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Why not enjoy the rest of my time here? After what I’d already accomplished, I was pretty sure I deserved it. Just a few moments without worrying about the investigation or the lab report due next week or anything at all.
The gels solidified on my face and tugged gently at it as the woman peeled the layer off, leaving my skin feeling pleasantly tingly. If I’d had money to burn, maybe I could have gotten used to being a regular spa-goer.
“We’re all done here,” Hailey said. “No huge rush getting your things together, but we’ll need the room in about five minutes.”
“Thank you,” I said. I pulled on my shoes, grabbed my purse, and was out of there with plenty of time to spare.
As I reached the door to the waiting room, my gaze lifted to its small window, and I froze with my fingers clamped around the handle.
A woman was standing near the counter, one hand on her hip, her head cocked to the side. Nothing about that was particularly strange, except Iknewthat woman—and not from pleasant circumstances. There was no mistaking her spiky black pixie cut or her arrogant demeanor.
She was part of the gang that’d run the bar where I’d found Dad’s trinket box. The gang the Vigil guys and I had gotten into a tussle with. I’d tackled her to stop her from shooting Logan.
It seemed like a little too much to hope thatshewouldn’t recognizeme.
Logan hadn’t found any connection between the bar and the shell company that owned this spa, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t one buried even deeper. She might be here to take a day off, or she might have official business. And she’d definitely be suspicious of why I’d happened to show up here after sneaking into her bar.
One of the spa staff had come up behind me with a soft clearing of her throat. I jerked away from the door, my mind spinning as I scrambled for an excuse. “I—I think I left a bag in my treatment room,” I mumbled, and hurried back over to duck behind the curtain.
There, I inhaled and exhaled, getting a grip on myself. If I just waited, the woman would be escorted to her own treatment room, and I could leave without her noticing me. But if she waited more than a few minutes, another client would be coming to use this room. I couldn’t wander the halls aimlessly for who knew how long.
“Shit,” I muttered under my breath. I needed something to distract her in the waiting room so that I could hustle by without her noticing me. But I couldn’t arrange that on my own. I couldn’t call on the Vigil guys for help—even if they could easily leave whatever they were currently doing, she’d recognize them too.
We couldn’t let the criminals we were up against realize just how immersed we still were in our investigation. My mom’slifemight be on the line.
There was one other person I trusted to lend a hand who might be nearby enough, though. My stomach twisted as I considered it, knowing how Logan would react, but surely it’d be even worse if the woman from the gang caught me?
I pulled out my phone and shot a hasty text to Beckett.This is going to sound crazy, but can you come to the Lotus Blossom Spa on Trinity Avenue and create some kind of distraction in the waiting room? I just need people’s attention to be somewhere else for, like, thirty seconds. I’ve ended up in a tight spot.
I hoped that was enough of an explanation to avoid a big discussion upfront. And it appeared that Beckett trusted me too. His answering text, just seconds later, asked no questions at all.
On my way. Six minutes out. You hang tight.
Six minutes. I could delay that long. There was a single-stall restroom down the hall—I’d make a quick pit stop to stretch out the time before anyone insisted I leave. Surely they wouldn’t mind if I occupied it for just a few minutes.
Those thoughts whirled through my mind, but as my initial panic faded, a surge of annoyance rose up in its wake. I looked down at my phone and grimaced.
I should be able to get myself out of situations like this on my own. How many times had I insisted to the guys that I was just as capable as them? And now as soon as I faced a little trouble, I freaked out and went calling for help.
I bit my lip, sensing the seconds ticking down before someone asked me to leave. It’d be better if there wasn’t any commotion in the waiting room at all, nothing to make this visit memorable for the woman from the bar. If I could just get past her…
My gaze darted through the room, searching for inspiration, and snagged on the tray of creams and gels Hailey had brought out for my facial.
Not giving myself a chance to chicken out, I twisted open one of the lids, dug my fingers into the opaque, rose-petal-pink substance inside, and smeared it in a thin layer all across my face. Then I grabbed a handful of wet wipes from a nearby container, balled them in my hand, and rushed out of the room.
I slowed my pace a little as I reached the door to the waiting room. With a firm shove of the door, I strode past it and right through the middle of the waiting room. A couple of women sitting on the chairs glanced at me with curious expressions, but the woman from the gang was still chatting with the receptionist. Her gaze veered toward me and slid on by without a hint of recognition.
Thank God.
I didn’t stop walking after I reached the sidewalk outside until I was halfway down the block. Then I paused and swiped at my face with the wet wipes.
I’d done it. I’d saved myself without anyone’s help. Now I’d have to clean up the other mess I’d inadvertently made.
I’d just cleaned the last few blobs of cream from my skin when Beckett’s usual car whipped around a corner down the street. I raised my hand to wave to him, and he pulled up at the curb next to me.
He rolled down the passenger side window and leaned over, his expression tight with concern. “Are you okay? I thought you needed me to go inside. What happened?”
“I’m sorry,” I said with a wince. “I spotted someone who was a jerk to me back in high school and had a moment of panic about facing her. But then I realized I was being silly and just walked right by, and she didn’t pay attention to me anyway. I shouldn’t have made you come out here.”
