Page 117
Story: By the Time You Read This
“Psycho bitch.”
Delaney sat on the ground, her gun lost somewhere behind her because of the scuffle. “Let her go, Raisa.”
“What?” Raisa asked. Delaney wasn’t exactly in the position to give her orders.
“She’s not worth Kilkenny’s life,” Delaney said, meeting Raisa’s eyes.
They hadn’t worked together more than a few days two years ago, yet for some reason, Raisa was able to read her blank expression.
Because Delaney washers.
Family, whether Raisa loved that fact or not.
She hesitated a second longer for show, then stepped aside.
Gabriela glanced between them and then dashed toward the stairs.
They listened to the slap of her shoes against the deck and then the pier.
“You have a plan?” Raisa asked, reholstering.
Delaney grinned as she held up a slim, old-school recorder, the kind of tool journalists in the early aughts had used before smartphones.
“She’s not the only one with sticky fingers,” Delaney said. “I dropped that AirTag you put on me in her pocket. As long as you have the tracker, we’ll be able to find her.”
Raisa was already halfway up the steps, already dialing St. Ivany.
“Hey,” Delaney called, not following. Raisa paused, looked back. “Thanks for not killing me.”
Raisa laughed. “Hey. Thanks for not making me.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Raisa
Day Seven
St. Ivany ran toward her down the long pier, her phone held up to her ear even though she was close enough to hear Raisa in person. “What? What?”
Raisa shoved her phone back in her pocket as she took off toward where they’d parked their cars. “Call whoever is guarding Kilkenny and make sure the guard is on high alert.”
St. Ivany was keeping pace behind Raisa, running even without knowing why.
They really had become allies.
Raisa skidded to a stop beside St. Ivany’s SUV and held up her palm. St. Ivany tossed her keys toward Raisa, all the while on the phone with her guy at the hospital. Raisa slid behind the wheel and pressed the gas even before St. Ivany’s door was closed.
Gabriela had disappeared, and had the advantage in terms of local knowledge of the streets. But Raisa had ...
“Pull up the AirTag we dropped on Delaney,” Raisa said, and St. Ivany did so without question. The dot was moving fast.
“Is this Gabriela?” St. Ivany breathed out. Then without waiting for an answer: “She’s heading to the cliffs.”
Raisa’s heart thudded against her ribs as she thought of that look in Gabriela’s eyes when Delaney had threatened to pull the trigger. In this kind of light, it might have been mistaken for relief.
St. Ivany and Raisa glanced at each other, and then Raisa pressed her foot to the floor. There were coves all along the shoreline, but in between those were jagged rocks that dropped off into the ocean. They weren’t as dramatic as cliffs in other parts of the country, but they would absolutely offer a way out for a girl looking for one.
They found Gabriela’s car first, the driver’s-side door open.
Delaney sat on the ground, her gun lost somewhere behind her because of the scuffle. “Let her go, Raisa.”
“What?” Raisa asked. Delaney wasn’t exactly in the position to give her orders.
“She’s not worth Kilkenny’s life,” Delaney said, meeting Raisa’s eyes.
They hadn’t worked together more than a few days two years ago, yet for some reason, Raisa was able to read her blank expression.
Because Delaney washers.
Family, whether Raisa loved that fact or not.
She hesitated a second longer for show, then stepped aside.
Gabriela glanced between them and then dashed toward the stairs.
They listened to the slap of her shoes against the deck and then the pier.
“You have a plan?” Raisa asked, reholstering.
Delaney grinned as she held up a slim, old-school recorder, the kind of tool journalists in the early aughts had used before smartphones.
“She’s not the only one with sticky fingers,” Delaney said. “I dropped that AirTag you put on me in her pocket. As long as you have the tracker, we’ll be able to find her.”
Raisa was already halfway up the steps, already dialing St. Ivany.
“Hey,” Delaney called, not following. Raisa paused, looked back. “Thanks for not killing me.”
Raisa laughed. “Hey. Thanks for not making me.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Raisa
Day Seven
St. Ivany ran toward her down the long pier, her phone held up to her ear even though she was close enough to hear Raisa in person. “What? What?”
Raisa shoved her phone back in her pocket as she took off toward where they’d parked their cars. “Call whoever is guarding Kilkenny and make sure the guard is on high alert.”
St. Ivany was keeping pace behind Raisa, running even without knowing why.
They really had become allies.
Raisa skidded to a stop beside St. Ivany’s SUV and held up her palm. St. Ivany tossed her keys toward Raisa, all the while on the phone with her guy at the hospital. Raisa slid behind the wheel and pressed the gas even before St. Ivany’s door was closed.
Gabriela had disappeared, and had the advantage in terms of local knowledge of the streets. But Raisa had ...
“Pull up the AirTag we dropped on Delaney,” Raisa said, and St. Ivany did so without question. The dot was moving fast.
“Is this Gabriela?” St. Ivany breathed out. Then without waiting for an answer: “She’s heading to the cliffs.”
Raisa’s heart thudded against her ribs as she thought of that look in Gabriela’s eyes when Delaney had threatened to pull the trigger. In this kind of light, it might have been mistaken for relief.
St. Ivany and Raisa glanced at each other, and then Raisa pressed her foot to the floor. There were coves all along the shoreline, but in between those were jagged rocks that dropped off into the ocean. They weren’t as dramatic as cliffs in other parts of the country, but they would absolutely offer a way out for a girl looking for one.
They found Gabriela’s car first, the driver’s-side door open.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125