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She rolled her eyes. What moron had given her cat milk, and why? Most cats, including Miss Casino, were actually lactose intolerant.
“How much did you drink?” she asked, petting Miss Casino’s head. She nudged into Anna’s hand, purring softly. Anna picked her up and felt her stomach, which was soft and concave, as it should be. She didn’t feel bloated and wasn’t acting unwell.
Anna pressed up onto her tiptoes, looking into the back yard of her neighbor.
Well-manicured lawn, a plastic kids outdoor playhouse and a clothesline full of laundry. The lights were off inside.
She turned and went inside, putting Miss Casino on the couch as she grabbed her laptop and loaded the security footage.
A woman she guessed, based on height and build, wearing a baseball cap, emerged into the frame, put the bowl down, waited a few minutes, then patted Miss Casino, who nudged into her hand before going inside. Anna couldn’t really be mad. She didn’t think the woman was trying to hurt her cat but rather had thought she was doing something nice.
Anna watched the footage three more times, but the woman only entered the frame that one time.
Anna sighed then headed to the bathroom. She needed a long, hot shower, and bed.
But sleep didn’t come easily to her. She read the message over and over, wanting to pick up the phone and call him. But if Jackson had her number, he could’ve called her. He didn’t, and that told Anna he knew, or at least suspicioned, that her phone had been bugged. That wasn’t a risk she was prepared to take.
She closed her eyes, but her mind was still on Jackson as she finally had a chance to process everything she’d learned in the past twenty-four hours. Jackson had managed to find Olivia—to do what she’d failed to do—and she was truly grateful for that.
Hot tears surfaced behind her eyelids as she imagined Olivia’s body stuffed in that barrel.
Jackson had found her, and he’d given Anna the information. He’d given her a sense of peace she hadn’t felt since Olivia had gone missing, and although Olivia hadn’t been laid to rest, at least she would be safe in a morgue, away from the horrors of that warehouse.
A tear escaped, running down her cheek, falling onto her pillow. The harder Anna squeezed her eyes shut, the more the tears escaped.
It was the first time she’d allowed herself to grieve Olivia, and she owed that to Jackson. Her mind ran through everything that had happened since he’d come into her life. She thought again of the way he looked at her, the way he seemed to truly see her unlike anyone else did. She thought of the pang of envy in her chest as he’d sat with Becky, chatting and laughing with her friend in a way they’d never been able to. The way his hand felt wrapped around hers when he gave her the memory card that would forever change her life.
She inhaled a hesitant breath, shaking her head. She could not allow her mind to go down that path. Any arrangement with Jackson had to be purely professional. If they were both going to do this—and survive—she could not daydream and fantasize about how good being wrapped in his arms would feel.
She turned onto her side, pulling her knees to her chest, letting the tears fall—tears for Olivia, tears for the years of her life she’d sacrificed, and tears for the future she didn’t dare to dream of. When her pillow was wet and her eyes dry, she inhaled a shaky breath.
In that moment, Anna made up her mind. She would call him first thing in the morning, and together they would make Diaz pay.
But she would not let her guard down.
JACKSON
Jackson stared at the ceiling, tossing and turning, unable to switch off his mind.
Where was Diaz taking her?
Why was he planning a trip away?
Jackson didn’t like it. She was hardly a damsel in distress; in fact, she was one of the best undercover profiles he’d ever seen. She’d managed to fool everyone, including Diaz. Jackson wondered if when this was all said and done, the FBI might offer her an undercover role.
If they walked out of this alive.
Where are you taking her, Diaz?
He didn’t want her to go. He wanted her in Oradale where he could keep an eye on things. Admittedly, he was too far away from her to protect her if Diaz did something insane right now. But if he didn’t know where she was at all...
He didn’t like it. Not one bit.
He also didn’t know why Diaz’s brother had been at the warehouse. He’d entered from the back, not visible from where Anna was. Diaz hadn’t wanted her to know he was there, and Jackson wanted to know why.
With every day that passed, he had more questions and fewer answers. When he felt like the questions were choking him, he turned on his bedside light and pulled out his Bible. Reading a few scriptures had always helped calm his mind, and tonight was no different. The Bible said over and over again that we could trust God and to cast our worries on him, and Jackson needed that right now.
He massaged his aching temples and turned off the light. He needed a few hours of sleep at least.
