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As soon as we dropped him off, I turned to Hayden. “So, I was thinking…” He glanced my way, one eyebrow quirking up, and it made my tummy quiver just to have his attention. “If we actually find something awful and damning to get Lana arrested, I’m going to be out of a job.”
He shook his head. “No, you won’t. I’ll make sure you have something.”
I frowned. “How so?”
He shrugged as if it were no big deal. “Well, if she’s arrested, she can no longer impede you from finding work elsewhere. And I’ll help out while you’re searching. If anything, you can clean my apartment until you get your dream job.”
“Clean your apartment?” I repeated, lifting my eyebrows. “And would you be willing to pay me the same as your mother is?”
The glance he sent me was so offended I kind of felt bad for asking.
“Of course. And as a matter of fact, if at any time you want to stop helping me search Lana’s apartment, my offer will remain open. I won’t let her bother you beyond whatever you’re willing to put up with. That’s a promise. I helped get you into this situation; I won’t let you remain stuck in it.”
I gulped, a little overwhelmed by how much he was willing to support me, even though—yeah—he was technically responsible for some of the reasons I’d landed in this mess in the first place, what with all that wheeling and dealing he’d done to rope me into working for Lana in the first place. So it only seemed fair that he help me out if I so wanted out.
With a small nod, I said, “Well, thank you. We’ll see how today goes, and hey...” I grinned. “You never know; I could find what we need within the first hour.”
“You could.” He nodded. Then grinned. “In fact, that would be preferable.”
I chuckled. “So what will I be looking for, anyway?”
“The last will and testament of Arthur Judge,” he answered. “And if anything else looks particularly damning, tell me about that as well.”
Lifting my eyebrows, I repeated, “Just tell you? You don’t want me to take any evidence?”
He shook his head as he found a place to park. “No. I don’t want you in any way involved in handling proof in case this somehow goes south and she slips our clutches. She won’t know to go after you for trying to trap her if all you’re doing is cleaning and looking. The only person who knows you’re reporting back to me what you see is me, and there’s no way I’ll divulge that information. So you should be safe in all this.”
Well, that was considerate of him, wanting to protect me. And yet, it made everything kind of scarier, too. Did I need protection? Just how dangerous was Lana Judge?
His dark eyes glistened with unease as they met mine, telling me he found his mother to be extremely dangerous. For a moment, I thought he was going to back out of the entire deal and announce he didn’t want me going inside at all; it was too risky.
But then he said, “I have something for you.”
“You do?” My chest swelled with emotion as he reached into the backseat and pulled up a grocery sack full of…groceries?
“Um, oh!” Not sure what to make of this strange development, I smiled tightly. A grocery sack wasn’t quite what I’d been picturing.
I opened my mouth to thank him, anyway, only to peer inside and realize the contents looked extremely familiar. I pulled out the bottle of pop and lifted an eyebrow in his direction. Then I peered back into the bag to spot chicken noodle soup, tissues, saltines, and Tylenol. Everything I’d taken from his mother on Halloween night.
“I think I matched the brands correctly,” he started. “I’m sure Lana hasn’t noticed anything missing yet, otherwise she’d no doubt blame you somehow. So you should replace the lost items with these after she leaves today to prevent her from ever finding out.”
“Oh. Wow, that—” Suddenly, his gift seemed more meaningful than any kind of flowers a person could give. “That’s a good idea,” I said, trying not to sound as choked up as I fe
lt. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do all this for me, but, yeah, thanks. A lot.”
He nodded and said nothing else, so I took that to mean I was dismissed. “Well…” I blew out a long breath. “I guess I better go in there. Wish me luck.”
“I’ll pick you up a little after five this evening,” he confirmed, his eyes looking slightly panicked.
“All right.” I opened the door before he could change his mind, offering him a wave and a weak smile. Then I was out of there.
I entered through the side way, the one Hayden had always used when I’d been with him, so I could avoid crossing paths with André, the asshole concierge.
Once inside, I wandered the halls until I found a public bathroom. After stashing the sack full of goodies behind a trash bin, I wound my way to the pretty, sparkling door guarding the devil’s lair and rang the bell.
“Just so you know, I really hate you, door,” I muttered as I waited for what felt like forever.
If only it hadn’t been so pretty and remarkable, I never would’ve gone near it.
