Page 61 of Wine, Whiskey, & Lipstick 2

555-571-3232 – Anonymous: Turn on the news. Right now.

Dillyn walked over to her television and turned it on.

BREAKING NEWS: NEW YORK STATE’S ATTORNEY GENERAL DAVID SWANSON WAS FOUND DEAD IN HIS NEW YORK CITY PENTHOUSE APARTMENT.

“Oh my god!” Dillyn’s hands went to her throat. “What the fuck was Steven involved in?” Again, her phone chimed with another phone notification.

555-571-3232 – Anonymous: “You have what the people who were bankrolling Steven want. They are coming for you.

312-719-0036 – Dillyn: “I don’t have anything!”

555-571-3232 – Anonymous: “Yes, you do. I know what they want, and so does Syntax.”

“Oh shit!”Dillyn almost peed her pants.Syntax? How would he know? And how did they know about him?

312-719-0036 – Dillyn: “Who is this?”

555-571-3232 – Anonymous: “Meet me at the Nashville International Airport in two hours, and I’ll give you the information. Come alone. No bodyguards.”

Dillyn checked her computer to see what information she could get from the call.

“Damn.”

Not surprising at all. They had used a burner.

Chapter 27

Dillyn checked the time on her phone. It would take an hour and a half to get to the airport. That meant she only had thirty minutes to disarm the security system. Otherwise, there would be no way she could sneak without tripping any of the alarms.

She could do it, but her first order of business was to order a car. Because it would take some time for them to reach the orchard, Dillyn needed to get that done immediately and then pray it would arrive in time. Once she took care of that, she set about disabling the alarm system.

It took ten minutes.

The clock was well and truly ticking as the alarm would rearm itself in twenty minutes. Dillyn set the timer on her Fitbit, then shot up from her desk and hurried to the closet. Quickly, she threw on a pair of dark jeans and a sweatshirt, found her most comfortable pair of gym shoes, and put them on. Now . . . she only needed her backpack, aka go bag. Next to disarming the alarm, it was one of the most valuable pieces in her crazy scheme, and Dillyn couldn’t leave without it.

Having the backpack might be the difference between life and death if her anonymous messenger was more foe than friendly as it hid a locating tracking tag inside of it. The bag also had extra tags that could be hidden inside, like her shoes. Dillyn was already taking a risk but wanted to be ready in case something went sideways. Syntax or someone else would be able to find her.

“Goddammit! Where is it?” Dillyn found everything under the sun but her pack. She pulled many items out of the closet and threw them around the room without a care, leaving clothes and everything else strewn about.

Finally!She breathed a huge sigh of relief.There it was, glowing at the very back of the closet like a beacon or the North Star.

Dillyn pulled the backpack out, dusted it off, and threw one of several untraceable cell phones inside of it.

Now that Dillyn had her gear, she just needed to make sure that she looked as inconspicuous as possible. Quickly, Dillyn pulled her hair back into a ponytail and threw on a Chicago White Sox baseball cap.

I’m ready.

Dillyn took another quick look around the room, mentally ticking off items on her checklist. She couldn’t think of anything else that she might need. Well . . . there was one more thing, but it wasn’t in her room.

Seven minutes. Dillyn had burned seven minutes, and that brought her total to seventeen. She had thirteen minutes to grab one final item and get the hell across the yard and down the bottom of the ravine where, hopefully, her car would be waiting.

Dillyn had to move fast and prayed Selah wouldn’t ask too many questions. Slowly, she opened the door and peeked her head out. Nervously, she bit down on her lip as she looked to the left and then to the right.

Fortunately, the hallway was empty.

Quietly, Dillyn closed her door and began walking toward Selah’s bedroom. Dillyn made three quick taps on the door.

She could hear Selah moving around on the other side. Dillyn shifted from foot to foot while waiting for Selah to open the door.

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