She sipped coffee and studied the girls’ profiles.
What had been happening twelve years ago in her life? Her mother had been dying, and there were around-the-clock nurses taking care of her. So many people in and out of the house. William had been stressed and agitated more than usual, and he’d been gone a lot. Judging by the thick scent of cigar smoke and bourbon that clung to him and the clink of poker chips in his pants pocket, she knew he’d been gambling. There’d been trouble with the cops, but he’d downplayed it and she’d been too upset to care.
And he was close now and he knew where she lived.
She stared at the first victim’s crime scene photo. Angie. She wore a dark T-shirt that set off vivid green eyes. What was it about this girl?
She snapped a picture of the victim’s picture and texted it to Bowman with the message, There’s something about this girl that bothers me. But I don’t know what.
Cigarette dangling from his mouth, Jax rubbed his hands over his bare arms, staring up into the moonlight. Behind him, the door to the motor home closed, so he turned a fraction to see Darla walking toward him. A big part of him cringed as he thought about her chewing on his ear again. The bitch never knew when to shut up.
“We need to leave,” she said. “We been waiting for over an hour and he ain’t shown.”
“He’ll be here. He said he would be.”
“He said. He said. Maybe he’s a liar. Maybe he don’t give two shits about us and he’s leaving us hanging in the wind because he gets a kick out of it.”
“Stop talking,” he said as he pulled on the cigarette.
“Time to leave and find us a couple more girls. We can go to a new state and set up shop. It won’t take me long to find them.” She rubbed the back of her neck, arching her breasts toward him as if she wanted him to notice.
He noticed. But right now doing Darla was the last thing he wanted to do. He was as tired of those breasts as he was of her nagging.
Best to settle up, get his money, and make a new life.
She smoothed her fingers over his back and across his shoulders. “You’re tense, baby.”
He dropped the cigarette in the dirt and ground it out with his boot before he pried her hands off him and stepped out of reach. “Not now.”
“Why not?” she asked, a pout in her tone. “You used to like what I did to you.”
“Not now.” His leg throbbed and he thought about that bitch Jo-Jo hiding out at Duke’s. He’d go there and kill her if he thought he could get close enough to do the job. But the old man was tough as gristle, and he’d heard stories about Duke’s younger days. When Duke wasn’t gambling or drinking hard, he was breaking heads for the casinos. He didn’t doubt for one second that Duke would shoot him dead without batting an eye.
“We can call Duke’s again.” She chuckled and it struck him that her laugh sounded more like a chicken’s cackle. “Rattle his cage.”
“No.”
When she tried to touch him again, he moved out of reach. “Don’t you go turning your back on me. I been with you through it all,” she said.
Headlights loomed out on the road and he straightened. “That’s him.”
“Who?”
“Do me a favor and keep your mouth shut.”
“Don’t you tell me to shut up.”
Rage roiled, and on reflex, he whipped his hand around and struck her squarely across the face so hard that she fell to the ground. She raised a trembling hand to her bloodied lip, staring up at him as if he’d lost his mind. He’d told her to be quiet. But she never listened.
Gravel crunched under tire wheels, and he turned away from her as if she were trash. Jax hiked up his pants and smiled as the car came to a stop. When the driver got out, he puffed his chest. “So what do you want? Coming to give me back what’s mine?”
“Here to give you what you deserve.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Thursday, September 22, 6:30 a.m.
When Riley arrived at Duke’s house, she was tired. She’d only logged a couple of hours’ sleep last night. She found Duke sitting on the front porch, talking into his cell phone, his expression dark and his words muffled but tense. When she closed her SUV door, he straightened, grinned, and ended the call.
“You’re looking a little rough,” he said, standing as he tucked his phone in his pocket.
“Didn’t get much sleep last night. And I could say the same for you.”
“I got enough.” He gave her an affectionate jostle to her shoulder. “So, what can I do for you?”
“How’s Jo-Jo doing?”
“Moving slow but getting around. She’s eating and her right eye isn’t as swollen. But it still hurts for her to walk. Busted ribs.”
“Any more problems with Jax?”
“Naw. I haven’t heard a word from him.”
“You should be on guard. That creep is out there stalking and waiting for his first chance to grab his meal ticket.”
“I told Maria to keep Jo-Jo in the house.” He nodded back behind him. “They’re both up if you want to visit.”
“Yeah. I’d like to touch base.”
“Head on inside. I’ve another call to make. Supplier busting my balls on a delivery.”
“Thanks.”
He studied her closer. “You doing all right?”
“Nothing a little time won’t fix.”
“Get some rest.”
“I’ll do my best.”
He grinned. “Liar.”
She moved through the house that had always felt like home. Her blood pressure still dropped when she was here.
In the bright kitchen, Jo-Jo slowly stirred cereal in a bowl. Maria greeted Riley with a wide, welcoming grin and a hug.
“Where’s Cooper?” Maria asked.
“In the SUV. I don’t have long.”
“Look who’s in the kitchen. Jo-Jo made the big trip down the stairs this morning.”
Riley sat down across from the runaway. “That’s not a happy smile.”
Jo-Jo looked up. “I don’t like cereal.”
“Really, cereal makes that kind of frown?”
“Easier to worry about this goop than my life.”
The girl was dressed in well-worn but clean jeans and a T-shirt that Maria must have given her. In regular, age-appropriate clothes she looked like a normal fifteen-year-old.
“The way I look at it, your life took a major upswing. Like the universe reached out, grabbed you by the collar, and pulled you out of the abyss.”
Jo-Jo cocked her head, her street smarts kicking into gear. “What’re you doing here?”
“Thought I’d come by and see how you’re feeling.”
“I’ll live.”
“You’re tough.”
Jo-Jo lifted her chin. “Jax used to say he liked my toughness.”
“Jax said nice things to you because he was manipulating you. He believes you’re his property.”
Fresh tears glistened in the girl’s eyes. “Nobody ever said they loved me before Jax.”
“And I bet he and Darla knew that. He’s evil but also smart.”
“He said some nice things to me and gave me presents. I felt special.”