Hours later, I was traipsing through Fashion Square with Jinx, just another
shopper trolling the racks. Kill me now.
Hordes of teenagers who couldn’t be bothered to look up from their phones
moved en masse like the old centipede arcade games. They clearly expected everyone else to move out of their way or be assimilated. Even in the stores, smaller groups made walking a maze of navigation. Like the two chirping
chickees who just stopped without warning in front of us.
“Stop growling,” Jinx muttered, as she continued to work her way through a
sale’s rack. “You’ll scare the children.”
“They don’t even know anyone else exists.” Sure enough, the chickees did it
again. This time, they almost caused a pileup of strollers. The two young moms
glared at them but didn’t say anything. They simply readjusted their kid carriers
and huffed their way past. “How much longer?”
“I thought women loved to shop.” Rabbit, the sexist pig, chimed in.
“Then why aren’t you in here?” I tucked my hands into the pockets of my cargos.
Next to me, Jinx smiled. It amazed me how deceptive looks could be.
Dressed in jeans and a V-neck, fitted T-shirt in light lavender, Jinx was just another young, good-looking twenty-something, out doing a little shopping.
There was nothing to hint at the lethal woman who lurked underneath. I wasn’t
fooled, she wasn’t part of this team because of her sweetness and light.
“Target’s en route, ETA fifteen minutes.” The new voice held the tinge of an
exotic accent, Spanish maybe? It belonged to Ricochet.
“Any shadows?” Kayden asked.
“Negative.”
“Party crashers?” I asked Kayden.
Kayden’s negative was followed by Wolf’s.
I shared a look with Jinx. It worried me that we hadn’t gotten eyes on Ellery
or Bosch yet. With Hobbes on the way in, where were the other two?
Jinx and I kept our pace casual as we moved downstairs to the lower-level parking garage. I envied Jinx’s ability to blend as she dragged me into another store as we stalled for time. Kelsey would’ve liked her. After spending the last
hour and half with Jinx, I discovered a snarky mind lurked behind those big brown eyes. We stopped just before the doors leading to the parking garage and
sat on the edge of a brick planter. Just a couple of women taking a break from
their power shopping. Bags were clustered at our feet.
“Target’s turning into the garage.” At Ricochet’s warning I tossed my half-finished coffee in a nearby trashcan. Then Jinx and I gathered up our bags and
casually strolled out the doors.
The garage was two levels, the street level, and the basement. The basement
level was tucked away from the afternoon sun which left it dim, but also trapped
the heavy summer heat. Although out of sight, Kayden and Bishop were in
position on our level, while Wolf and Rabbit remained on the street level.
“Basement level, east entrance,” Ricochet confirmed.
Once Jinx and I cleared the range of the cameras at the door, we ditched the
bags and split up, moving between the parked cars as we made our way toward
the garage entrance. A subtle growl preceded the glow of lights that belonged to
a black executive sedan. The heavily tinted windows kept us blind to the occupants. I dropped to a crouch behind a dusty SUV and watched it prowl through the garage.
