Page 113 of Sunburned

To my relief, it was unlocked.

I stepped over the threshold into the dark room and paused, allowing my eyes to adjust to the gloom. Even with the blackout curtains closed against the afternoon sun, I could see the room had been ransacked—by the police, I supposed. Drawers stood open, the mattress was half off the bed, clothes and personal items were strewn about.

As my eyes adjusted to the gloom, I noticed a built-in glass cabinet, dimly illuminated by the light through the partially open bathroom door. I crept over to it, confirming what I’d thought I’d seen: guns, neatly displayed behind the glass, as other people might display their china. There were two handguns and space for two more, plus two shotguns and a rifle.

No wonder Jennifer didn’t kill Tyson here. He was armed to the teeth.

St. Barth’s was a territory of France, which had incredibly tough gun laws, and it was illegal for nonresidents to possess firearms, but I supposed that that didn’t matter to Tyson. He had ways and means.

I tried the handle of the cabinet, but it was locked, and when I tapped the glass, I could tell it was shatterproof. Dammit. I would have felt a lot better with a weapon at my side.

I pulled my phone out to find a new text message from Laurent:

Cody going downstairs

I glanced back at the door, considering bolting, but what if he came in here and locked it? I’d be stuck outside with no way in. No, I needed to hide.

As I scanned the room for a place to take cover, I heard the click of a door latch in the next room. Light poured in from outside, spilling into the bedroom through the open double doors that led to the rest of the suite. I dived into the triangle of space between the mattress, the bed, and the floor, peering out to see Cody enter.

I lost sight of Cody as he moved away from me toward the theater, and typed out a text to Laurent:

Where’s Jennifer?

His response came immediately:

In her room

With Cody in the theater and Jennifer upstairs in her room, this might be the best chance I had to sneak upstairs, where I could hide out in the suite that had been mine to wait for an opportunity to enter Jennifer and Cody’s room. I knew they didn’t have access to the interior cameras of Tyson’s home; they didn’t even know they were there.Tyson had hidden them so that he might catch his guests doing whatever it was he was sure they were doing.

A lot of good that had done him. But it was fortunate for me.

I could feel my injured heel throbbing with each beat of my heart as I carefully backed out of my hiding place, scanning the floor until I found an errant sock. Hoping it was clean, I slipped it over my foot to stem the blood flow, then edged around the bed toward the door that led to the exterior hallway. I held my breath as I slowly turned the handle and pulled.

I opened the door only a crack and slid through, blinking in the sudden daylight as I stole down the outdoor hallway. I turned at the stairwell and dashed up the stairs two at a time, pain shooting through my injured foot every time it touched down. I felt my phone buzz in my pocket, but I didn’t have time to stop and check it. Cody could reemerge from the theater at any minute.

Once I reached the main level, I bolted across the open space like the wind, headed for my bedroom door. But before I could reach it, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs from the upper level and saw Jennifer’s legs. I would never make it to my room. I needed a place to hide immediately.

I darted behind the kitchen island, where I crouched low, trying to quiet my breath as my heart hammered in my chest. I heard the patter of her feet reach the bottom of the stairs, then…nothing. Where was she?

I pulled out my phone to see the text from Laurent that had come through while I was on the stairs, warning me that Jennifer was leaving her room. Another text came through.

Blood on the floor

She’s on to you

Fear shot through me as I looked down to see blood had seeped through the sock onto the pale gray floor. I’d left a trail leading right to my hiding place.

Chapter 44

“Audrey.”

I looked up from where I cowered behind the island to see Jennifer hovering over me, her blue eyes piercing. She was freshly showered and dressed in workout clothes, like she was about to go on a run, except for the gun dangling from her right hand. One of the guns missing from Tyson’s cabinet, I assumed.

“What are you doing here?” There was an edge in her voice, her doe-eyed charm vanished. Yes, this was more like the Andie I’d known.

“Jennifer.” I slipped my phone into my back pocket as I rose with shaking knees and held up my hands.Play dumb. She doesn’t know you know anything. “Why do you have a gun?”

She looked at the gun, adjusting her grip as she raised it and pointed the barrel at me. “For protection.”

---