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Kiana shoved her hand into the gap and frowned. A moment later, she pulled out an electronic tablet with a soft lilac case that opened with a keyboard. She glanced up at Dev. “I’ve been looking for a laptop. She must have downsized to a tablet.”
Kiana touched the button to turn the device on. It blinked, the login screen appeared and then went to black.
“It needs to charge.” With the tablet in hand, Kiana jumped up, ran into the kitchen and yanked open the junk drawer. She grabbed a charging cord and plugged it into the wall and the tablet. This time when she hit the power button, the tablet blinked to life, bringing up a login screen.
“Shoot! What’s her password?” Kiana tried Meredith’s birthday forward and backward. Tish’s birthday. Nothing worked. Then she remembered. “Meredith kept a thin leather journal where she jotted down important information like addresses, account numbers, phone numbers, birthdays...and passwords. Here, hold this.” She gave Dev the flashlight.
While he held it, Kiana sifted through the junk drawer. It wasn’t there. She ran to the built-in desk, and Dev followed.
One by one, Kiana pulled open the drawers on either side.
About to give up there and check in Meredith’s bedroom, she flicked through a stack of blank greeting cards. Tucked beneath was the leatherbound journal. “This is it!”
She opened the journal and leafed through the pages past information about Meredith’s different accounts, friends’ birthdays and addresses, finally arriving at the pages full of login IDs and passwords.
Kiana ran her finger down the list, turned the page and continued until she found the one associated with the tablet. “Found it.” Right below it was the ID and password for the ancestry site. She looked up at Dev. “And I found the ancestry site login ID and password.”
“Is there anything else you need from this apartment?” Dev asked.
Kiana looked around and shook her head. “I think we have what we came for.”
“Then let’s get out of here before the gang realizes we’re here.”
A rush of fear sped through Kiana’s veins. “Right.” She gathered the tablet, the charging cord and the leatherbound journal.
Dev pulled back the curtain hanging over the front window and peered into the parking lot. Out of the corner of his eye, a shadow moved. He focused on the location he thought he’d seen it. All was still. His gut told him it wasn’t safe. Staying in the apartment wasn’t a good option either.
“Is someone out there?” Kiana whispered behind him.
“I don’t know. I thought I saw something move. I could be wrong.” He looked back at her. “Let me carry those things. You need to be able to run down the stairs and across the parking lot as fast as you can.”
“I can do that and carry this stuff. Besides, you need your hands to be free to hold your gun.” Her eyes widened. “Wait here.”
She ran into Meredith’s bedroom. Moments later, she appeared with a quilted backpack slung over her shoulders. “Now, my hands are free. I’m ready when you are.”
He checked out the window once more. When he detected no movement, he eased open the door, pausing long enough to twist the lock. The lock would engage when they closed the door. He shot a glance toward Kiana. “Ready?”
She nodded, her face bathed in the shaft of starlight streaming through the crack in the door.
Dev stepped out, waited for Kiana to clear the door, and then pulled the door closed. He led the way, running down the metal staircase to the ground.
Kiana was right behind him, matching his pace.
Dev had just run out into the parking lot when headlights blinked on. A dark sedan pulled out of a parking space and zoomed straight for him.
Kiana yelled, “Run!”
Dev didn’t have time to get out of the way. He waited for the vehicle to reach him and leaped at the last moment. Planting his hands on the hood, he vaulted onto the hood and slid across to the other side.
The sedan rolled past him and Kiana before the driver slammed on his brakes. Doors shot open, and men leaped out.
Kiana ran behind the vehicle, caught up with Dev, and raced for the far side of the lot.
They pushed through the bushes and into the empty lot.
A shout sounded behind them.
Dev ran faster. Kiana stayed at his side but couldn’t keep up the pace forever. They had to get to their car or find a place to hide from the men chasing them.
