Chapter 17

Kaitlyn’s POV

Anton led me to a room, on the same floor as where Andrea’s room was. The moment he shut the door behind him, I locked it and did a quick sweep of the perimeter, checking the vents and corners to make sure the room wasn’t bugged.

There wasn’t anything, which meant I was good to go. I pulled out my phone and listened to the conversation I recorded of Mia and Anton. I have no idea what she did exactly, but it sounds like she killed someone and left her fingerprints behind.

I’m not stupid, the moment we arrived at the mansion I pressed the button on the side of my phone so it started recording their voices, and then I put it in my pocket to not raise any suspicion. Mia erased all evidence against her in the matter of minutes. Is that what she did all this time? Is this how she never gets caught?

But how did she know they even had evidence about her? How did she know she had to leave the hotel? She probably has a guy inside the station who tells her everything. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. This whole situation infuriates me because yet again, she gets away.

When will she finally pay for her crimes? It’s so unfair how she gets to do whatever she wants and always, always gets away. This conversation I just recorded is the first piece of evidence I can use against her. She had someone hack into the database and erase everything they had against her, she committed not one but two crimes. I’m getting somewhere, finally.

After playing that conversation over and over again, I decide to get out of the room and find Mia. Even if she had just threatened me to leave the hotel with her and is practically keeping me in her mansion, I still need more evidence to use against her. Besides, this whole situation is a great conversation starter.

I put on a jacket over my white top and zip it up halfway since it’s getting a bit cold. I open the door and am immediately met with Anton. He stood by the railing, leaning against it with a phone in his hand. “Were you just standing out there the whole time?” I ask awkwardly as I take a step back.

“Yes, Mia’s told me to keep watch.” He puts his phone back in his pocket and crosses his arms. He seems like a nice guy, honestly. But if he’s associated with Mia then there’s something that’s gotta be wrong with him. He always had a suit on, or some formal type of clothing, like Mia. He had tattoos on his neck and if I’m not mistaken, on his left arm as well.

“Of course she did.” I give him a tight smile and glance over at the elevator. “Do you mind leading me to her, please?”

“Yeah, of course.” He gestures for me to go first and I go to the elevator. He presses a button on the elevator and we wait in silence. Once the elevator doors open, he steps to the side to let me go first then follows shortly after.

“She’s out in the back.” He gestures towards the glass patio doors. I give him a small nod before making my way outside. One thing I can say about her is she has taste. Her mansion is beautiful and so is her backyard. The grass is so green, there’s a stone path leading to a gazebo, and a few plants along the way.

There she was, leaning against the gazebo while smoking a cigarette. I head towards her, my hands in the pockets of my jacket. My phone is in one of the pockets so I decide to press the button once more to start recording.

“Celebratory smoke for getting away?” I stop in front of her and she exhales some smoke as she looks at her cigarette. “I don’t need reasons to smoke, but sure.” She then looks at me with that stupid smug look on her face again.

I go beside her and lean against the gazebo as well. I let a few moments pass before speaking again. “So, is that what you do? Wipe off all the information they have against you every time you’ve been caught?” I look forward to the greenery surrounding us, she really loves plants doesn’t she.

“I don’t know what you are talking about, Prescott.” She brings the cigarette back to her lips and turns her face away to blow the smoke out. I let out a dry laugh and looked at her. “Again, I’m no longer a cop. You don’t need to play dumb with me anymore.”

A slow smirk tugged at her lips. “If you’re really done with that life, then stop acting like a detective. You ask too many questions.” I turn away from her and clench my jaw. She has a point, but I am far from being done with that life. I’ll ask all the questions I’d like, but for now maybe I’ll save the questions for another day. In order to not blow my cover.

I put my hands out of my jacket and lean my elbows against the gazebo behind us. “Fine, let’s talk about house rules then.”

“House rules?” She scoffs and reaches to the ashtray to put her cigarette out. Finally, I hated the smell of smoke.

“Yeah, it doesn’t seem like you’ll be letting me go anytime soon so.. house rules.” I shrug. She pushes herself off and steps in front of me, blocking the sun from my eyes. She was taller than me by a few inches so unfortunately, I had to look up at her.

