Page 43 of Act Like You Don't Care
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed,” I promised him as we pulled into the underground parking at his condo building. I checked my phone, received confirmation that the parking garage was clear, then pulled into the parking spot and turned off the SUV. “Let’s get you unpacked.”
We piled into the tiny elevator, Tam still twitching like he’d had too much caffeine. I checked my phone again, logging into the security system’s status page in a final check to make sure I didn’t need to clear the apartment before I let Tam in.
The condo smelled sweet when we opened the door. Tam followed me in, then stopped short and stared at the massive bouquet of flowers on his dining room table. “What the hell?” He shoved his suitcase out of the way and reached for the envelope tucked in between a couple of exotic lilies.
“Let me get that,” I said, putting myself between him and flowers and intercepting the envelope before he could get to it. “Why don’t you start unpacking?”
“It’s flowers, Miles,” he said dryly.
“Yeah.” I frowned at him and saw his shoulders stiffen, then his eyes drifted uncertainly to the bouquet.
“Okay,” he said in a subdued voice. He dragged his suitcase down the hall toward his bedroom, calling out for the cat as he went.
I called Dad. “There’s a bunch of flowers here.” The smell tickled my nose, the lilies sickeningly sweet, and I stepped back before it gave me a headache.
“There was a delivery this morning from one of the florists. We sent the LAPD to check into it, just in case, but they said it looked like a regular order. Sent by one of the studios.”
“Which one?” I asked. Gently, I teased the envelope out of the bouquet with my pen, letting it fall to the table then pinning it there so I could tear it open with a second pen.
“Limitless Films,” he replied. “I didn’t see it in his profile, but they’re a real company. Is it from the audition he had today?”
I paused to stare at the blank card in the envelope. “No, that was Granite Robot.”
“Hey,” Tam said behind me. “There’s another one of those in the bedroom. Have you seen the cat? I can’t find her.” He yawned then and seemed to sway. “I just want to check on her, then I’m going to bed. I think all the stress is catching up with me.”
Blank letter, super strong-smelling flowers, the sudden sluggishness of my brain… “We’re getting out of here.”
“What?” Tam gaped at me. “We just got here.”
“It’s not safe. Come on.” I grabbed his arm.
“Wait!” he cried and twisted out of my grip. “Just let me find Badness.”
“There’s no time.” I grabbed for him again and we swayed there in the dining room. He was stronger than I’d suspected, even after watching him film, but I was in better shape and I started to hustle him toward the door.
“No! It’ll just take a second. Badness!” he yelled and then I picked him up bodily and carried him out into the corridor. I didn’t know what the sweet smell was, but it wasn’t all coming from the lilies. It was too strong.
Tam lunged for the condo door as soon as his feet hit the floor. I grabbed an arm and twisted it up behind him, then wrapped my arms around him and dragged him down the corridor. On the way, I hit the fire alarm in the hallway, the whooping siren shattering what had been a peaceful afternoon.
I had to fight him all the back to the fire stairs. He kicked and twisted and dragged at my arms until he managed to break free. Ten feet from the door of his condo I tackled him, wishing I had a set of handcuffs. Or a gag—I knew he swore, but I’d never heard anything like this out of his mouth before.
Dad’s voice sounded weakly in my ear. Holding Tam in place with a knee in the middle of his back, I patted around for my phone, finding it in the inner pocket of my jacket. I didn’t even remember putting it away, but I must have.
I interrupted my father. “He’s accessed the condo,” I said. “Flowers, but there’s something else. A gas, smells sweet. We’re getting out of the building now.”
“I’ve got the police on the way,” Dad said.
I put the phone away, pulled Tam to his feet, then picked him up bodily, his arms pinned to his sides, and carried him back to the stairs and out of the building while he raged and kicked ineffectually at me.
The police arrived at the same time as I got Tam out into the sunshine. Tam froze, staring aghast at the SWAT team pulling up along with the fire department. I dragged him out of the way and waited for the paramedics to come to us. Whatever we’d been breathing up there was still making me dizzy and Tam’s reactions told me he was no better.
A plain-clothes police officer approached us, introduced herself, and got the rundown from me while I held Tam close against my chest and worried about what that damn shit was doing to him. In the background, I saw my father pull up down the block from Tam’s building at the same time as the paramedics arrived.
“There’s my father. He’s been coordinating, he can fill you in.” The paramedics dropped their bags beside us and then everything got too busy to talk.
Dad came over while the paramedics were trying to convince Tam to go to the hospital for tests. “How are you?”
“Better.” I glanced up the side of the building. “How did he get in?”
