Page 14 of Snow Good to Lose
Caden
Amari clung to my arm; her body tensed. She studied her phone. With Skip in my face, I couldn’t check mine. The anguish in her body told me all I needed to know. I was right.
I didn’t want to be this time, but it was time to move.
I peeked over Amari’s shoulder to see what had her so engrossed. It took me a few seconds to decipher what I saw. Dark shadows moved throughout our house. The place was trashed.
“So, how’s the golf here?” Skip placed a hand on my shoulder. It took everything in me not to shake it off, grab the guy around the neck, and pound him until he told me what I needed to know.
Who was he? Who sent him? What was his goal?
I grabbed her phone and shut it off. I squeezed her shoulders a couple times to get her to relax. Outwardly it seemed to help, but I knew there was no way she was taking this news as calmly as she appeared.
Skip continued to drone on about golf shots while I tried to keep my girl from an anxiety attack. As subtle as possible, I scanned our surroundings. I felt nothing. Skip wasn’t my concern. He was the distraction.
“I’m hungry. You guys tried the Italian restaurant?” Skip motioned across the courtyard. “Want to join me?”
His voice rose an octave.
“Tiff, what time were we meeting Isabell?” I shielded her from Skip’s view. It gave me an opportunity to assess her mental and physical well-being in two seconds without tipping him off.
Her beautiful brown eyes set wider than normal.Her pupils dilated. Her gaze darted around a little too much for my taste.
“Tiffany.” She jumped slightly but caught herself as she looked up.
I nodded slightly.
“I told her we’d be there around 9:30.” Amari looked at her watch.
“It’s nearly that time.” I grabbed her hand and squeezed it tight. She grabbed my bicep and looked around me.
“Skip, it was good seeing you again.” Amari’s voice sounded normal with a French twist. “Enjoy your stay.”
“Hey, where are you guys headed?” Skip stood up.
“We’re meeting some friends. We will see you around.” I patted his shoulder, pushing a little to get him to sit back down.
I kept my eyes on him as we retreated. We headed toward the front entrance. Before we made it all the way, I cut through the foliage into anemployee onlypathway toward the parking garage. We remained silent as we scooted down the path at a slight jog.
If she hadn’t caught on, it would have looked way more suspicious. I was two seconds away from tossing her over my shoulder.
I pushed open the door and ushered Amari through. I scanned the area. It was quiet. I pushed her toward the stairs to our left up. We ran up two flights. Neither of us were out of breath.
Amari stopped at the top of the stairs. I stood next to her, did a quick survey of the area. Again, it was empty. Few cars parked up here. Mostly night-shift employees. I took Amari’s hand and strolled to the far end.
Our getaway car.
It was a nondescript black two-door pickup truck with a tarp covering the bed.
I skirted around the back of the truck to make sure it had been undisturbed.
I pulled the cover back. Two duffel bags sat in the bed where I’d put them months ago. I unzipped one and checked the contents. I did the same with the other. Nothing looked out of sorts.
Amari walked to the other side of the truck and opened the door.She stood with her hand on the edge. Her chin dropped to her chest.
I needed her to get into the car.
She didn’t.
