Obsessed (The Lizzy Gardner Series) by T.R. Ragan Page B

out?”
    “We’ll hit every dive Brian ever walked into. We’ll talk to anyone who will listen, tell them Hayley Hansen, the same girl who cut off Brian’s dick, is offering ten thousand big ones as a reward for any tip that leads to his whereabouts.”
    “If and when Brian hears about this, he’s going to come after your ass.”
    “That’s the whole point.”
    “I wonder why he didn’t kill you for what you did.”
    “He wanted me to suffer. He took away the only person I cared about and he must have figured I wouldn’t have the guts to come after him a second time.”
    “Why didn’t you take him out the first time?”
    Hayley sighed. “I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
    By the time they parked across the street from the McBane house, Hayley was feeling hopeful. Overall, she knew revenge might not be in her best interest. Spending the rest of her life behind bars didn’t exactly entice her, but there was no way in hell Brian was going to get away with killing her mother. He was going to pay, all right. This time with his life.
    “So what now?” Kitally asked.
    “We do what we always do. We watch and wait.”
    The McBane house was a small two-story single-family home that looked a lot like the Franklin gang’s home, only this house was in a better neighborhood and had a brick patio. According to Lizzy, the owner, Kat McBane, was working late tonight.
    Kitally leaned back in the seat, tapped her fingers on the side of the door and then said, “So where do you see yourself in ten years?”
    Hayley snorted and left it at that.
    “I’m serious. Have you ever thought about your future?”
    “I live in the moment,” Hayley said, hoping to put an end to Kitally’s chatter. “Right here. Right now. This is it.”
    “Dad wanted me to be an engineer,” Kitally said. “Mom had high hopes that I would be a brain surgeon—fifteen years of school, residency, fellowship . . . no problem. Once you get inside someone’s head, though—just you, the scalpel, and the brain—the margin of error would be infinitesimal. Think about it. One tiny error could be the difference between life and death. That’s the part of neurosurgery that speaks to me. A superstressful occupation with high rewards if you do your job right.”
    There was a pause and Hayley took the bait. “So why aren’t you in med school?”
    Kitally kept her attention on the neighborhood. “I would get bored.”
    For the next thirty minutes, while they both watched the house, Hayley figured Kitally probably had a million questions for her, but she remained silent for the most part. It was a long while before Kitally straightened in her seat, then reached over and grabbed her leather bag from the backseat.
    “What are you doing?” Hayley asked.
    “I’m going to take a look around and figure out where we want Tommy to place the cameras.”
    “Maybe I should go instead.”
    “I’ve been following you around for months now. I’m a quick learner.” Kitally opened the door and slid out of the car. “I’m going to check out the backyard. I’ll be right back.”
    Hayley wasn’t going to stop her. Ten minutes after she watched Kitally disappear around the back of the house, though, she began to feel a little antsy. Then, through the front window, she saw someone walking around inside. It took her a moment to recognize Kitally. What the hell?
    Kitally had broken into the house.
    Shit.
    They hadn’t talked about breaking and entering. Now was not the time or place. What the hell was she doing? Kitally was going to wind up getting them both into serious trouble.
    Hayley got out of the car and made her way across the street, thankful that there weren’t any barking dogs in the area. Keeping her eyes on the window as she approached, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. There were two people now. A tall, lanky person hovered over Kitally. His hand shot out and he struck her down.
    Hayley ran to the back of the house. It took her a