Luke’s worn-out black car pulled up to the curb, and Madigan said goodbye to Buster before draping her bag over her shoulder, across her chest, and arming the security system.
As she stepped down the pathway, the weight of the bag set her at ease. After accidentally leaving a can of dog food in it once before her adventures in South Bend, she carried it with her on purpose. A lucky charm with a small can of pepper spray to match.
Ames would approve.
“Who are we seeing first?” she asked as she slipped into the passenger’s seat.
“I’m going to show you the only one I know how to find.” Luke pulled away from the curb and made a U-turn back out of Rosebank Drive. “Blaze.”
“How do you know where he is?”
“Because he doesn’t change his routine very often, if at all. If I know him, he’ll be where he always is on a weekday before dinner.”
A small angel figurine hung by a metal chain off the rearview mirror, swaying back and forth, reflecting light off its silver wings.
“That’s nice,” she said, breaking the silence and pointing to it.
“From my mom,” he said. “To watch over me.”
“Nice.” She nodded, gripping the strap of her bag in both hands.
I have to see mine tomorrow. And what will she say? That she’s leaving.
She won’t say that I’m on my own, but it’ll be the truth. It always has been—except for Grace.
He turned onto Main Street.
“I’ve been looking into other men,” she said, breaking the silence. “I’ve been wondering why you suggested the two you did out of all the men working for Mickey?”
“Mickey doesn’t trust people easily. You seem to be sure your man has a connection to him.”
“Pretty sure, yeah.”
“Well, Blaze and Mr. Pain are the only two men who wouldn’t leave much of a trace of where they’ve been, which is why Mickey trusts them. I assumed you were searching for someone who’s hard to find.”
“You could say that.”
As they merged onto the highway to Amherst, the big orange sun sank closer to the horizon, leaving streaks of pinks and oranges through the sky ahead as the backdrop of the city.
“How long have you been searching?” he asked, turning on the radio. Soft jazz played as his hand hovered over the knob, and he brought it back to the steering wheel.
“I guess you don’t have to answer, but it’ll be a long, quiet drive…”
She rested her arms against her purse and turned to look out her window.
“Suit yourself,” Luke said, turning up the volume a bit as they rolled along the highway toward the bridge.
They rode the rest of the way in silence, but as they exited the highway, her heart raced. She kept her eyes on the road, trying to anticipate each turn he took until they entered the rich part of the city she was unfamiliar with. Off a main road, he pulled into a strip plaza and parked in the lot facing the road.
She turned over her shoulder, staring at an organic grocery store. “He goes grocery shopping every day before dinner?”
He pointed across the road to the gym.
“Ah,” Madigan exhaled, nodding.
“I want to show you who he is.” Luke pulled on a pair of sunglasses as the sun touched the horizon. “And then we’re going to follow him.”
“Okay.” Her heart pounded in her chest as she sat up at attention.
“If you’re not going to tell me why you’re looking for this man,” he said, “then I want to know you understand what could happen when you find who you’re looking for. Whatever it is you want to say to them—do to them, even—I guarantee you it isn’t worth the consequences.”
Justice is worth it. Peace of mind is worth it.
“I told you, I’ve made up my mind or I wouldn’t be here.”
“And I’m telling you I can’t protect you. I can get you what you want, but if you think you’re going to come face to face with whoever hurt you so badly, and you’ll get the best of them this time—you’re wrong.”
She turned to him, but he kept staring across the street. His angular features were prominent against the small shadows the sun cast over his tanned face, and his jaw seemed tight. Clenched.
Is he scared or just trying to scare me?
“You might have decided to run from them,” she said, turning her attention back to the gym, “but I’m not.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking—“
“Neither do you. You’re doing John a favor by helping me. I don’t need your help after I find who I’m looking for, so whatever reason you decided to get away from them, this won’t put you in danger if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“They did something to wreck you or someone you care about, and you’re going back with your plate asking for seconds—it doesn’t make sense. People would trade their souls to get away from Mickey and his goons, and even that doesn’t work most of the time, and you’d trade yours to get closer.”
