Page 80 of Velvet Vaughn

He gave her a look that managed to convey both seriously? and I thought we were friends.

“Sorry. I know you’re better than that. I’m paranoid.”

Remi headed for the door. “And suddenly I understand why everyone calls you Valkyrie.”

#

Remi returned an hour later carrying enough bags to suggest he’d either followed their lists exactly or panicked somewhere near men’s basics. He distributed clothes, chargers, and a handful of necessities across the kitchen island before tossing Leo a package.

“No fashion show. Options were limited.”

Leo inspected the sweatpants. “Orange. Bold choice.”

“I considered sequins, but they didn’t have your size.”

Anja’s cell buzzed before Leo could answer. “It’s Tyler.” She put him on speaker, apologizing for bothering him again so early.

“No problem. As for how they got through security at the old house, I pulled utility logs the second Remi called it in. It’s the same signature as Leo’s apartment and Pinnacle. A service interruption request routed through a hijacked contractor account, this time targeting the transformer feeding that entire block. Killed power to the alarm system, the cameras, everything, right around 3:40 in the morning.”

“And the fire?” Remi asked.

“Accelerant at two points, probably tossed through ground-floor windows once the cameras went dark. They had maybe a ninety-second window between the power dying and your system’s battery backup kicking in, and they used every second of it. They’re good.”

“We know,” Anja replied. “We’ve known that since the first break-in.”

“Yeah, well, now we’ve got bullet holes and a burned-down house to remind us.”

“The house was a total loss?” she asked.

“Pretty much. Luke and Logan dealt with the police to keep Leo’s name out of the investigation. Also, we’ve arranged for your Escalade and Leo’s vehicle to be moved into safekeeping.”

“Good. Thank you.”

“I’ll keep working the utility angle. There’s a paper trail behind that contractor account, and paper trails don’t disappear no matter how careful someone is. By the way, I ran the plate from the brown sedan outside the boutique yesterday.”

Anja had almost forgotten about it. Almost. “And?”

“Registered to a sixty-four-year-old dentist from St. Louis Hills. No criminal history or connection to Pinnacle, Shaw, or anyone else on our list. His credit card puts him at the wine bar while you were shopping.”

Remi glanced over. “Lunch meeting?”

“Apparently a very long one. He bought two bottles of cabernet and something called a truffle flatbread.”

Anja nodded. “Good.”

Leo looked between them. “You memorized the license plate of a random dentist while buying a dress?”

“Of course.”

Remi shrugged. “You get used to her.”

Tyler signed off. Anja had been turning something over since the drive out, a loose end from the wake that the fire and Leo’s injury had shoved to the back of her mind until now.

“There’s something I should’ve mentioned last night. Danica Webb cornered me at the wake before Curtis went down.”

Leo’s brow furrowed. “Danica? I saw her across the courtyard for about ten seconds.”

“She introduced herself, made small talk, and then asked if they’d taken anything from the break-in.” Leo’s face changed from confusion to anger. “She wasn’t the least bit vague. She used the word apartment specifically.”