Chapter 23 #3
He did something else on the screen then shoved his phone back into his pocket. “Zev’s about fifteen minutes out. We’ll get eyes on them and make sure they don’t take off before he gets here.”
Easier said than done. “And if they decide to bail before the calvary rides in?”
“I’ll figure something out,” he said. Isa was still processing his less-than-reassuring answer when he caught her hand and pulled her around the Dodge.
“Come on.” They jogged down the narrow alley that stretched behind the houses.
When they reached their target house, Locke stopped where the detached garage rose above the fence line. “We’ll go over here.”
Isa eyed the cement-block fence and reached for the top, her fingertips hitting just shy of it. Next to her, Locke dropped into a crouch and cupped his hands. She set her palms against the sun-warmed cement and placed her foot in his hands.
“On three,” he said, voice low. “One, two, three.” He shoved upward.
She scrambled awkwardly to pull herself up and over, ignoring the stinging bites as the rough sides of the block wall scraped first across her torso then the inside of her thigh when she threw her leg over to straddle the wall. After sitting up, she offered Locke her hand.
It wasn’t necessary. Taller than her and clearly much more at ease hopping fences, Locke was already swinging his leg over the wall’s edge.
The muscles in his arms flexed as he rotated his body in a controlled drop into the narrow space below, then he was reaching up for her.
With a lot less grace, she pulled her other leg over, rolled to her stomach, and tried her best to mimic his movements.
Her arms screamed at the strain as she started to lower down.
Her shirt snagged on the cement and abraded the bare skin of her stomach.
That will leave a mark.
When she felt Locke’s hands on her hips, she pushed off, trusting him not to let her fall. He didn’t let her down. Isa stood next to him, her heavy breathing loud in the cramped confines. She worked on calming it down as she tugged her shirt back into place and reconsidered her workout routine.
“You good?” Locke’s question brushed her ear.
She nodded.
He went to the detached garage, peered around the corner, then turned back to her. “There’s a half wall partially screened by bushes and trees between us and the house. Stay low and get behind it,” he whispered.
“Windows?”
“Big one to the left, a double glass door on a covered patio on the other side of the wall, and another window off to the right, blinds drawn. That one’s blocked by the garage. I’m betting it’s a bedroom. I want you to keep an eye on those doors.”
She grabbed his arm. “Wait, why? Where will you be?”
“I’m going to work my way around, see if I can’t get a better angle on what’s going on inside.”
That didn’t sound good. “Locke—”
He cut her off with a quick kiss. When he pulled back, he said, “I’ve got this.”
She swallowed and reluctantly nodded. “All right. Let’s go.”
They moved out, picking their way through the shrubbery.
She stayed low and followed Locke’s lead.
He stopped just behind a hedge, his attention on the glass doors, and held up his hand.
She froze. She could see the half wall just a few feet ahead.
Locke was right—it was in direct line of sight to the patio’s glass doors.
The way the sun hit them, she couldn’t make out much through the glass.
If someone inside looked up at the wrong time, she’d be screwed.
Locke held up a finger, then a second, and when the third went up, she made a hunched-over dash for the scant protection of the wall.
She skidded into place, heart racing, and huddled behind the stucco.
She looked over to see Locke give her a reassuring grin, then he slid back and started to edge around the yard.
As much as she wanted to watch him, she forced her trembling limbs to creep to the half wall. She peered around the corner at the covered patio and saw only a reflection of the backyard. Tinted glass.
Pulling back, she reconsidered her options. Locke had made it to the far side and was inching his way closer to the house. In another couple of feet, he’d lose what little protection the bushes offered. He had stilled just shy of being exposed, his attention focused on the house.
A breeze kicked up, heavy with heat. It was strangely steady and brought with it the sound of arguing.
“… tell me where she is.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” There was no mistaking Angel’s mocking tone.
“Don’t fucking bullshit me. I got witnesses who say you were arguing with her that night, and now I can’t reach her and her phone’s off. I know you had something to do with it.”
“Witnesses? You mean junkies like her?”
A roar of rage erupted, followed by a loud crash and a responding bellow. The strange breeze stopped, like a switch had been thrown, leaving behind a muffled quiet.
This can’t be good.
She turned to look for Locke, but he was gone.