“There’s only one house rule, Kaitlyn.” She leans her upper body forward just the slightest bit. “Mind your own business.” She whispered before walking away.

I shake my head and let out a breath before following after her. I watch the patio door slide shut behind her, the faint scent of her cigarette smoke still lingering in the air. She has a frustrating kick for getting the last word, and what’s worse is how easily she can get under my skin.

I shut the patio door behind me and make my way to the kitchen where Mia was at. She was leaning on one of the counters with a phone in her hand. I sit on one of the island chairs and rest my elbows on the counter. “So, what’s for dinner?” She looks away from her phone momentarily and glances my way with a frustrated expression. “Or is that none of my business as well?”

She clenches her jaw and puts her attention back to her phone. A smirk grew on my face, seeing that I’ve successfully pissed her off. “I sent Anton to get us dinner.” Her tone was as cold as ice, as usual. She doesn’t even bother looking up from her phone, she keeps texting whoever it is she’s texting.

“What’s he getting?” I say slowly, resting my chin in my hands and leaning forward. Mia’s thumb freezes over her screen. She slowly lifts her gaze, her eyes narrowing just the slightest bit as she looks at me. “How about you wait and find out instead of asking all these questions.” Her voice is low, I could tell I’m testing patience right now.

I raise my eyebrows and get off the chair. “Okay, well let me know when it’s there.” I head to the elevator and I hear footsteps following me. “Where are you going?” This is her house, her mansion, I know for a fact she has a whole lot of shit she doesn’t want me finding here.

“Upstairs, why?” I was about to press the button for the elevator, but she stepped in front of me before I could.

“No, you’re staying here,” she commands, looking down at me and looking deep into my eyes. “We wait here until the food arrives.” There is a heavy finality in her voice that tells me pushing her any further would be a mistake.

“And if I don’t?” I cross my arms and give her a challenging look. “Then no food for you.” She shrugs and I let out a defeated breath. Usually I wouldn’t mind, but I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast so I’m quite hungry.

I turn and head back to where I was seated, on the island chair. We stayed there for a while in silence as we waited for our food. We both stayed on our phones, not bothering to make conversation with each other. After what seemed like forever, the front door opens. Anton walks into the kitchen with paper bags in his hands.

“Finally, what took you so long?” Mia wastes no time and grabs the paper bags off his hands. She puts them down on the counter in front of me. Anton helps her take out the takeout boxes and she slides a box over to me.

I open the takeout box as it reveals pasta, specifically carbonara. I grabbed a fork and I was about to take a bite but I hesitated for a moment. What if she put something in this? She wouldn’t do that. Oh who am I kidding, of course she would.

“What are you waiting for?” She asks impatiently. I open my mouth to say something, but the words are stuck in my throat. I glance at the food and back at Mia.

“Is she, like, allergic or something?” Anton muttered to Mia. He chewed his food and looked at me with furrowed brows. Mia lets out a bitter laugh, “No, she thinks we’ve put poison in her food.”

“Well, did you?” He says as he turns his head to look at her. “What? No, she-” She looks at him with an annoyed look on her face. “For fuck sake.” She grabs the fork from my hands and then my takeout box. She takes a bite of the pasta before raising her brows at me, as if proving a point.

She slides the takeout box back to me with the fork inside. I started eating my food since she’s proven it’s safe to eat now. I mean, can you blame me? This woman kills people for a living and I’m in her house. It won’t be too hard for her to get rid of my body once she’s succeeded.

The three of us eat in silence, Anton and Mia engaging in small talk every now and then. At least the food is incredible. I focus entirely on my plate, twirling the noodles around my fork just to give my eyes somewhere to look that isn’t Mia’s glare across the counter. Every time I look up, the heavy atmosphere reminds me exactly where I am, but with every bite of the pasta, it’s a little easier to pretend I’m not trapped in a criminal household.

Mia’s phone rings which brings my attention to her. She groans as she looks at who the phone call is coming from, but regardless answers it. She opened her mouth, ready to say something. But the change in her expression tells me something’s wrong.

I’ve seen Mia angry, and I’ve seen her arrogant. But the sudden, ghostly pale look on her face right now? That’s entirely new. It means whatever just happened is bad news for her, and maybe even for me.