But he knew the vicinity. He was certain of that. Someplace behind a huge forest of trees. He’d found a private drive off the road she’d traveled. The drive had been secured with a ten-foot-high iron gate, surveillance cameras and what appeared to be a fingerprint recognition pad, and led back to what appeared to be some kind of plush resort.
“Were you on that street this afternoon? The one you say you saw me on yesterday?”
“Yes.”
She sat back, chewing on her lower lip. Glancing at her phone.
“Will you excuse me for a minute?”
His instincts shouted a resounding “no!”
She was going to alert someone. Nicole?
Was she going to let the other woman know that he was sitting at the pool with her, allowing Nicole the time to jump on a ship and sail away?
“Are you going to call Nicole?”
“No.” Her gaze was straightforward.
She wasn’t the liar here.
“Then take what time you need.”
What choice did he have? Keeping her happy was the only way he’d have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting her to cooperate with him.
He’d made a second error in judgment on this case. Telling Sara the truth hadn’t been enough to win her understanding. Sara Havens was more trusting of a fugitive woman than she was of a licensed bounty hunter who’d lied to her.
* * *
“HI, IT’S SARA.” Standing on the other side of the pool, with the hot-tub jets she’d just turned on rumbling in the background, Sara spoke softly to ensure that she wasn’t overheard.
“I know.”
“I’m sorry to bother you so late, but...” She glanced toward Michael. He waved.
“I wasn’t asleep, as I’m sure you guessed. What’s up?”
It wasn’t all that unusual for her and Lila to have these kinds of midnight conversations. They had difficult jobs that led to isolated lives.
“I’ve only got a couple of seconds,” Sara half whispered. “I’ve got someone waiting for me.”
“Are you okay?” Lila’s tone was suddenly sharp. “Where are you? Home? Should I send someone?”
“No!” Though there was always that possibility that an abuser would make an attempt on the life of the woman perceived to be leading his victim away from him. “I’m fine. But I need to talk to you. I know why Nicole left this afternoon. And I think I know the quickest way to get her back. Safely. I just need your buy-in before I do this.”
“What are you doing? Of course you have my buy-in, whatever it is, but I won’t have you risking your life, Sara. We need you.”
It came down to that sometimes. Most particularly with Lila. She made decisions that affected the entire Lemonade Stand complex, including the two blocks of small businesses the Stand owned and ran. She had to think about all of the women they currently served, had served and would serve in the future. She couldn’t put all of them at risk to save one.
“Someone in the LAPD put a bounty hunter on her,” Sara said now, still watching Michael. He didn’t wave again, but he was watching her, too. Sitting back laconically, his elbows on the arms of the chair, his fingers steepled at his mouth, he wasn’t going anywhere.
And she had to wonder why.
What more did he want from her?
Unless he thought she still had contact with Nicole. Which made her of use to him.
She needed him to think she was of use to him for her plan to work.
“It’s probably from the dismissed warrant.”
“That’s what I thought, too, at first. I asked him the last time he verified his paperwork. It was this afternoon. He was in touch with that Miller cop...”
“The one Nicole said was dirty and working with the Ivory Nation.” The nationally known white-supremacist organization that had named Trevor Kramer president of the California coalition.
“I know Sanchez’s report says that Kramer claims he left all of that behind, but it’s clear he didn’t. It’s also clear to me that this Miller guy is as crooked as Nicole feared he was. He probably issued a second warrant today. You know how Nicole said that anytime she acted contrary to Trevor’s wishes, another warrant was issued.” Anytime Nicole tried to get away from Kramer, or stand up to him, Miller would show up at the door with another warrant for her arrest. The charges were always dropped, but there was a record of them. They were taking away her freedom one doubt at a time.
“I agree. There’s obviously a new warrant.”
“But until the LAPD has a chance to follow up on everything Nicole gave them, he’s free to brutalize her.”
“She should have gone into protective custody like they wanted her to.”
“And risk never seeing her son again? Would you do that?”
The question was superfluous—Lila didn’t have a son. Or any children that Sara knew of. “No, I wouldn’t.”
“I don’t know what this bounty hunter guy thinks I can do for him, but I want to offer to go with him, to help him hunt for Nicole. I’ll tell him that once he finds her, I’ll go in and bring her out. She trusts me.”
“I don’t like it.”
“This guy’s determined, Lila. He’s going to find her. And when he does, she’s as good as dead.”
“Do you think he’s one of them?”
“I don’t know. It’s possible.”
“What’s your gut instinct?”
“I think he’s doing his job and might be caught up in their game. But I’m not clear either way.”
“I don’t like it. You’re usually clear.”
“I know. But this has been one hell of a weird day.” And Lila only knew half of it. “Whether he’s with them or not, my instincts tell me that he won’t hurt me, Lila. And I don’t want this guy finding Nicole without someone on the team there to help her,” she said. “He thinks he can convince me that Nicole’s not what we think she is. I’m going to go along with that.”
“He obviously thinks you can help or he wouldn’t be there.”
“Exactly.”
“I don’t like it,” Lila said again.
“She needs this, Lila. She deserves it.”
“I