Is that what I’m doing? I haven’t crossed any lines. I’m just looking for some justice.
“I have something I need to do,” she said. “It’s my choice.”
He shook his head. “I don’t understand it.”
“At the park, you said you understood why I’d want to get back at the person who made me this way.”
“I did, but these men have a lot of power. They can get to whoever they want. I was drawn to it at first, but then…”
Something must have happened to him.
“How did John help you get out?”
He ran his fingertips over his lips and grabbed the steering wheel, nodding ahead.
“The guy with the dark hair and the black jacket talking to the guy with the baseball hat?” Luke said.
His tall, dark, and almost handsome features couldn’t hide his demeanor. The way he stood tall, with his chin up. The slight nod of the head he gave to the other man smiling at him.
Cocky.
He extended his hand toward the man in the baseball hat, and he flinched before smiling and reaching out to pound their fists together.
Luke didn’t take his eyes off of him. “That’s Blaze.”
“That’s Blaze,” Grace said, pointing to the corner of the screen.
Mac stopped fast-forwarding and pressed play. “Playing blackjack,” he said. “Your game.”
“So Blaze is there, and Cory has just come in,” she said, “and there! Did you see that?”
“What?”
“Cory saw Blaze, and he went the other way.”
“Oh wow.” Mac rewound the footage and played it again.
Cory entered the room, did a double take when he noticed Blaze, and went the other way.
“This would be the last time they were in the same room,” Grace said, “since we are working backwards.”
“Is Cory leaving?”
“Look!”
Blaze stood from his chair and walked through the middle of two men talking. One seemed to yell at him, but the other held his friend back. Blaze paid them no attention, stalking after Cory.
We’ve finally got some concrete evidence that they knew each other to go along with the money transfer.
“Look, Cory stops there and turns around. He must have called him.” Mac said.
“Cory’s smiling, but I can tell he’s nervous. He’s rubbing his chin and neck—and there—he keeps taking a step to one side or the other.”
Blaze rested his hand on Cory’s shoulder and said something before letting his arm drop to the side, and Cory straightened his collar afterward.
“He’s not smiling now,” Mac said. “I wish I could tell what he’s saying.”
Cory spoke for almost a minute without Blaze interrupting or trying to say a thing.
“You think he’s trying to bargain with him?” Grace asked.
Cory handed Blaze his chips and turned away, rushing toward the exit.
“Wow,” Mac said, rubbing his hand over his chin. “Okay, let’s mark those timestamps there. If that was the last encounter, I can’t wait to see the rest.”
“We’ve got a lot more footage to go through. Let’s split it up, alright? Now we have an idea what we’re looking for.”
“I’m going to order takeout. What do you feel like?”
Grace shrugged. “Thai maybe?”
“Or pizza?”
Grace smiled. “Sure, pizza. Doesn’t matter much to me. I’m not really hungry.”
“We haven’t eaten all day. You’re running on coffee fumes.”
“I’m used to it.”
“Okay, what kind? How about Hawaiian?”
“You like pineapple on pizza?”
He laughed. “What? What’s so wrong with that?”
“I just don’t trust your food choices anymore.” She shrugged. “Madigan loves pineapple on pizza too. I’m a vegetarian, so I’ll take a veggie deluxe.”
“I knew that.” Mac took out his phone and hit the screen, pressing it to his ear.
“You have the pizza place on speed dial or something?” She stared up at him, feeling that instant connection between them she’d been trying to fight.
Mac smirked. “Something like that. I’m a bachelor living a bachelor’s life. I do what I want.”
His smirk. It’s charming. I guess it always has been, even when I wanted to hate it.
“I could eat pizza every day,” he said, laughing.
“Oh yeah?” Grace smiled and shook her head, writing down the last timestamp.
Just focus on the work. Don’t look at him. Concentrate.
“That,” he said, “and it’s all I can make for dinner when Kenzie comes.”
“But you’re not even cooking—“ she started, looking up at him.
“Hi there,” Mac said, smiling and turning his back to her. “That’s right. Sure, repeat my last order, but could you add a medium veggie deluxe?”
