herself about to sneeze, but she held her breath for a moment until the sensation passed. When she opened her eyes again, she tried to calm herself down.
Well, that had gone just horribly, hadn’t it?
Not only had she not gotten the map, but she’d totally blown everything she’d planned to do. Her plan had been simple: get in, get out.
Now she was stuck in an attic and she had to find a time when she’d be able to escape. If the guards simply walked through the house, couldn’t find her, and left, she’d be okay. She could wait up here endlessly until they finally left the premises, but Tabitha had a feeling that Flannigan was the type of guy who was like a dog with a bone.
He’d wake up, and he’d remember that she stupidly asked about the map, and he’d tear the house apart until he found her or evidence of her true identity. Nope. She was going to have to make a daring escape. She was pretty much completely fucked.
“What else could go wrong?” Tabitha muttered to herself. She was just about to blow out the glowing orb in her hands when something caught her attention. There was a painting leaning against the wall. It was similar to the one above the bed. In fact, it was almost completely identical.
“What the hell?” Tabitha whispered, looking at it.
