In Plain Sight by Fern Michaels

around to make sure the kitchen was empty. It was. He quickly called his cell. Emily picked up on the first ring. He spoke quickly, explaining about Stacey’s seeking him out, the three strange people in the gardening department, and finally explaining that he was leaving.
    “But I don’t understand,” Emily said, panic ringing in her voice. “How did you come under their radar? Think, Jason!”
    “That’s all I’ve been doing, Emily. I guess I screwed up somehow. I’m sorry. Look, I’m going home to change and shower. I’ll leave right away and come pick you up and take you somewhere else. Don’t make any calls on that phone. They can triangulate or something to find out the pings. I’m not up on all that stuff, but I do know they can track cell-phone usage. I probably shouldn’t have called you now either. Sit tight, okay?”
    Jason was standing under a steaming shower when the answer to his question rocked him back on his heels. Facebook! Of course. His whole life was on Facebook. He’d even bragged about his new friend Emily. Thank God he hadn’t told Emily about that little indiscretion. He’d even posted a picture of her. How could he have been so stupid? Maybe because he was starting to think of Emily Appleton as a little sister who needed help and who wasn’t really Emily Appleton at all but someone named Rosalee Muno. He didn’t even want to think about Patricia Olsen and who she was married to.
    Jason was shaking like a leaf in a rainstorm when he stepped out of the shower.
    He had to be smart now. Really smart. If they, whoever they were, found him at the Home Builders Depot, then they knew where he lived. They had probably followed him home and were waiting outside somewhere to follow him when he left. Smart. Think smart, he cautioned himself. How was he going to get out of the apartment without anyone’s seeing him? His two roommates were still sleeping since they worked the night shift at one of the big hotels. That meant their vehicles were in their assigned parking spaces. He could take one of their cars and leave his for them. They were good enough friends that they wouldn’t squawk, especially if he left a ten spot for gas. He quickly scribbled a note, left his keys on the counter, and pocketed Joe Cramer’s keys. He left a ten-dollar bill on the counter, scribbling another short note asking both roommates not to talk to anyone if they came around asking questions. It was all he could think of to do.
    Now he had to figure out how he was going to get out unnoticed. He lived on the third floor. He looked out at the small balcony, then across at the one next door. He was in good shape. He should be able to hop over, then jump down and hit the ground running. Unless they had people stationed around the back. He peered out the sliding doors but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. He shrugged. It wasn’t like he had any other options at the moment. It simply came down to go or not to go.
    Poised on the minibalcony, Jason closed his eyes. Man, he was so not ready for this. Before he could wallow in his own self-pity, he took a flying leap and landed perfectly. He took a deep breath and moved on to the next and then the next until he was four units away from his own. Then, before he could think twice, he dropped to the second-floor balcony, then the first, and finally landed on solid ground.
    He’d lived in the apartment complex going on four years, so he knew the property like the back of his hand. He raced across and between cars until he found Joe’s Saturn. He unlocked it and sat there a moment, trying to catch his breath. When he had his breathing finally under control, he drove away, around the Dumpster, and out to the service road. Finally, he turned onto the highway. He drove, literally holding his breath as he kept his eyes glued to the rearview mirror. As far as he could tell, no one was following him, but he was the first to admit he didn’t know what to look for. The same