Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Kelli sighed in frustration. She was ready to start classes at the community college.
The more she thought about becoming an electrician, the more excited she got.
But because Brant Williams was still out there somewhere, lying in wait for the chance to make whatever move he had up his sleeve, she’d been stuck in Smiley’s apartment, waiting.
Things with Flash were good, at least. Better than good. She’d never been so satisfied, both sexually and in general. He was a wonderful man. He had his flaws, but showing her how much he cared for her wasn’t one of them.
He was currently at work, and Kelli was bored. She wanted to go for a walk. Go see Remi or one of the other girls. Maybe head to Aces and have another delicious hamburger. But for now, she was basically a prisoner in the apartment.
And it sucked .
Still, she wasn’t going to do something stupid like defy all common sense and head out on her own. That would just be asking Brant to grab her, and this time do something worse than just bury her underground inside a bus.
She had to be patient. Had to believe that this Ryleigh person would find Brant.
Once that happened, her life could go back to normal.
But what was normal, now? Would she move back into her apartment up in La Jolla?
She’d be pretty far from Flash if she did that, and she’d gotten very used to living with him.
It was scary just how easy it was to move in together. How right it felt.
She’d talked to her mom about the situation, who’d simply told her, “When you know, you know,” and that was that. She also wanted to meet Flash, but with everything going on, her mom agreed Kelli should just lay low, and she’d meet him when the time was right.
Flash called or texted pretty much every hour, wanting to make sure she was okay, that everything at the apartment was calm.
Kelli appreciated it, and only partly because the memory of Brant breaking into her place was still fresh.
Texting or talking with Flash also made her smile, made her feel not quite so lonely.
Yes, she texted with Remi, Josie, Maggie, Addison, and Wren too, but it wasn’t the same as when Flash contacted her.
She got butterflies in her belly and she felt all warm inside when he took time out of his day to check on her.
She was aware that he’d been taken off the deployment rotation, at least until Brant was caught, but he was still working hard to make sure his friends and teammates would be safe when they left for whatever mission was currently in the planning stages.
Kelli had just finished texting Flash yet again, and was settling on the couch to read one of the thrillers Smiley had on his bookshelves, when there was a knock at the door.
Immediately, her mouth went dry.
Who could that be? Not any of the girls; they would’ve let her know they were coming over. And she’d just talked to Flash, so she knew it wasn’t him.
Getting up cautiously, she tiptoed over to the door. She made sure to stay completely silent as she gazed through the peephole.
She saw a woman standing there, looking extremely nervous. She was biting one of her fingernails and kept glancing down the hallway, as if expecting the boogie man to appear at any moment.
She looked to be in her mid-thirties and couldn’t be much taller than Kelli.
She had reddish-brown hair that came down to around the middle of her back, and hazel or light brown eyes, it was hard to tell in the low light of the hall.
The jeans she wore were baggy, and the sneakers on her feet were worn.
She was wearing a plain black T-shirt, with no markings on it at all.
But what stood out to Kelli most were the faded bruises on her face. They were yellow, meaning they were almost healed, but the woman hadn’t used any concealer to cover them. Actually, it didn’t look like she was wearing makeup at all.
Despite the danger the woman might pose, Kelli was intrigued.
When she reached up and knocked on the door again, it startled her so badly, Kelli almost fell backward onto her ass.
Should she answer it or not? Indecision tore at her. Flash had told her not to open the door to anyone, no matter what, but this woman looked…she looked freaked out. Would someone hell bent on doing Kelli harm look so nervous? She didn’t think so.
Taking a deep breath, she made a split-second decision—and prayed she wouldn’t regret it. She unlocked the two bolts and took the chain off, then opened the door.
The two women stared at each other for a long moment. The woman at the door looked confused.
“Hi. Can I help you?” Kelli asked, sounding more confident than she felt inside.
“Um…I’m sorry. I think I have the wrong apartment. I thought this was Jude Stark’s apartment.”
