We ambled over to where we could see through the bakery’s window. It was a popular spot, with several customers already squeezed into the small space.
Julius motioned to Talon. “Watch the back door. I’ll go in with her. You two loiter outside like you do so well.” He aimed a slightly wry look at the two younger men and then moved to open the bakery door for me.
When we were inside, he stationed himself next to the entrance. Perfect. He thought he had to worry about me taking off—it’d never occurred to him that I might be looking for something inside this place.
The smell really was heavenly, a mix of buttery pastry and dusted sugar. I licked my lips automatically. Weaving through the browsing shoppers, I scanned the area behind the counter and display cases for a familiar bearded face.
My heart sank. I’d just assumed he’d be here today, but of course he didn’t work every shift. The only employee behind the counter was a heavy-set woman I’d never met.
Well, I still had to put on a show of going through with my story for being here. I got into the line of people who were ready to place their orders, tapping my pocket with its roll of cash. I didn’t really want to waste any of my limited money on cookies if I wasn’t getting a meeting with the contact out of it, but I might be able to spin this at least a little to my advantage. Noelle had let me get a cookie here the few times we’d stopped by—to keep up our appearance as customers—and I hadn’t been lying about them being damn good. The only thing better was pure chocolate.
As the woman right in front of me paid for her order, another figure strode out of the back, carrying a large tray of fresh cookies. Relief washed over me at the sight of his round face with its scruffy beard. He was here after all.
I restrained a smile that would have given away that I was pleased about more than the baked goods and stepped to the side as if I wanted to check out the cookie offerings more closely.
The guy glanced up and froze at the sight of me. He looked as if he nearly dropped the cookie tray. Setting it down behind the display case quickly, he shook his head as if to clear it and met my eyes again.
The tag on his uniform said Jay, but I’d be willing to bet that was at least as much of an alias as Dess was, if not totally separate from his real identity. People who worked on the underground side of things had to be careful.
“Hey, Jay,” I said quietly, leaning against the glass. “Those are some great looking cookies there.”
“Let me know what you’d like, and I’ll box them up for you,” he said in a professional tone, and then dropped his voice so no one would hear it through the chatter of the store except me. “Are you okay? I heard—I wasn’t sure if you—it’s awful. I’m so sorry.”
The condolences made my stomach wobble in a strange way. He was the first person I’d talked to in almost forty-eight hours who had some idea of who I was and what I’d really gone through. But I couldn’t afford to get emotional with Julius watching over me.
For an instant, I wanted to blurt out everything—Anna dying in my arms, the crash, the cops. Maybe Jay could help me get away from Julius and the others. But as soon as the impulse rose up, I had to quash it.
What were the chances that this guy, who was barely out of his teens, could fend off four highly skilled cops? I’d only be getting him in deep shit. I had to stick to what I’d come for—and maybe I’d still get something more out of the undercover detectives if I had some patience. If I blew their cover right now, I could be screwing myself over too.
Jay’s comments told me that even if the cops were keeping the murders quiet, news had already spread through underground channels. I dipped my head in acknowledgment and held up my arm with the wrist brace. “Thank you. I got out, but it was… Let’s not talk about it.” I pointed at the chocolate chip cookies with their blobs of cocoa-y goodness. “Five of those. Pack them slow. Have you heard anything about who was responsible? I didn’t see them.”
Jay grabbed a fresh pair of gloves and tugged one and then the other over his hands to buy time. “No idea. Sorry about that too. People are talking about how bad it was, but no one’s mentioned anyone taking credit so far.”
Damn it. I guessed that’d been a lot to hope for. “Does anyone seem particularly happy about all those people being gone, even if they’re not claiming responsibility.”
“Not that I’ve noticed.” He paused as he folded the box he was going to put the cookies in. “I did hear through the grapevine that someone’s looking for you.”
My spine stiffened. “Me? Who’s looking?”
“I mean, they didn’t give your name. Or theirs.” He cut a sly glance my way. He didn’t know any of my names either. “But word went out through one of the more private channels that if anyone ran into you, they should pass on a message.”
My heartbeat sped up. Now we were getting somewhere. “And what was that message?”
He made a face as he stacked the cookies in the box. “It didn’t make a lot of sense to me. The whole thing was that ‘the woman with the red polka dots wants Noelle’s black-winged sparrow to visit her.’ I knew that had to mean you.” He nodded to my dark hair.
The woman with the red polka dots. My spirits lifted alongside my thumping pulse. I knew who that was—one of the other contacts Noelle had introduced me to. She must know something.
Now I’d just need to figure out a way to get to her that my current jailors would accept.
“Thank you,” I said to Jay again, and moved to the cash register for him to check me out. The exhilaration of the progress I’d made took away any sting out of handing over the money.
I strode out of the shop without glancing at Julius, figuring he wouldn’t necessarily want people knowing we were together anyway. Outside, I quickly ambled several feet from the bakery so Jay wouldn’t be able to see my companions through the window. I didn’t want him passing on strange stories about the new company I was keeping.
If I’d had any dreams about breaking for freedom, the cops would have banished them in a snap. Julius came up right behind me, Blaze and Garrison converging on me in the same second. Talon prowled out of the alley to round out the squad that was either my protective duty or my captors, depending on how you looked at it.
“There,” I said breezily. “We all survived, didn’t we? And I bought cookies for all of you anyway. You really do need to try them. I promise you’ll thank me.”
I popped open the box as if I wanted nothing more than to share my treat. My buoyant attitude came easily with the news I’d just gotten, even if I didn’t know how I was going to take my next steps yet.