Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 155798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 779(@200wpm)___ 623(@250wpm)___ 519(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 779(@200wpm)___ 623(@250wpm)___ 519(@300wpm)
I narrowed my eyes, studying him. I wanted to see a crack, maybe a hint that he actually didn’t care, but fuck this guy. He did. I wasn’t sure when he’d finally detach from Billie.
“How do you think?” It pissed me off that he was coming to me, but it also would’ve pissed me off if he hadn’t. Before he could retort, I said briskly, “Let’s walk.”
As soon as we got outside, I said, “She’s at the farm today.”
“I know. I called Lo.”
So he’d checked up on her. “Why are you here then?”
“I need to run something by her and Lo said you’d be the one to ask for the most accurate barometer check on Billie.”
I stopped abruptly, everything else instantly dropped. “You found something.”
“I—” He gave in. “Yeah. We found something, but it’s not much. It’s not enough.”
“What is it?”
“The name we had is a fake.”
I waited.
He didn’t say any more.
I raised an eyebrow. “That’s it? Save your gas next time.” I started walking.
He let go, staying behind. I got four paces before he said to my back, “We got a picture.”
I braked. “You should’ve fucking led with that.”
He shrugged, unperturbed, coming to pass me. “I’m leading with it now.” Before I could ask, he held a palm up. “We don’t have the picture yet, but it’s coming.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“Traffic cameras at four of the murder sites, and one near your gas station, all picked up the same truck—different plates, but the same guy. His face is covered in all the images except one. We’re waiting for the last one to come through. It’s got good quality, we’ve been told. I’m here to ask how to proceed with Billie. She made it clear she wanted to be in the know. Nikki approved that, so I’m asking your opinion. Do I tell her we have a picture coming or wait and see if it pans out into anything?” He hesitated. “I wasn’t sure her mindset, considering the recent phone call leak.”
That’s why he was here. That was maybe the real reason he sought me out. “The call rattled her, but she’s okay.”
Some relief hit him and his shoulders lowered a little. “And the other thing?”
I chewed on it, but after seeing her reaction this morning to the call, I nodded. “Send the picture when you get it.”
“Even if we can’t get identification from it?”
I wanted to tell him no. I wanted to shield her from all of this, pretend none of it was happening. I wanted to pick her up, take her to bed, and not let her leave again until she was smiling and glowing and had that little giggle I loved.
But I knew my woman by now and knew what she’d want.
“Even if you can’t see shit, you send her the picture.” My phone buzzed, and it was actually a name I wanted to hear from. “Anything else? Any other realizations you’ve had over the last forty-eight hours that you need to get off your chest?”
He rolled his eyes. “Why are you such a pain in the ass?”
I smirked and began walking backwards, hitting accept on my phone. “We already went over this. Catch up. Because you’re a cop, and I come from criminals. And also, because you have a boner for my woman, which really pisses me off.” Then I pivoted, the detective forgotten and I raised the phone to my ear. “What’s up?”
“Who was that?” my brother asked, sounding amused.
“Nice to know you’ll always be a dick,” Travis called from behind me. “At least you’re consistent. Wait for your police escort too.” He motioned toward the squad car parked in the lot.
I gave him the middle finger before unlocking my truck and getting in. As soon as I turned on the engine, I put my phone aside and waited for the escort Dickhead mentioned. They pulled into position and I eased ahead of them as the call switched so it was coming from my dashboard.
I replied to my brother, “Just some local pests. What’s going on?”
Will was quiet. We’d had enough conversations over the last month for me to know he was going to bring up something I wouldn’t want to discuss. “Listen, you’ve not said shit about what’s going on with your woman, but brother, we get the news too. You’ve been great about helping with this fight against Shannon, but if you need something from us—”
“I’m good.”
“I know Budd’s dead to you, and believe me, I’m learning how Shannon is the fucking reaper. You kill her and she keeps coming back to wreak vengeance. But you’re not all alone. You and me, we aren’t close, but I’m still family. Say the word and I’m there.”
“You’re helping Stevie, Georgie, and Sammy. You’re already helping,” I told him. “Can you imagine the alternative? Me having them here in all this?”