“Can’t you go any faster?” I growled as Nigella huffed her way through town.
“First of all, we’re going fast enough. And second of all, we don’t even know where Bud is.”
“But we do know that Miranda is in danger. Whatever Bud us going to do, he’s going to do tonight. Go, Will!”
My heart was banging through my rib cage by the time we turned the corner. I had the car door open and my feet on the ground before Nigella sputtered to a full stop. Everything inside me was firecrackers as I listened to the soles of my shoes slap the concrete, then take the inside stairs two at a time.
“Miranda! Miranda!” I was huffing and out of breath by the time I crested the third-floor landing; I could feel the heat well in my cheeks as I gasped.
“Oh my God,” Nina said, flinging the door open. She sped out into the hall and crushed me to her, pulling me through the door. “Running for your life?”
“No,” I gasped, doubling over with my hands on my knees. “Just running. Where’s Miranda?”
“She’s with Vlad,” Will said calmly, coming through the front door.
“What?”
He held up his cell phone. “While you were busy on your sprint I called Nina, who told me that Miranda was no longer at the apartment, as she has gone off with Vlad.” He gave the phone a little shake and shot me the most annoyingly self-congratulatory grin I had ever seen.
I swore to myself I would pummel him if I were ever able to catch my breath again. “Okay, so we know Miranda’s safe. Well, safe enough. What now?”
“Fallon.”
I felt instantly guilty for not springing into the same, lung-exploding action over her.
“We’re not entirely sure these girls are in danger right now,” Will said, his expression placating. “I’ll give Fallon’s house a ring, tell her to keep a lookout. You’ve already called Alex and gotten the police department on Bud.”
My stomach burned at the mention of Alex—even more so at the idea of Alex listening to anything I said.
“And then you should take a nap. Yes?”
I started. “Wait, what? A nap?” I said, frowning. “I’m not a child. Why are you treating me like a child? I found the clue that cracked this case wide open.”
Will crossed the living room in two quick strides and gave me a soft pat on the head. “Of course you did.”
“I’m going after Bud. Now.” I took a step forward, but Will caught me and held me a hairsbreadth from him. I was staring into his eyes; I could smell the slight scent of mint on his breath. My heart thumped. My nipples sprung to attention, and I vaguely wondered if I would ever be able to be aroused in circumstances that didn’t include a possible serial criminal or imminent danger.
“Let Alex handle it.”
He gave me a peck on the forehead and sauntered out the door.
Chapter Seventeen
I could feel Nina’s eyes on me, and when I turned she had her arms crossed in front of her chest, one hip cocked, and an expression on her face that meant she was about to shake up the world. “You’re not planning on taking any kind of nap, are you?”
“Oh, so you’ve met me before.”
She grinned. “Okay, out with it. I need to know what harebrained scheme I’m going to have to pull you out of. You’re my commodity, you know.”
“Is this about my underwear again?”
Nina rolled her eyes and straightened her directorial beret. “No, this is about you being my star for the UDA commercial.”
I gave her a once-over, for the first time that night taking in her knee boots, jodhpurs, and the enormous ecru scarf knotted around her neck. “Nice outfit.”
“You’ve got to dress the part to be the part,” she said with a slick, fang-bearing grin. “Or fake it ’til you make it.”
I wrapped a piece of hair around my finger. “Fake it ’til I make it, huh? Yeah, yeah, Neens, you’re totally right. I don’t need to wait for Will. I don’t need to take a nap. And I sure as hell don’t need Alex. All I need are his files.”
Nina picked up the stack heaped on the dining room table. “These are the ones Vlad printed out for you.”
“These are the official files. They were good enough, but I need more. Alex keeps his notes—handwritten ones, stacked with info—in his office. But now that I don’t have him to rely on, I need to get a hold of those notes.”
Nina’s eyes lit up like a campfire, her heart-shaped mouth curving up, showing off her fangs. “Field trip?”
I took in my breathless, weightless, fingerprint-less best friend. “Absolutely.”
Nina’s face fell as quickly as it lit up. “Oh. Should we get Vlad?”
“Isn’t he with Miranda?”
“I guess they’re still together. She was dragging him out of here by the arm, but that was a couple of hours ago. He hasn’t called or anything.”
I shrugged. “We’ll leave a note. This is an all-girl mission. Besides, he’s big and burly and hard to hide.”
Nina cracked a grin. “And you’re so stealthy?”