Katrina shivered. “They give me the creeps.”
He flicked a quick glance her way. “Can you explain why?”
“It’s hard to put into words. In normal circumstances, it’s the sort of sense you get from an individual, someone who chooses to ignore social cues. The sort of people who don’t get the message that you aren’t in the mood to talk, or who maybe stand a little too close for comfort.”
“I know what you mean.” Spencer continued to watch the three AAG members as he spoke. “They don’t do anything outrageous, but they feel a little ‘off.’”
“Exactly,” Katrina agreed. “And, although your subconscious tells you something isn’t right, you couldn’t explain it to anyone else. That’s how it is with the AAG. Only I get that feeling about an organization and its members instead of a person.” She shrugged. “It’s ridiculous. Right?”
“It might be if you were the only person to describe feeling that way to me. Since you’re not, I think it must be a genuine vibe this group gives off.” He straightened in his seat. “Looks like our target is on the move.”
Leigh parted from the two men with a wave of her hand and headed toward a silver Toyota. Randall and Bart hung around on the porch for a moment or two, then went back inside.
“If Leigh is the welcome manager, shouldn’t she remain here at the headquarters?” Katrina asked. “To, um, welcome people?”
Leigh, who appeared to be in no hurry to go anywhere, was checking her appearance in the rearview mirror. Spencer tapped his fingertips on the steering wheel as he waited.
“Part of her role seems to involve recruitment,” Spencer said. “Micheline likes to send out the good-looking members to sign up newcomers.”
He was right, of course. Leigh was good-looking. And it really shouldn’t matter to Katrina what Spencer thought of the other woman. But for some reason, a spark shot through her at the words. If she hadn’t been so angry at him, she could almost have believed it was jealousy.
A few minutes later, Leigh finished touching up her lip gloss and gave her hair a last pat. Then she started up her engine and pulled out of the parking lot.
“Finally.” Spencer gave her some space before following at a discreet distance. “She’s turning right, so it looks like she’s headed into town.”
They completed the ten-mile drive into Mustang Valley in silence. Katrina reflected on the reason for that. Did their hat-and-sunglasses disguises provide an additional barrier to communication? She decided they didn’t. The new boundary was all about the fragile trust that had been built between them and then shattered by the words of the intruder.
It was bad enough that she felt scared and threatened, but now she felt diminished by the lies that had been told about her. Throughout all of this, her sister was still missing. With each passing day, her fears for Eliza increased. It just didn’t seem possible that her feckless twin could survive for this length of time without help. Not unless she was getting herself into real trouble.
She knew Spencer was one of the few people who could understand that, since he was a triplet and seemed to have strong feelings toward his own siblings. This new distance between them meant confiding in him wasn’t an option, however.
Once they reached the center of town, Leigh drove along Mustang Boulevard and found a parking space near Java Jane’s. Spencer pulled in across the street from the coffee shop and they watched the AAG welcome manager get out of her car. Going around to the trunk, she withdrew what looked
like a paper tube. She then locked her vehicle and walked away toward the nearest store.
“Any ideas what she’s carrying?” Spencer asked.
“Posters of some sort?” Katrina suggested.
“You could be right.” Spencer nodded. “The AAG likes to be visible. Let’s go and take a look.”
They left the car and headed in the same direction as Leigh. The store she’d entered was Nuts ’n’ Grains organic grocery store. From the sidewalk, the large window gave Spencer and Katrina a clear view of the interior. Katrina’s hunch was correct. Leigh was talking to a woman near the cash register and handing over a poster. A few seconds later, the two of them moved toward the entrance.
Spencer drew Katrina to one side, as though they were studying the list of prices displayed by the adjacent hair salon, taking her into his arms in the process. She wasn’t sure the pretense was necessary, but the warmth of his arms around her and his chest muscles beneath her cheek was just too tempting to resist. And besides, if she’d protested, she’d have risked blowing their cover. Right?
When they sneaked another look, Leigh was leaving Nuts ’n’ Grains.
“Thank you so much.” She gave a wave of her hand to the cashier she’d been talking to. “The poster looks just perfect in your window.”
As Leigh moved toward Java Jane’s, Spencer released Katrina and took hold of her hand, leading her back to look at the window of Nuts ’n’ Grains. On one level, her mind was processing the information on the AAG poster. On an entirely different level, all she could think about was the feel of his fingers between hers.
“Statistics.” There was a slight sneer in Spencer’s voice as he scanned the AAG notice now displayed in the store window. “It’s basically a list of all the good deeds the group has done in Mustang Valley since the earthquake. How many people they’ve supported, how many buildings they’ve helped restore, how much money they’ve spent. It’s replaced the one that was there telling us all to be our best selves.”
“You have to admit, it does look impressive,” Katrina said. “If I was in trouble and had nowhere to turn, I’d be tempted to go to them for help.”
“They are very persuasive,” Spencer agreed. “And high profile. But there are others in town who also have done positive work to care for earthquake victims. Savannah Oliver was in a prison van being driven to a state prison when the earthquake struck. The driver of the van was killed and Savannah escaped. It’s a long story, but she was helped by first responder Grayson Colton. Those other groups are out there, they just don’t shout about it. Let’s check out what Leigh is doing in Java Jane’s.”
Still hand in hand, they strolled along the sidewalk. They were only doing this to maintain a pretense that they were a couple, Katrina told herself. Nothing more. There was no reason for her to like it, especially after everything that had happened...