Slow Burn(52)

    I sat up too. “Fine.” I got out of bed again.

    He did too. He went into the living room ahead of me, turning on the light.

    When I got down the hallway, he handed me my phone.

    “Why are we doing this?” I said, flopping down on the couch.

    “Because it’s better to be cautious.”

    I turned the phone on. “Six missed calls,” it said. I clicked on the notification.

    They were all from Stacey. “It’s Stacey, all right.”

    “Call her back,” said Griffin.

    I selected her number and dialed.

    It rang.

    “Is she answering?” said Griffin.

    And rang.

    “I’d be talking if she was answering.”

    And rang.

    He rubbed his head. “Man...”

    And went to voicemail. I hung up. “She didn’t answer.”

    “Did she leave you messages?”

    I checked. “Yeah. Three.”

    “Play them,” he said. “Put them on speaker phone.”

    “Do you really think something bad happened?”

    “Play the messages.”

    I did. I put the phone on speaker and set it on my coffee table.

    “You have three new messages,” said my phone. “First new message.”

    Stacey’s voice came over the speaker. She was a little high-pitched. “Hey, um, Leigh, it’s me. I’m freaked out. Jack and I heard something outside. I think someone might be trying to get in the house. Jack won’t let me call the police. You know how he is about that stuff. Do you think Griffin might come over? He’s a trained bodyguard and all, and Jack trusts him. You heard Jack earlier. He’s a weakling.” She paused. “Okay, well, call me back when you get this.”

    I looked at Griffin. “It could be nothing, right? She just heard a noise. Right?”

    He started to pace in front of the coffee table.

    “Next new message,” said the phone.

    Stacey again. Her voice was different now. Even higher. And it sounded like she was crying. “Leigh, there’s a guy here, and he’s making me call you, and he says if you don’t come he’s going to...” She broke off into sobs. “He’s got a gun, Leigh.”





Chapter Nine

    I clutched the arm of my couch, listening as Stacey’s voice kept going. “He says you have to come. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

    I put a hand over my mouth.

    Griffin stopped pacing.

    “Next new message,” said my phone.

    This time there was only noise. Then there was a muffled voice. Stacey. “She’s not picking up. It keeps going to voicemail. I can’t make her pick up the phone.” A long pause, a distorted deep voice in the background. Stacey screaming. “Oh God! Please don’t—”

    “That was your last new message,” said the phone. “Check erased messages? Press four.”

    Griffin and I both stared at the phone, neither of us saying anything.

    “Check erased messages? Press four. If you are finished, you may hang up.”

    I jammed my finger on the end button. I suddenly knew why this had happened. “Benton.”

    “What?” said Griffon.

    “Benton,” I said. “My dealer. The one asking me all the weird questions before that guy shot me on the way home from Morgantown?”

    “Yeah?”

    “He was at the party. He asked me if I lived there.” I slid my hands into my hair, grabbed handfuls of it and tugged. “This is all my fault.”

    Griffin held up a hand. “Doll, don’t do that. That doesn’t help anything.”

    I stood up off the couch. “Benton must be in contact with Op Wraith. He saw me, he told them where I was, and they sent people to Stacey’s house and they hurt her.” I dashed back the hall. I needed to get dressed. “We have to go there.”

    “That’s stupid,” said Griffin. “We know they’re there. They have the advantage.”