26. Who the Hell is Carmen?
WHO THE HELL IS CARMEN?
Hazel
I’ve spent the last three days low key terrified that Danny is going to turn up. I keep telling myself that I’m just being paranoid because my life turned into a thriller movie overnight. It’s clearly not working though because my phone pings and I jump out of my skin.
It’s a message from Olivia. I put my hand on my chest and take a breath, then I press the button to video call her.
We’ve both got the day off so she’s sitting on her bean bag eating popcorn when she answers. She’s still in her PJ’s and I long for the days I used to laze around without stressing about serial killers and secret societies.
“Hey,” I say, and Livi signs hello back.
“Are you okay?”
“Good question. If I asked you to do something vaguely illegal, would you do it?”
Livi’s brow disappears under her curly bangs. “I do vaguely illegal for Wright on a daily basis.”
“So that’s a yes?”
Livi nods.
“Flynn’s sister had a boyfriend when she was at college. Can you see if you can find a photo of him?” I ask because the only way I’m going to stop panicking is if I know for sure whether or not Danny is the guy Hope was writing about.
If he is, you’re signing his death warrant. I kick the voice in my head a little too hard because part of me knows that if Flynn finds out Danny is the man who set Hope up, he won’t let him live.
“I’ll see what I can find,” Livi signs.
“Thank you.”
“Haze,” Livi finger spells my nick name. “Sometimes good people do bad things. And a lot of the time they do them for the right reasons.”
“Is that your way of saying you’re on team Flynn?”
Her bob brushes her shoulders as she shakes her head. “I’m on team you. And Flynn makes you happy.”
“Yeah. Okay. Thanks, Livi.” I hang up.
I feel a little better having asked Olivia to look into the mystery boyfriend, but the jitteriness hasn’t gone away so I pace back and forth in my living room.
The rug becomes flattened under my feet and I debate whether or not to ask Flynn to come over because as crazy as it sounds, I feel safe when he’s around.
Olivia is right, he does make me happy, but it’s more than that. Everything about him stays me, from the span of his shoulders to the way he watches me like he’d catch a bullet in his fist to protect me.
I still don’t know how this is supposed to work between Flynn and me but every day that passes I get more scared. Not of him, but of what will happen when he leaves. My heart is all tangled up with his and it’s going to hurt like fucking hell to tear them apart.
In the end, before I can decide whether or not to call him, my phone rings. It’s not Flynn though. I don’t recognize the number but it’s from a local area so I accept the call and bring it to my ear.
“Hello?”
“Is this Hazel?”
“Yes.”
“It’s Ana.”
I sit down on the couch, trepidation in my toes. “Ana. Is everything okay?”
The line goes quiet then Ana blows out a breath. “I need your help.”
Ana’s house looks untouched, which only ups the creepiness scale of watching two men in balaclavas make their way through the hall on her computer screen.
“This was five hours ago, while I was at work,” Ana tells us. “I wouldn’t have even known they were here if I didn’t have cameras hidden in every room.”
Beside me, Flynn watches the men move through the house and into the gaming room we’re currently standing in. There’s something particularly unsettling about seeing intruders in the same room you’re in and I check over my shoulder even though I know no one is there.
“This wasn’t a scare tactic or a warning,” Flynn says, “it’s too restrained and they didn’t want you knowing they were here. They were looking for something.”
The men methodically search every inch of the office. Pulling open desk drawers and peeling back the posters before slotting a small rectangle into the side of Ana’s computer.
“They tried to bypass the security settings, but they couldn’t get through.”
“They wanted the video,” I say, and Ana nods.
Then she uncrosses her arms and hands me a memory stick. “I’m fed up of being scared.”
I glance down at the small silver rectangle. “Is this…”
“The unedited video.” Ana turns to Flynn. “Get me out of here and then do whatever you have to do to bring the fucker down.”
“Are you sure?” I ask, because sharing what’s on this video isn’t something Ana should ever have to do and after seeing those men break into her house, I’m not entirely sure we can keep her safe.
Ana looks out into the hall, the emptiness there reflected in her eyes. “You’ve seen my house. This isn’t living and I’m so fucking tired of just surviving.” She shoves her hands in her hoodie and meets Flynn’s steady gaze. “If you can get me somewhere safe, I’ll do whatever you need.”
Flynn nods. “Wait here.”
He leaves the gaming room, and I follow him out through the hall and into the bare bones living room.
I close the door behind me and turn to face him. “How exactly are we going to get her somewhere safe? Claren’s men broke into her house without leaving a trace and the only reason they would pay her a visit now is because they know we found her. Which means we’re being watched.”
Flynn pulls the slats of the blind apart and peers outside. “Or Ana is.”
“Either way, Flynn, we can’t exactly just drive her out of state.”
“No. But Carmen can.”
I frown, watching him take out his phone. “Who the hell is Carmen?”