Grace turned back to the recording and pressed play as Blaze walked back toward the blackjack table with all of the chips Cory had intended to play with.
Maybe to win back the money he owed. Maybe because his addiction wouldn’t let him stop, driving him to go to the place where he might run into the man he owes a debt to.
Blaze sat at the table once again with a small grin as he nodded to the dealer. She paused the tape and studied his face.
What did you loan Cory money for?
And what would it take to make a man like Blaze kill?
Probably not much.
The man Luke called Blaze laughed along with the man beside him before parting ways and walking with his gym bag over his shoulder, back to his SUV.
I’ve never seen him. But he’s the right size.
She leaned forward, studying him as he tossed his bag into the back seat with ease.
“He boxes,” Luke said, turning the key in the ignition, “and works out for two hours every day. Never misses.”
He’ll be here every day before dinner… The man who attacked me was strong.
I need to hear his voice.
“Where does he go next?”
“It all depends,” Luke said, shifting into reverse. “He’s not entirely predictable, but we’re going to find out.”
His car rolled slowly toward the opening of the lot, and he waited until Blaze reached the street, turning left without signalling, causing another car to screech to a stop before him and lay on his horn. Letting one car pass, they followed him down Main Street.
“When you’re following someone, I find it’s best to really get in the mindset that you’re doing something important,” Luke said as Blaze switched lanes and sped up. “If you tell yourself you’re on your own mission, you blend in better. You don’t follow so close, because you’re just out, doing your own thing.”
Madigan cast a glance his way before keeping her eyes glued to Blaze.
“You don’t want to lose them, but if you hang back a bit, you can see what move they’re going to make. You don’t have to guess.”
Blaze turned right down a side street without signalling again.
“See? Like that. If we’d been right behind him, turning could have been too obvious.” Luke made the same turn, and she spotted the black SUV speeding down the road toward a red light.
“If that light had been a stale green, we’d have sped up just then,” he said.
“Stale green?”
He nodded. “If we don’t see it turn green, we assume it’s stale.”
Blaze sailed through the intersection, and they followed behind, just as the traffic light turned amber above them.
“You never want them to feel like they’re being followed,” he said as Blaze ran a stop sign.
“I knew when you were following me the other night.”
Luke pushed on the brakes before the stop sign, craning his neck to look ahead. “You didn’t know until I wanted you to. If you thought you were being followed before then, it’s because you’re paranoid. Maybe for good reason.”
They rolled through the four-way stop and picked up the pace, closing the gap between them once more.
“Where is he going?” she muttered under her breath.
Luke turned left, following Blaze toward another main road. Just before, his SUV turned into another small strip plaza, and Luke kept driving to the intersection.
“Hey, wait, where are we going? He’s back there.”
“We’re getting a better view.” He rolled past the lights and drove into the parking lot diagonal to the plaza. “Last time we were straight across. This time we have to make it different. We can’t give them a reason to suspect they—“
“Are being followed,” she said. “I got it.”
As they pulled into a spot out front of a bowling alley, Blaze got out of his vehicle and grabbed his gym bag, walking with swagger into the laundry mat.
“He’s doing his laundry?” she asked.
“Just wait.”
Blaze slipped inside and turned around immediately, locking the door behind him. Another older man walked to the front of the store.
Maybe the owner?
The older man drew the blinds out front and turned off the glowing open sign. The lights stayed on inside, and she could vaguely make out two figures walking across the room, disappearing toward the back of the store.
“Now what?” she asked.
“Now we wait.”
I need to know where he lives. Where he lets his guard down. If he ever does—it’s there.
Luke handed her a bottle of water, and she took it, nodding to him as he pulled a bag of grapes up to the front and held them out to her.
“No thanks.”
“Suit yourself.” He popped a grape in his mouth and crunched down on it loudly.
“You came prepared for a stakeout.”
“It’s what I used to do before a deal. I had to make sure any new customers were who they said they were.”
“So you’ve been doing this whole thing for a while.”
“Used to.” He popped another grape in his mouth.
“You didn’t answer my question before,” she said. “John got you out, but how? And why?”
He scratched his head and let the bag rest on his lap. “My mom got sick.”
