Page 54 of Three Steps Behind

He smiled, really smiled. Man, he was good. She might have met her match.

“It’s the best surprise ever.” He tugged her back into his arms and kissed her. She tried her utmost not to gag. Thankfully, it wasn’t a long smooch.

“We need to go out to celebrate. Come in, come in. I have some quick business to take care of. You relax and we’ll go to Spatina tonight for dinner. Your favorite.”

Until she’d learned the assistant manager killed women.

Miquel popped his head out of Dalton’s office. “Miss Bristol,” he said, all smiles, striding out to greet her.

It took everything in her not to recoil. “Lovely to see you, Miquel.” She shook his hand.

Had he killed any of the women too?

“Are you cold, Miss Bristol?” Miquel asked.

“No, why?”

“You just shivered.”

“Oh.” She pulled back, moving to stand beside Dalton and wrap her arm across his shoulders. “Just happy to be back with my love.”

Dalton kissed her cheek.

“Now, take care of your work. I’ll find something to do. Perhaps read a book by the fire.”

“Excellent idea, my love. If you don’t find a book you like down here, check out the shelves in my bedroom. Most of your mysteries are up there. I know you love your whodunnits.”

This time she knew the who. She just needed to figure out how he dunnit.

Twenty-One

BRISTOL MOVED UPSTAIRS under the guise of finding a book while Miquel and Dalton talked in the office, closing the door behind her. Who knew what horrid things they were discussing?

Thankfully, Dalton had been in his exercise clothes when she arrived, which meant she had time for a quick trip to his closet to plant the bug—so small it was nearly imperceptible to the naked eye—on his buckle.

Checking over her shoulder, she entered the closet, found his belt, placed the bug, and stepped back out.

She gazed at the shut bedroom door and bounced her leg. Something ate at her, but what?

The breeze under the bookcase. She’d stood there once before, picking a John Sandford novel, when a cool breeze had wafted over her then-bare feet. She’d checked for a vent but found nothing. At the time, she’d shaken it off and tried to forget about it. But something about it had always bugged her, though she’d assured herself some cold air was nothing but a weird fluke of the AC unit. But now . . .

She bounced her leg more as her gaze shifted to that section of the bookcase. She glanced back at the bedroom door. No sound from Dalton. His business always took time. She probably had plenty of it, though the realization of what his true “business” was tossed her stomach. She ignored the swish of her stomach and the odd sensation of fear prickling down her neck. She never experienced fear. The day she’d left the seedy motel her family was crowded in she’d vowed never to be afraid again, and she really hadn’t been until now.

Reaching that section of the bookcase, she pulled off her socks and planted her bare feet in the same spot as before and waited. Nothing.

Her shoulders dropped. She could have sworn . . .

She shifted to turn and step away when a hum sounded behind the wall, nearly imperceptible, but she heard it. She had the best ears. A con needed to heighten all their senses to pull off the jobs, and it appeared it would pay off today as well. A moment later, cool air trickled over her feet, tickling them as the breeze wafted along her skin.

Something was back there. No one built an AC unit behind a wall with no vent in sight. She should have seen it before, but she’d flat-out only seen the good in Dalton, or what she’d so deeply believed was the good, and convinced herself it had to be nothing.

Not now.

She ran her fingers along the framing of the shelves, up and down the beveled board between the sections and, planting her palm firmly on it, pushed.

The bookcase moved inward. She swallowed, her curiosity rankling. Pushing it far enough open to slip inside, she left it cracked so she could hear Dalton coming, hoping she’d have enough time to slip out. She swallowed. What would he do if he caught her?

Aubry was listening from the van up the street, but would he make it in time if Dalton tried to do away with her for snooping?