Instead of heading for the front porch, he ducked around the side of the house. Damn. She didn’t even have security lights. As he crept up to the nearest window, he kept his back against the wall. There was a sign for a security system out front, but in his experience that didn’t always mean there was one. And the system she had was generic enough. Besides, if he held a gun to her head, he was pretty much guaranteed she’d turn the system off anyway. People were often predictable.
After a quick scan around the side of her small yard and her neighbor’s house, he saw that he was alone so he turned and peered through the windows. Blinds covered them, but one was slightly pushed up. Looking inside, he saw the profile of a woman sitting on a cream-colored couch. Her legs were kicked up on a tufted storage bench. The television was on some kind of nature show.
He couldn’t get a clear shot of the woman’s face. But the hair was the right color and this was the target’s house so it was a pretty good chance it was her. Next to her was a glass of water on the side table.
Her marital status was single but the guy who’d hired him hadn’t known if she was dating anyone. If she was, the guy wasn’t here. Didn’t mean he couldn’t show up, if he existed at all.
Frowning, he watched her for a few moments. She flipped the channel a few times during a commercial, but ended up back on the same nature show. Then she took a sip of her water. Then more TV watching.
Pretty boring shit. As he contemplated making a grab for her now, waiting until it was about three or so in the morning, or setting up cameras to watch her for a few days, he realized that her shoes were still on.
He wasn’t sure why it struck him as wrong but it did for some reason. She wore a simple sweater and jeans. And her shoes were kicked up on the bench. When people came home they took off their shoes, sweaters, scarves. It was one of those human nature things.
It probably meant nothing and he was almost certainly being paranoid, but he still didn’t like it. He also noticed that she didn’t have a cell phone with her. Or if she did, she wasn’t checking it. He’d read that people checked their phones something like eighty times a day. Hell, that was probably an understatement.
Since he hadn’t had enough time to do much recon on this place, he decided to ease off for now. He hadn’t remained alive and in business for so long by getting sloppy. Yes, he wanted to get paid, but he wasn’t going to get stupid.
Easing away from the window, he started back the way he’d come. But before he left, he stopped by a tree facing her place from a perfect angle. He’d have a great shot of her front door and garage.
Pulling one of his cameras out, he started to quickly install it when he saw another camera in the bark. Holy. Shit. It might be one of the other people who’d been hired, it could be her own security camera or it could be something else altogether. Either way he definitely didn’t like it.
His internal radar pinged, telling him to get the hell out of there. Now.
Without missing a beat, he pocketed his camera and stepped onto the sidewalk. As he headed down the street, he glanced around to see if he was being watched. There were vehicles in driveways, and some driveways were empty so it was impossible to tell if anyone was inside. His radar was definitely going off, but that could be because he’d found the camera and not because someone was actually watching him.
As he reached the end of the street, he took a right and picked up his pace, breaking into a light jog. He’d have to double back to where he parked his vehicle, then ditch it. The precaution was worth it because if someone tried to tail him, he’d notice. He wasn’t going to bail on the job completely, but he was definitely going to do more recon on this target before he went in.
*
“He’s leaving,” Gage said.
“You’re sure?” she asked, pushing up from the couch as she adjusted her earpiece.
“Yes. He saw one of the cameras. He was trying to set up one of his own. I got a great shot of his face.” Gage sounded gleeful and Skye could practically see him rubbing his hands together like a cartoon villain.
Skye cursed under her breath even as Colt met her at the bottom of the stairs. “We’ll tail him.”
“I’ll start the tail,” Brooks said along the comm line.
“When did you show up?” He’d told them he was going to stop by the condo where Darcy was staying to spend a little time with his fiancée.
“About an hour ago. Didn’t want to bother you on the comm. But I managed to put a tracker on his vehicle,” Brooks added. “He parked at the children’s park not too far away.”
“He’ll probably ditch the thing as soon as he can.” At least that was what Skye would do. He wouldn’t have time to scan the car for electronics, and if the guy had half a brain, he would have a backup plan in place. And said backup plan should include a different getaway vehicle. Of course the guy could be a complete dumbass and lead them straight to wherever he was holed up.
“Keep an eye on her place.” The temperature dropped by about ten degrees as Skye and Colt stepped into the garage. Mother Nature seriously needed to get her shit together this year.
Gage simply snorted in her ear, his only response. Because of course he would. She was so used to giving orders, however, that sometimes she said the obvious.
Skye slid on her gloves and held her hand out for the keys but Colt shook his head, grinning.
“It’s my turn to drive.” His breath curled in front of him like a wisp of faint, white smoke.
“I’m a better driver,” she said even as she rounded to the other side.
“Please.” Colt slid into the driver’s seat as she did the same on the passenger side.
“You really want to debate who’s a better driver?”
“There is no debate.”
“Exactly. Because I am clearly superior.” She sniffed slightly.
“You two both suck at driving,” Brooks muttered. “If there’s a contest for who’s the crazier driver, Skye, you would definitely win. But Colt comes in second… I’m taking a turn onto Ward Street. Looks like he’s headed south.”
“He’s likely heading out of the residential area and toward one of the more industrial districts,” Colt said.
Skye wasn’t from Redemption Harbor, unlike her husband, Brooks and the rest of the team. But she’d studied the city since moving here and knew what area he was talking about. “So how’s Darcy doing?” Skye asked Brooks.
“Sitting tight at the condo. She’s busy with her new clients and barely noticed I was there.”
Well that was surely a lie. “I got a look at some of the security guys at her condo and they’re quite muscled. And good-looking,” Skye murmured.
Colt shot her a hard look as she contained a laugh. She mouthed I’m kidding, but his expression didn’t soften. She’d make it up to him later.
“Seriously? You’re messing with me now?” Brooks muttered.
“Come on, I’ve gotta have some fun. We’re headed south on Ivy Lane right now. I can see you up ahead but we’ll hang back out of sight.” She steered into a closed dry cleaner’s parking lot.
“According to the tracker, he’s parking at a pay-by-the-hour lot,” Gage said.
Yep. He was switching vehicles. So he wasn’t a complete idiot.
“He’s getting into a Chevy Malibu. Dark green,” Brooks said a few minutes later. “I’ll tail him for three blocks, then turn off.”
“We’ll pick it up from there.”
“You guys want me to take a turn following him?” Gage asked.
“No. Focus on finding out who he is.”
“Affirmative.”
Gage was trained, but finding out who this guy was would be a lot more important for the team. Because it would be one more way to figure out who the hell had hired these kidnappers in the first place. Then cut the head off the snake.
As Skye and Colt traded off with Brooks tailing the guy, Gage’s familiar laugh made something ease inside Skye. Whenever he started laughing like a cartoon villain, she knew he’d hit gold.