“Oh.” She glanced back at the angel again. “I’m sorry.”
“She needed to see special surgeons and, we had to move closer to the hospital she had her treatments at.”
Everything in past tense. Maybe she died.
“And how did she…”
“She’s hanging in there,” he said with a small smile. “Treatments didn’t work. We moved back. But she’s not giving up and neither am I.”
“So you’re taking care of her now?”
He nodded and popped another grape into his mouth, stuffing it in his cheek.
“She’s the most important thing in my life,” he said and then bit down on the grape, a bit of it squirting out before he could close his mouth. “We moved back here to a cheaper place, and I’m working at the scrapyard…saving to hopefully have the option to try a different treatment in the future. It’s a totally different life, and being back here’s not ideal, but I’ll do anything for my mom.”
“Well… I’m glad you got out.”
He cleared his throat and put the bag back in the back seat. “This could take a while. I’d say get out and stretch your legs or get us a coffee, but you never know when we’ll need to move again.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. The streetlights flickered on, and the shadows from inside the laundromat re-emerged at about the same time. The larger shadow walked ahead, holding something.
That must be Blaze.
The front door opened, and Blaze stepped out with his gym bag, holding the door open as he spoke to the older man. As Blaze turned back to his SUV, letting the door swing shut slowly on its own, she watched the man limping out of sight, back behind the drawn blinds.
He wasn’t limping before, was he?
Blaze tossed his bag into the SUV again, this time with more of an effort, and Luke turned the key in the ignition again.
“He’ll go back home now,” Luke said.
“You know where he lives?”
“Uh huh. Gated community in Amherst.”
Great. Never broken into one of those.
Blaze drove out of the lot and turned right, back the way they came. Luke drove out to the edge of the lot and turned right on the main road.
“Okay, I don’t need to be a stalking expert to know we’re going the wrong way,” she said.
“No, we’re not.” Luke drove at the speed limit, staring at the road ahead as the sky’s pink and orange streaks faded fast, replaced with a darker blue.
“I don’t understand. Are you doing this so he doesn’t suspect we’re following him?”
Luke nodded and made a left.
Maybe we’re turning around.
He made another turn, and Madigan sat up in her seat, craning her neck to see around the cars ahead.
“I don’t see him.”
“The point is to make sure he doesn’t see us.”
As he made another turn off of Main Street, an unsettling feeling arose within her gut.
“Hey, where are we going?”
Luke stared ahead, his jaw clenched.
“Luke?” She turned to him. “Where are you taking me?”
He pursed his lips and made another turn toward the bad part of the city.
I’ve made a mistake.
She reached for her phone, but he turned to her, and she grabbed on tightly to her purse.
“What are you doing?”
“That can’t be it.” Grace pushed her coffee cup aside and pulled the laptop closer.
Mac sighed and let his lips vibrate together as he stood, grabbing his empty pizza box and putting it into the recycling crate by the door.
“Just those two?” she said, turning over her shoulder and staring up at Mac.
“I’m sure there was nothing on the ones I checked.” He pulled out the rolling chair beside her and took a seat. “Let’s see that second one again.”
Grace opened a folder and clicked on the media file with the timestamp corresponding with her notes. The footage came up on the big screen, and they both sat back in the dark room, watching.
Julie, the customer experience manager they met that day, accompanied Blaze and another man to the roulette table. She let go of Blaze’s arm and patted the chest of the other man with a shaved head before taking a step back as they set a stack of chips down at the table. Gamblers huddled around each of the surrounding tables, with people weaving through the crowds, including Julie, leaving the view of that camera.
“That’s why we didn’t notice when she left the first time we watched,” Grace said. “Saturday night at the casino.”
Mac nodded. “And here she comes in three, two…” Julie walked back into the picture with Cory Boyd following closely behind.
She’s not holding his arm like she did Blaze and the other man. Not as close with him, maybe.
Blaze organized his chips at the roulette table as the surrounding gamblers applauded him. Then Julie tapped him on the shoulder and stepped aside, waving Cory over. Blaze extended his hand, shaking Cory’s, and after the other man collected their chips, all four of them walked over toward the bar area, out of the picture.