Kelli had heard the other girls mention that Smiley’s real name was Jude. At the time, they’d been discussing how cool it was. That it was basically a superhero’s undercover name. They weren’t wrong.
“It is.”
“Oh. Um, is he here?”
“No, he’s at work.” Kelli wasn’t going to tell this woman anything important until she found out who she was and why she was looking for Smiley. There was a chance she was working with Brant, a slim one, but a chance nonetheless.
For some reason, the woman looked…heartbroken? It made no sense. Kelli was pretty sure Smiley wasn’t seeing anyone, so she didn’t understand what was going on here.
Abruptly, the woman turned to leave.
Understanding hit then. The woman thought Kelli was dating Smiley. She was in his apartment, after all.
“I’m dating Flash. Smiley’s friend,” she blurted, before the woman got too far away.
“Some things went down, and my boyfriend and I are staying here. Smiley let us swap apartments. He’s at Flash’s place.
” Her words were rushed, and for some reason, Kelli really wanted the unknown woman to believe her.
“I like Smiley but he’s kind of…intense for me.
Not in a bad way, I just like my men to be a little friendlier.
No—that makes him sound mean, but I didn’t mean it that way. ”
“It’s okay, I understand,” the woman said.
“Do you want to come in?” Kelli asked. Flash was going to give her hell for inviting a stranger into the apartment, but everything was screaming at her that something was…
maybe not wrong , but definitely off with the woman.
There were those fading bruises, yes, but also, there was no gentle way around it…
she stunk. As if she hadn’t had a shower in a long while. And her clothes were dirty.
Something within Kelli was screaming not to let her walk away.
“Um, no, that’s okay.”
“Please? Look, my name is Kelli. I’m bored out of my mind.
I can’t leave the apartment because there’s a guy out there who’d love nothing more to get his hands on me for nefarious purposes.
So I’m kind of hiding out until Flash and the others can find him.
And I don’t want to put Remi or any of the other women at risk, so they really can’t come over and visit.
I’m sick of watching TV and there are only so many of Smiley’s thriller books I can read.
So you’d be doing me a huge favor if you came in and visited for a while. ”
Kelli was laying it on a bit thick, but the more she thought about it, the more she thought this woman needed to come in. She obviously came here to talk to Smiley for some reason, and she hoped she could get her to relax enough to maybe tell her why.
The woman looked up and down the hall. Then slowly nodded.
Feeling as if she’d accomplished something miraculous, Kelli smiled and took a step back from the door, giving the woman some room. Making sure the door was locked and dead-bolted behind her mysterious guest, Kelli gestured toward the kitchen.
“Are you hungry? I was about to make some lunch. Don’t get too excited, it’s nothing super-fancy, just some ham and cheese sandwiches.”
“I don’t want to put you out,” the woman said.
“Oh, you aren’t. Seriously.” Kelli led the way, and it didn’t escape her notice how interested the woman seemed to be in checking out Smiley’s apartment. It was if as she was drinking in every little detail.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” Kelli said, knowing full well the woman had never said it.
“Oh…I’m Bree.”
It was all Kelli could do not to gasp and gawk at the woman. This was Bree? The woman Smiley had been hunting all over Riverton? And the bruises had to be from when she’d helped save Ellory and Yana from the guy who’d sold them to someone overseas for their organs.
Her heart started beating fast. The woman was nothing like what Kelli had pictured in her head.
For one, she felt sorry for her. Now that she was inside the well-lit apartment and not in the dingy hallway, Kelli could see that she looked really bad.
Dark circles under her eyes, those faded bruises, the clothes were even dirtier than she’d thought…
and there was that smell emanating from her.
As Kelli made the sandwiches, she babbled about nothing in particular. She simply wanted to fill the silence, as if that would prevent Bree from deciding to leave. She also wanted to text Flash and let him know who was there, right now, but she had a feeling that would make Bree bolt.
As they ate their sandwiches at the table, Bree asked, “So, Smiley is at Flash’s place and you guys are here?”