Page 95 of Right Number, Wrong Man
Suck.
I laugh. A surly bastard like me is lucky to have a friend like Cody. I’m about to tell him that, when a text from Hailey pops up at the top of the screen and my heart leaps as I read the preview.
Hailey
Please tell my stepdaughter Gracie that she’s the cutest, sweetest, most adorable cowgirl in the world. I think…
I sent her a picture of Gracie sitting in my Stetson, knowing she’d love it. This new friendship between us is more than I ever could’ve hoped for—yet not nearly enough. I’m a greedy man.
Her stepdaughter though, huh? Warmth spreads through my chest as I swipe up to read the rest of the message.
Hailey
I think we might need to get her a tiny cowboy hat to 911
911? I pause. Adrenaline surges through me when I put two and two together.
Hailey is in danger.
I leave my phone on the sofa and jump up. Graciestartles, dropping the ball from her mouth as I sprint to the window to grab my rifle, lifting the scope to my eye.
Hailey’s apartment is dark and the curtains are drawn, but it’s way before her bedtime. The blinds in the kitchen shift, almost too subtly to notice, and I curse under my breath. I can’t assess the situation like this and a Hail Mary shot at an unknown target is out of the question. Whoever is in there with her could be using her as a shield.
I have to go in.
I run upstairs and grab the silencer hidden between my underpants in the dresser. Screwing it onto my pistol on the way back down, I stop by the sofa to take my phone and set it on silent before I type out a message to Cody.
Me
911 @ Hailey’s place.
Cody
Didn’t know we were having a party tonight. Omw. I’ll bring the goods.
Me
If you don’t hear from me in twenty minutes, I need backup. The entrance code is 84980# and Hailey’s apartment is number 301.
Cody
Roger.
I shove my phone in my pocket, giving Gracie a quick glance. “I’ll be back soon, girl,” I say and rush through the front door out into the night, clutching my gun.
Please be okay, Hailey. Please, please be okay.
36
COLT
Like a phantom,I slip through the shadows and into Hailey’s apartment building. Good thing I got the entrance code from Mike.
My heart pounds as I take the stairs two at a time, racing to the third floor. Breathless, I stop at her door. I want to kick it down and storm inside, but I need to keep my nerve.
If I act on impulse, Hailey could get hurt.
Checking the frame and the lock, I can’t find any signs of forced entry. I press my ear to the door, listening for noise, but there’s absolutely nothing.
