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Chapter Eighteen

Grey

W ith a giggle, she hurries off to the bathroom to clean up as I gather my clothes. We don’t have a lot of time to pack before we have to take off, but I don’t exactly have anything to pack anyway. That’s all right. With all the money we have, we can both start over if we want to.

And I think that’s exactly what we both want.

After dressing, I place the two passports and the bank card on the bedside table, then flop onto the bed. Briar joins me a few minutes later. She lies down beside me and snuggles against my chest.

“Can we get a dog?” she asks through a yawn. “When we get settled in Russia, I mean. I’ve always wanted a dog.”

I smile and play with her hair. “Absolutely. What are you thinking? Something big and mean?”

“No, something small and cute.”

I lean forward to kiss the top of her head. “Well, then I guess we’ll have to get two dogs. Something big and mean for me and something small and cute for you.”

That’s when we hear the car door shut outside.

Briar and I sit up, but I motion for her to stay on the bed as I stand and walk toward the window. Without placing my silhouette within the curtain’s frame, I peek through the small slit in the side and solidify our worst fears. A single cop car sits outside, and its lone officer is walking toward the front door.

I creep back to the bed. “It’s a cop,” I whisper. “He’s probably stopping by to check out that lead again.”

“About your car?”

I nod. “Just play it cool, little psycho. He’ll leave, just like they did last time.”

She blows out a breath and grabs her robe from the back of her bedroom door. The officer knocks as she’s tying the silk belt around her waist.

“Just a moment!” Briar yells. “I’m not decent!”

“Good girl.” I squeeze her shoulder. “I’ll be in the hall closet, right near the door, so if he wants to take a look around, just steer him away from there at first. I’ll slip outside and hide in the woods until the coast is clear.”

She nods and licks her lips, then starts toward the front of the house. I spin on my heel to grab the passports and the bank card on the off chance that the officer asks to look around. I hurry to catch up, then tuck myself into the closet before she opens the door. Since I can’t see anything, I close my eyes and listen.

The door creaks open, and Briar clears her throat. “Hello, officer. I’ve already told you I haven’t seen the car.”

That’s not exactly playing it cool, but I can’t blame her for jumping straight to that. She’s in a very tough position, and I’m merely hiding in a closet.

“Oh, of course, ma’am, but would you mind if I have a look around your property? I know it’s been a few weeks, but if he stashed his vehicle somewhere on your land, that would at least give us some kind of lead.”

“My land?” The floor creaks as Briar adjusts her weight. “Like, you want to go tromping through my woods?”

“Yes, if that isn’t too much of a bother.”

“Well, it kind of is. I was just settling in for bed, and I won’t sleep a wink if I think some murderer has been living in the woods. Maybe you should check the house first.”

She’s trying to give me a chance to get out, but in doing so, she’s tightening the noose around her own neck. If they stay long enough to check the woods, they’ll eventually discover the body tucked away in the forest. And it would be all my fault. Briar killed him, but I drew the flies to his corpse when I picked her driveway.

The voices and footsteps fade as Briar leads the policeman into the house. I catch the word “basement,” followed by the familiar creak of the basement door. Then everything goes silent.

A cold sweat slicks my forehead as I prepare to exit the closet and make a break for the front door. I can only hope Briar takes my advice and plays it cool. The last thing we need is for her to panic and chain the officer in her sex dungeon.

I open the door and slip out of the house, holding my breath the entire way. My initial plan is to run to the woods and do something with Sid’s body, but then I see the cop car. The computers inside their vehicles hold far too much information for me to just pass on by, especially when that information might pertain to me.

On silent feet, I hurry to the passenger side. Most cop cars also come equipped with cameras that film inside and outside the car whenever an officer turns on his body cam. Because that cop is inside a residence with a potential witness, I can almost guarantee his camera is on, which means the car cameras are as well. Thankfully, the car’s nose is pointed at an angle, aimed away from the front door. When he watches the footage tomorrow, he might see movement or shadow, but he’ll have no evidence of my existence.

I lean in through the open door, careful to keep most of my weight out of the car. Any shift in the camera’s angle might alert them to the fact that I was snooping through their things. The computer monitor rests within a swivel arm attached to the dash. It’s currently aimed toward the steering wheel, so I reach forward and twist it to face me. The words that stare back at me aren’t what I expect to see. I anticipated information about my case, but the cop wasn’t here for me at all.

He’s here for a welfare check on Sid Williams.

The blood drains from my face. Briar has no idea, and she may be incriminating herself at this very moment. I have to do something, and fucking fast.

I ease out of the car and hurry around the side of the house, but I don’t know why I’m being so sneaky. The plan formulating in my mind ends with me leading the police on a chase to draw them away from Briar, allowing her to escape.

Throwing myself onto the sword couldn’t save my wife, but it might save Briar.

I drop to my stomach in front of the small window, then shimmy forward on my abdomen. The cop’s back faces the window, and Briar faces him. I push my hand in front of the glass and wiggle my fingers, hoping against hope that Briar sees me.

Her eyebrows rise, and she looks me in the eye. Now what? How the fuck do I communicate that I need to get her upstairs so that I can speak to her?

I point at the cop, then point down. I point to Briar, then point up.

She looks at the cop and nods at whatever he’s saying. After a few more nods and a bright smile, she says something else and points upstairs. The cop goes to follow her, but she shakes her head, says a few more words, and heads up the steps. He stays put.

Without a moment to spare, I scramble to my feet and rush toward the front of the house, but I stop at the corner. As soon as Briar pokes her head outside, I get her attention with a low-pitched whistle. She scurries toward me.

“What the fuck are you thinking? Why aren’t you hiding in the woods?” she whispers. “I told him I needed to use the bathroom, so we don’t have a lot of time to fucking chat.”

I reach into my pocket and pull the bank card and Briar’s passport from inside. I shove them into her hands, then tighten my fists over hers so that she can’t give them back. “When you arrive at the airport in Russia?—”

“Grey, no. I’m not leaving without you.”

My grip tightens. “When you arrive at the airport, look for the man with a sign for the Robinsons. Go with him. He’ll take you to the village. I’ll join you as soon as I can.”

“We don’t have to split up. He’ll leave when he’s done looking through the house. I’ve already thought about it. When he finishes up in the?—”

“He isn’t here for me, Briar. He’s here for you.”

Her mouth closes, and her throat clicks as she swallows. The color drains from her face. “What?”

“I checked the cop car. There’s a computer in there that sometimes says why they’re out on a call, and this time, he’s here for a welfare check.”

“Well, yeah, to check on me in case?—”

“For Sid Williams. They’re here looking for your ex.”

She closes her eyes, and a tear trails down her cheek. “What do we do?”

“When the cop is gone, you take my car and drive to the small airport outside of town. You know the rest.”

“Why can’t I take my car? And how will you meet me?”

I close my eyes and shake my head. “I can’t go with you tonight, but I’ll meet you in Russia as soon as I can. Our tickets are at the Gregario Airlines counter.”

“Then I can’t go tonight either. Why don’t we meet?—”

But then we both hear the footfalls coming up the creaking basement steps. I lean forward and kiss Briar for what is probably the final time, and then I step into the light.

“Little pig, little pig, are you looking for me?” I shout.

The cop’s head whips upward, and his gaze meets mine. That’s my cue.

I turn and race for the cop car, then hurl myself inside. The keys are still in the ignition, so I reach forward, turn them, and take off down the driveway. I consider running lights and sirens, but I need to put some space between myself and certain doom. Certain doom will probably still discover me, but at least I’ve kept Briar safe.

That thought consoles me as I step on the gas and race into the night.