Page 26 of The Me I Left Behind

“Goddamn I hope not.” Maggie rolled her eyes and headed to the entry.

“We’ll find out soon enough,” Julia whispered.

After a minute, Maggie joined her again at the island and took out her phone. With a few taps and a couple of swipes, she logged into her voicemail.

“Put it on speaker, Mags.”

“Oh, right.” She did and laid the phone on the countertop.

Max:Maggie! Goddamn it! What kind of fucking stunt are you trying to pull? Get the hell out of my office before I call the cops.Several seconds passed, then his voice lowered.Be careful, darling. There are eyes everywhere.

The message ended.

Maggie stared at the phone.

Julia stayed silent, too.

“He’s coming home.”

“You think?”

“Pretty sure. He avoided saying anything specific on purpose, to keep me off guard. That’s his M.O.”

Julia nodded. “Could be.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s a little after noon. When do you think the earliest is he can get back?”

“No earlier than nine tonight, or shortly after.”

“Then let’s make that plan now. When do we pick up Jason and Chloe?”

She glanced at the kitchen clock. “Chloe gets out at two-forty-five, Jason at three. I usually make one trip. By the time I get Chloe, Jason is waiting at the pickup place.”

“All right. That gives us a bit of time in the office. We need to look for more camera devices, but I’m betting there are none. Let me go in and give a quick scan—I took a seminar once on surveillance and equipment, so if there is anything, perhaps I can spot it.”

“Okay.”

They moved away from the island, then a thought struck Maggie. She halted and grasped Julia’s arm.Eyes everywhere. “Do you think….? What he said about eyes…?”

Julia apparently caught her drift and started glancing about the room. “It’s possible.”

Damn him!A pang of anxiety, or something, jabbed into her gut. To think that he’d been watching her, them, all the time for perhaps, forever, was sickening. She clutched her stomach, hunching over a little. “I think I need to vomit.”

Julia steadied her, bending closer, whispering in her ear. “If he has cameras all over the house, then he knows everything, anyway. Let’s just do what we need to do then get the fuck out of here.”

Maggie raised her head. “Leave?”

Julia led her to a chair in the great room and crouched in front of her. Still whispering, she said, “You cannot not stay here tonight.”

“Oh. Yeah. But I need to talk to him.”

Julia shook her head and whispered. “No. That’s not a good idea right now.”

“But—”

“Listen to me. I’ll get a hotel room, a suite. We’ll tell the kids it’s my treat since I’m in town. Carol should be fine if she gets some good rest this afternoon. Maybe we can find a hotel with an indoor pool so the kids can swim. That might be fun.”

“They would love it,” Maggie said softly. “But I can’t put anything on my credit card. Max will see.”

Julia smiled. “Already thought of that. That’s why I said it’s my treat. We’ll put it all on mine.”