Page 30 of Tangled
“We know she did,” Sabina said, taking the picture. “On paper, they are nothing but an above-the-board escort service. But even then, they still need to show their merchandise—which is what the women are to them—so they had several pictures on their website.”
“Um, I don’t mean to sound like a Pollyanna, but they have awebsite?” Brad asked, drawing a smile from Scarlett.
Sabina laughed. “Not one you can find with Google. If you know how and where to search, though, then yes, they have a site.”
Chad shook his head as he handed Will a toy to divert him from grabbing at the picture in his mom’s hand. “I’m sure it was child’s play for you to find that, but sometimes it scares me what you can discover about people,” he said.
Sabina flashed her husband a self-satisfied grin. “And you love me for it.”
“No, I love you for you. Your skills are something that I just greatly admire,” he retorted, earning a kiss from his wife.
“And you’re certain Gracie worked for them?” Scarlett asked again.
“We had to go a few versions back on the site, but yes, we found pictures of her. They updated the page the day she died and removed them all,” Sabina answered.
“So we have Petrov and someone from Sussurri in Mystery Lake,” Scarlett said. “We’re certain that Petrov came to kill me. But since Kimmie was going through my things, I’m going to guess that she was sent to get something back. Something Gracie might have taken that the agency now thinks I have.”
“It’s a good thing Ryan and Mari grabbed those boxes a few days ago,” Chad said. “Should we send someone to get the rest of your things? I’m assuming you’re staying here for a while.”
Scarlett glanced at Brad. She’d agreed to stay until they knew she and the baby were safe, but they hadn’t talked about anything after that. And while living together out of necessity was one thing, choosing to live together because theywantedto was something else altogether. And it seemed too early in their relationship to be making that kind of decision.
“As long as this is unresolved, she’s staying. After that, we’ll figure it out,” Brad said, taking the burden of answering from her. “Since we don’t know how long that will be, it would be good to have everything boxed up and brought over here.”
“Kara and I can do it tomorrow morning,” Sabina said, setting Will on the ground. He quickly got up on his hands and knees and started motoring around the living room.
“Ethan and I will come with you,” Chad said. When Sabina arched a brow, he added, “Multiple people are looking for Scarlett—two we know of and there may even be more. There’s a high likelihood at least one of them will be watching her place.”
“Well, when you put it that way, we’d be delighted to have you along,” Sabina replied, eyeing Will, who’d made a beeline for the sliding glass doors.
The doorbell rang, and Brad rose to let Kara and Ethan in. She’d only met Ethan once, over a year ago, and she’d never met Jasper, their six-month-old son. But like all the Warwicks, Ethan enveloped her in a big hug within seconds of walking in. Then, just loud enough for her to hear, he said, “We’re so glad that you’re here.”
Six words. A small thing. Maybe it was hormones, or maybe it was the words, but tears pricked her eyes. She tried to blink them back, but when she reached for Jasper, a baby boy with his father’s hair and his mother’s eyes, and he came willingly into her arms, she gave up the fight.
Brad handed her a tissue as Kara wrapped an arm around her, sniffling back her own tears. “Who would have thought, all those years ago, that we’d find ourselves here,” Scarlett said.
Kara hiccup-laughed. “Never in my wildest dreams,” she said. Kara had joined the aid agency straight after residency to hide from her mother’s killer. Scarlett had already been with the group for three years, staying one step ahead of her own demons. Neither thought their lives would ever be anything other than the nomadic existence of an aid worker.
Then things changed. For Kara, anyway. HICC had caught her mother’s killer, allowing her to reconnect with her sister and build a different life. As for Scarlett, the fear of being sucked back into the world she’d left behind when she walked out of South Central LA for nursing school kept her on the run. Even investigating Gracie’s death was supposed to be a momentary reprieve from her work. Because unlike Kara, she’d never imagined a life different from the one she had. Until she found out she was pregnant. And the family she never knew she wanted became very real.
Pulling her thoughts away from the philosophical wanderings, Scarlett refocused on the here and now. Refocused on Jasper as he tugged on her curls, pulling one down at a time, then chuckling as he let it go and it sprang back into place. Will had spotted his cousin and crawled over to say hi as well. Kara scooped up her nephew, then ushered them all back to their seats.
Leaving behind the topic of Gracie and her murder, the six chatted about everyday things—the upcoming storm, the room plan for Mitch and Ava’s wedding, and when she’d meet William Warwick. The thought of meeting a former president seemed a bit surreal until she reminded herself that, first and foremost, he was Brad’s grandfather.
To her surprise, she was able to eat most of her meal. She’d been stomaching Brad’s pancakes, and the kitchen’s chicken soup, but hadn’t yet tackled anything more. Tonight, though, while she kept her helpings on the smaller side, she’d eaten everything on her plate.
After finishing off an apple pie among the six of them, they retired to the living room. Brad had just delivered her a cup of ginger tea when Chad’s phone rang. Glancing at the number, he frowned, then rose and walked to the dining room as he took the call. Sabina watched him go, a look of concern in her eyes, and Scarlett hoped nothing was wrong.
Jasper and Will played with blocks on the floor while the adults finished their coffee and tea and chatted. They’d had an early dinner, but the day had been a long one for Scarlett, and it wasn’t long before she fought a yawn.
“If you need to go lie down, go,” Brad said, leaning close to her as he spoke. “No one will mind.”
She was considering the idea when Chad walked back into the room.
“What?” Sabina asked, in tune with her husband’s mood.
“That was Ryder. One of our operatives,” he said, directing the comment to her. “He’s at the Blacksmith and not only is Kimmie Garza there, but so is Jason Katz.”
“Together?” Scarlett asked.