“Okay, next tape,” Grace said, clicking on it. “So Julie wasn’t showing Cory where Blaze was as much as making an introduction then.”
“I guess not.”
This is their first meeting.
She clicked play, and the three men sat down at a table by the bar.
Julie brought them each back a drink on a tray, and the man with the shaved head winked to her, holding out a bill that she took and put on her tray before bending down and kissing his cheek. She swayed away from the table with a nod toward Cory before she left the frame.
“That tip might not have just been for the drinks,” Grace said.
“A finder’s fee of sorts, you think? For making the introduction?”
The other man with Blaze seemed to scan the room quite often, but Blaze and Cory focused on each other during the brief conversation. Cory stood first, and Blaze stood up next to him, shaking his hand.
“He said something there.” Mac reached over across Grace, grazing her arm as he stopped the tape. “Sorry.”
She turned to him, caught in his gaze as they made eye contact. She cleared her throat, and Mac pulled his arm away. “Just, can you rewind there?”
She rewound the tape, pressing play as Cory extended his hand.
“He said ‘Don’t,’” Mac said. “Don’t what? What did that look like to you?”
“Should we get a lip reading analyst in?”
He waved her off. “That could take a week.”
“I think he said ‘Don’t disappoint me,’” Grace said, rewinding the tape and playing it again.
“You could be right. The handshakes, they were obviously about the money, but it doesn’t give us any clues as to what the money is for.”
“His man there would know,” Grace said. “Let’s find out his identity.”
“And we should look into talking to Julie again.”
“I had a feeling about her and the manager. I think they told us all they are willing to…”
He shrugged. “Worth a shot.”
“She could go back to Blaze and tell him we’re asking about it. Give us away.”
Mac licked his lips and leaned back in the chair. “We’ve got to approach him at some point. We could go to see her and then go to him right after. Or separately at the same time even, so she has no chance to warn him.”
“I still think we need more,” she said, swiveling around in her chair and tossing her cup into the garbage.
“Nice one,” Mac said, sitting up. “I bet she’s in charge of bringing gamblers in debt to see him. People desperate for money. Maybe Blaze has a system for it—looking for a certain type of person, young and able—to do things for them.”
“Or maybe it was a high interest loan, taking advantage of Cory’s desperation.”
“Yeah, but your theory doesn’t make sense, because there’d be no reason to kill him.”
She swiveled her chair back a bit, stopping as she came face to face with him.
“So we go with yours, then,” she said. “We speak to Marie and find out where Cory went when he left the house. If he was going anywhere new in his last month alive. If she’s found anything suspicious, financial or otherwise, like receipts for gas in weird places, since.”
“Nice idea. After the funeral, then.”
Her heart pounded in her ears. “We can go through what we have now. Bank statements. See where he’s been and what he’s been spending his money on.”
We might finally get ahead.
He nodded, but neither of them moved. Her knee rested against his leg, and they didn’t take their eyes off each other. Something about being in the dark with him alone had been intimate, and she didn’t want it to end when the lights came back on and broke the connection.
“Would you want to go for a drink after this?” Mac asked.
He’s asking me out. Straight up. Just steer this back to our work.
“This could take all night.”
“I wouldn’t mind that either,” he said with a smirk.
He’s flirting with me. He’s definitely flirting.
Her heart beat increased, feeling his eyes on her as she bowed her head, brushing her hair back.
And I like it.
“You’re not sick of me yet?” she asked, swaying back and forth in her chair.
He shook his head and licked his lips again, with his charming grin, leaning in toward her.
I want to. I can’t. I can’t let this be anything more than professional. There’s too much at stake.
She pushed her chair back and stood in one smooth motion, reaching for the light switch and flicking it on. Mac folded his hands in front of him, lacing his fingers together, but he didn’t take his eyes off her. He stared with a twinkle in his eye as she tried to catch her breath.
She pressed her lips together, smiling, and took an awkward step back toward her chair, resting her hand on the back of it.
“What?” she muttered.
He sat up straight and grinned.
