Page 89 of Hunt Me, Daddy

“You’ve thought this through.”

“Yes.”

“Of course you have.”

“Four minutes now.”

I hung up on him. It was petty. It felt good though.

Then I moved, but not because he told me to. That was very important. I moved because my own instincts were screaming that staying in the apartment was no longer safe, only familiarity wearing a mask.

I packed one bag, with my laptop, two encrypted drives, a burner phone, my wallet, and my passport. I packed a lockpick set because irony was alive and well. At the last minute, I stuffed in a knife, charger, a sweater, and the cold case file on Daniel.

I stared at that blue folder for one second too long before sliding it into the bag. Bringing it was non-negotiable.

I took one last look at the apartment. Everything looked normal and that made me want to scream.

I locked the door behind me and left my apartment. Downstairs, the lobby smelled like old mail and floor cleaner. The repairedfront light glowed outside the glass. The camera Ivan may or may not have had corrected stared down at the entrance, its angle perfect.

Of course.

I opened the door.

Ivan stood beside the black car. He was lean, but there was nothing soft about him and the fact that he was still plenty bigger than me hit me right in the uterus. I stared at his dark coat, trying to distract myself. He was wearing a dark suit beneath it. Glasses. Pale eyes that caught me immediately and did not move away.

I stopped at the bottom step, and he looked at my bag, then at my face.

“Good girl,” he said.

My body betrayed me with a small flicker of warmth.

My pride responded with violence.

“Do not praise me.”

His mouth moved almost imperceptibly. “Noted.”

“You’re enjoying this.”

“No.”

“Liar.”

“A little.”

I narrowed my eyes and then he stepped just close enough that I had to tilt my head back slightly to hold his gaze. He smelled faintly of expensive soap, cold air, and pure masculinity.

“You look tired,” he said.

“You look kidnappy.”

That earned me a real flicker of amusement.

“I am trying very hard not to be.”

“Comforting.”

“Get in the car.”