"Did you get my message?"
The rooftop was quiet enough for a deep voice to be heard from the phone. Forrest pressed to put it on speakerphone and held it out in front of him.
"What message is that?" he asked.
"The one I sent to your girlfriend. And the one you found in the stairwell."
"Who the fuck is this?" Woody demanded.
"Think of me as a friend," the voice responded.
"Bullshit," Woody muttered, echoing my thoughts exactly. This wasn't the actions of a friend.
I rubbed my forehead with my thumb and fingertips, listening carefully and trying to figure out who it was. If it was an authentic voice at all, that was. Who could be sure these days?
"We got your messages," Forrest said, his tone giving away nothing. His eyes flashed with irritation, but it was brief, quickly shoved away so he was back in control. "What do you want?"
"I want you to pay attention," the man said.
"Pay attention to what?" Woody asked.
"Everything." The call ended.
"Well, that was clear," I said sarcastically. "Friend of yours?"
Forrest frowned at the phone. "No one I recognize."
"I told you this was about Sable," Woody said.
"It's about us too. He called Forrest," I pointed out.
I dropped my head back and looked around. If anyone was watching from a distance, chuckling at us for standing out here looking like fools, I saw no sign. That didn't mean they weren't in a darkened window lurking like a lurker. Spying like a motherfucker.
Forrest shook his head and tapped on his phone screen again. "Sable, we're locked on the roof. Yeah." He chuckled and ended the call before putting his phone away. "She's going to come up and let us out."
"Lucky you and I are here," I said. "I don't think she'd come up and let Woody out."
He flipped me off. "Yes, she would. She's nicer than you are."
I blinked at him a couple of times in mock surprise. "Did you say something nice about her?"
"No," he said quickly. "You didn't hear anything, it's your imagination."
"I heard it too," Forrest pointed out. "It's all right to admit you like her. We all do."
"I don't like her," Woody said. "She's a pain in the ass."
"You're a pain in the ass," I told him.
He flipped me off again.
"It's not too late to push him off the roof," I said to Forrest.
"You're not pushing him off the roof," Forrest said as the door opened and Sable peered out.
"Hey," she said softly.
"Hey." Forrest placed his hand on her cheek, rubbing his thumb up and down her skin.