That grin. It’s irresistible. If I don’t stop this now, I won’t be able to.
She turned away from him and pushed a few binders over across the desk, searching for Tarek’s financial reports.
What am I doing? Looking for inconsistencies in Cory’s life.
After spotting the right folder, a click from behind her made her turn around. Mac stood a foot behind her, one hand leaning on the back of her chair beside hers.
“I’d like to take you out for dinner,” he said, his eyes searching hers. “I’d like to get to know you better—you know—outside of work.”
He’s so sweet. Nervous even. I’ve never seen him so vulnerable, and I want to, but…
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
He frowned. “No?”
“I’d like to keep things professional.”
“Well, I agree.”
“You do?” She smiled up at him.
“That’s why I said outside of work. I try not to let my personal life interfere with my work around here, and I respect you for wanting to as well. This would be after work. Off the clock.”
She shook her head and folded her hands in front of her.
“Just one meal.”
I’ll lose all respect from the people I work with if they find out. Banning will never take me seriously.
“No, Mac.”
“Okay,” he took a step back, and she wished she could close the distance between them. “I’m sorry. I guess I got confused. I thought the attraction was mutual…”
It is.
“My job is my priority,” she said as he avoided eye contact with her, staring down at the table instead. “And regardless of what’s going on between us, I don’t want things to get weird. We’ve finally developed some good communication, and if anything changed that—“
“It’s fine,” he said, holding his hand up and looking at her again. “You don’t have to explain anymore.”
She bit her lip and stood there in front of him, awkward and vulnerable herself.
I hate this. I hate being this person who always has to say no.
But it will be worth it once I work my way up the ranks again, back to the big city. Making a big difference. This is the right thing to do.
“It’s not personal…” she said.
“Clearly. You don’t like anything to get too personal. Don’t worry. I hear you loud and clear.”
“Hey, don’t make judgements like that—“
“Grace, let’s drop it.”
She picked up the financial binder. “Fine. I’ll look over Cory’s financial transactions on my own tonight.” She grabbed her coat and purse, walking to the door with an armful.
Mac did a double take before rushing to the door. “See you at the funeral tomorrow.” He pulled the door open for her, and she nodded.
“Thanks,” she muttered.
As she left, she wasn’t sure if she heard him say something, but she couldn’t bear to stop or look back. Her heart thudded even faster, and she took a deep breath as she stepped out into the fresh night air.
You would have regretted it if anything happened in there, no matter how tempting it was. And still is.
Focus on the case. There’s a killer out there, and you have to find him.
“Why aren’t we following Blaze?” Madigan hollered. “Why won’t you answer me?”
Luke made another turn, and she understood for the first time where they were going.
“No.”
“Yes,” he said, merging onto the bridge.
He’s taking me back home.
“Come on!” She folded her hands over her chest and stared out her window.
“Do you think that was him?”
“Maybe if we followed him, I’d know,” she sneered. “What was the point of showing him to me if I couldn’t get a closer look? I need to hear his voice. I won’t be able to tell unless I do.”
“It’s too dangerous to get that close. We followed him for as long as we could without him catching on.”
They drove across the bridge, and Madigan stared out her window, gazing into the distance over Bones Bay.
“He doesn’t know you, does he?”
Madigan folded her arms over her chest and kept her face hidden from him.
“Or does he?”
“I’m not telling you anything. You were supposed to help me. Grant my wish,” she scoffed, shaking her head. “So much for that. I’ll do fine without you.”
“You go alone, you’ll end up in a bad situation.”
“Why do you care?” She turned to him. “Seriously.”
“Because you seem like a good person to me. Good people should steer clear of the ones you’re in search of. You made your decision, but what would you say if I told you I’ve seen people beaten by those men with my own eyes? Heard stories of even worse things happening. Torture. Murder.”
She stared down into her lap.
What would he have done if Grace hadn’t interrupted him that night? Tortured me? Raped me? I thought I was going to die.
“I already know what kind of men they are,” she said.
“Then you must have been wronged by them somehow. This is vengeance. Revenge. You know what they say about that? You’d better dig—“
“Dig two graves.” She turned to him. “This isn’t what it’s about.”
