watch the shelter, no one would see Tessa sneak Elizabeth and Daniel out if they left right now.
But where? Heath would be watching anyone Elizabeth knew, so she had to find her a place completely unconnected with her old life. That meant a nice hotel was out. A cheap motel had too many prying eyes and only one exit. If only Heath hadn’t somehow discovered Elizabeth was at Wings — it was the perfect place for her, completely un-Elizabeth-like in real estate and company. Tessa needed to find Elizabeth another place that was just like that — a place that had absolutely no connection to a Southern belle, to her private equity firm husband, and to their social circle of other young people with new money, someplace Heath would never think to look.
Tessa immediately thought of the perfect place. And her mom was going to kill her.
“Okay, get your stuff,” Tessa said.
“What stuff?” Elizabeth said. “We came here in the middle of the night from a hotel room, remember?”
Daniel removed his thumb briefly in order to say, “Slasher.”
“Oh. Well, we’ll have to ask Evangeline if you can take Slasher with you.”
“Slasher?” Tessa asked.
“It’s a pink stuffed dog,” Elizabeth explained.
Ah. Perfect name.
“It used to be white, but one of the girls drew pink polka dots on it. Daniel was very upset but he still likes it.”
“No one messes with Slasher,” Daniel said.
Of course not. Slasher’s enemies probably thought he had measles.
They left the shelter in only ten minutes.
Karissa opted to go with them. “Are you kidding?” she said. “You’re more exciting than a
24
marathon!”
When asked if they could take Slasher, Evangeline glanced around to see if any of the staff was looking, then shoved the polka-dotted dog into Karissa’s purse.
Tessa cased the street before letting Elizabeth, Daniel, and Karissa leave the building. There weren’t any loiterers on the sidewalks or anyone sitting in parked cars. They made it to the Corolla without incident.
But Tessa took the precaution of taking a circuitous route out of San Francisco. And that’s when she saw it.
The dark blue SUV had been behind them early, just a few stoplights away from Wings. When she’d done four right turns in a row, the SUV had disappeared, going straight on one of the turns.
But now, on Mission Street, it appeared behind her again.
Heath
had
arranged to have the shelter watched. They were being tailed again.
Worse, it was a team of two or three cars.
She couldn’t be 100 percent sure. Maybe it was a different SUV. Maybe the driver was lost. Maybe she was being paranoid — that wouldn’t be anything new.
But she’d rather drive a little crazy than lead some really bad people to her mom’s house. Maybe it had been a good thing that she had gotten so skilled at losing a tail in her yakuza days.
She turned into a gas station. “Stay in the car,” she said to her passengers.
Making it look like she was checking the tire pressure, she searched under and around Grandpa’s frame. She didn’t really expect there to be a GPS tracking device, but she wasn’t taking any chances.
She also used the time to note any cars that passed the station. The blue SUV didn’t make an appearance, but she committed to memory the other cars she saw.
Once back in traffic again, she spotted a maroon Hyundai, which she thought she’d seen pass the gas station. Inside were two men wearing casual T-shirts and granite-hard expressions.
She had to lose a multiple car tail in an ancient Corolla.
She signaled right and got into a right-turn-only lane, but at the last minute, darted left and cut off a businessman in a black convertible who was talking on his cell phone.
“What are you doing?” Karissa screeched as the businessman laid on his horn.
Elizabeth, for whom evasive driving maneuvers were becoming old hat, simply dug in and made sure Daniel’s seat belt was tight.
The maroon Hyundai turned right. One down.
She
But where? Heath would be watching anyone Elizabeth knew, so she had to find her a place completely unconnected with her old life. That meant a nice hotel was out. A cheap motel had too many prying eyes and only one exit. If only Heath hadn’t somehow discovered Elizabeth was at Wings — it was the perfect place for her, completely un-Elizabeth-like in real estate and company. Tessa needed to find Elizabeth another place that was just like that — a place that had absolutely no connection to a Southern belle, to her private equity firm husband, and to their social circle of other young people with new money, someplace Heath would never think to look.
Tessa immediately thought of the perfect place. And her mom was going to kill her.
“Okay, get your stuff,” Tessa said.
“What stuff?” Elizabeth said. “We came here in the middle of the night from a hotel room, remember?”
Daniel removed his thumb briefly in order to say, “Slasher.”
“Oh. Well, we’ll have to ask Evangeline if you can take Slasher with you.”
“Slasher?” Tessa asked.
“It’s a pink stuffed dog,” Elizabeth explained.
Ah. Perfect name.
“It used to be white, but one of the girls drew pink polka dots on it. Daniel was very upset but he still likes it.”
“No one messes with Slasher,” Daniel said.
Of course not. Slasher’s enemies probably thought he had measles.
They left the shelter in only ten minutes.
Karissa opted to go with them. “Are you kidding?” she said. “You’re more exciting than a
24
marathon!”
When asked if they could take Slasher, Evangeline glanced around to see if any of the staff was looking, then shoved the polka-dotted dog into Karissa’s purse.
Tessa cased the street before letting Elizabeth, Daniel, and Karissa leave the building. There weren’t any loiterers on the sidewalks or anyone sitting in parked cars. They made it to the Corolla without incident.
But Tessa took the precaution of taking a circuitous route out of San Francisco. And that’s when she saw it.
The dark blue SUV had been behind them early, just a few stoplights away from Wings. When she’d done four right turns in a row, the SUV had disappeared, going straight on one of the turns.
But now, on Mission Street, it appeared behind her again.
Heath
had
arranged to have the shelter watched. They were being tailed again.
Worse, it was a team of two or three cars.
She couldn’t be 100 percent sure. Maybe it was a different SUV. Maybe the driver was lost. Maybe she was being paranoid — that wouldn’t be anything new.
But she’d rather drive a little crazy than lead some really bad people to her mom’s house. Maybe it had been a good thing that she had gotten so skilled at losing a tail in her yakuza days.
She turned into a gas station. “Stay in the car,” she said to her passengers.
Making it look like she was checking the tire pressure, she searched under and around Grandpa’s frame. She didn’t really expect there to be a GPS tracking device, but she wasn’t taking any chances.
She also used the time to note any cars that passed the station. The blue SUV didn’t make an appearance, but she committed to memory the other cars she saw.
Once back in traffic again, she spotted a maroon Hyundai, which she thought she’d seen pass the gas station. Inside were two men wearing casual T-shirts and granite-hard expressions.
She had to lose a multiple car tail in an ancient Corolla.
She signaled right and got into a right-turn-only lane, but at the last minute, darted left and cut off a businessman in a black convertible who was talking on his cell phone.
“What are you doing?” Karissa screeched as the businessman laid on his horn.
Elizabeth, for whom evasive driving maneuvers were becoming old hat, simply dug in and made sure Daniel’s seat belt was tight.
The maroon Hyundai turned right. One down.
She
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