I wanted revenge—I might still get it—but I need the truth most of all. I need to get back to who I was or who I’m supposed to be. Not this scared mess. I’m tired of being a victim, and I won’t allow whoever he is to harm anyone else.
“No? Then what is it about, Madigan?”
“Justice,” she shouted, realizing she’d been too open with him too late.
He shook his head. “You can’t bring these men down.”
“All the more reason to do something about it.”
“Ha,” he laughed, “see, right there. I knew it.”
“What?”
“You’re a good person. You’re just trying to do the right thing, but you have to consider that maybe the right thing is to make sure you’re around for the people who care about you. Love you.”
Grace is all I really have left. I don’t know what she’d do if something happened to me, and I’ve forced the thought from my mind more than once in the past few months, because it makes me less determined. Less focused.
“I don’t have anyone relying on me like you do,” she said. “You have your mom to take care of. You’re assuming I have people who need me.”
Just one, but she’d be okay without me. She’s stronger than me.
He frowned, studying her. “You must have someone…”
His voice trailed off as she shook her head.
“Damn,” he muttered under his breath. “Well, wait. There’s John.”
“I met John last fall. Didn’t know him before that. We aren’t family. We are barely friends.”
Maybe there’s a bit more to it than that, but in the end, he wouldn’t miss me.
“Then why is he willing to use his favor for you?”
She shrugged and grabbed the handle. “You’d have to ask him.”
But I think he sees something in me that reminds him of himself. A younger version of who he was, someone he wishes had protection or help.
They pulled up to Grace’s home an hour later, both too stubborn to talk the rest of the ride. She unbuckled her seatbelt and grabbed her bag.
“I’ll take you,” he said, rubbing the fingers of his left hand against his temple. “I’ll get you close enough to hear his voice.”
“Why should I trust you?”
“You’re right. I need to follow through on my promise to John. If he’s not the guy, though, you have to promise to stop looking. They say the best revenge is a life lived well.”
“You’re really into sayings, aren’t you?”
If I can have his help for a little longer, I should take it. But I don’t trust him… not after the stunt he just pulled.
“We have one mouth and two ears for a reason—to listen more.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. When?”
“I’ll call you. Be ready.”
She opened the door.
“Hey,” he said. “This will fulfill my promise. You have to promise me if this isn’t him, you’ll drop it. I honestly don’t have any more leads for you on Mr. Magic, and the jokers who work at the clubs definitely aren’t threatening enough to have done whatever was done to you.”
She nodded. “Fine.”
I won’t stop.
“Talk soon,” he said as she stepped out of the car. He pulled away and made the same U-turn as he had when picking her up as headlights shone in her face.
Grace.
She waited by the end of the driveway, watching the cars pass, but Grace stared straight ahead at her.
I hope she didn’t see me get out. If she did, he’s a friend from work.
Grace parked and got out of the car, opening the back door. Madigan met her, taking her jacket from her hand before she grabbed a binder from the back.
“Thanks,” Grace said. “How was work? Just getting off?”
Wow. How did I forget about my shift?
Madigan nodded. “I’m going to take Buster for a walk. Want to come?”
Please say no. I have to call in and pretend I’m sick. Fell asleep. Yeah. That’s it.
Grace shook her head. “It has been a hell of a day, and it isn’t over yet. I’m going in with more work to be done.” She held up the binder and started for the path.
“Something bad happen, or?”
Grace shook her head. “Not a good time to talk about it. Have to hit the books.”
“Sure,” Madigan said.
Grace walked straight down the hall to her room with her shoes still on.
Something’s definitely wrong. I have to handle my own mess, though. Best to give her space.
The door creaked and clipped shut to Grace’s room as Madigan put Buster’s leash on and took her phone out, arming the alarm system and shutting the door behind her.
Wherever Luke takes me, I have to hear Blaze. If there’s even a chance it was him, then I’ll need to see him again. When he isn’t dressed. I need to see if there’s a bite mark from Buster somewhere on him.
I’ll follow him from the gym one night to his place. Luke isn’t going to stop me.
No one can.