Jase grinned. “I got no idea, sweet thing. It’s your job tofind out.” His grin slid away. “Be careful, Cassidy. Guys like these play for keeps.”
* * *
Franco Giannetti eased out of his parking space on Blackburn Street, following the flashy metallic-gray sports car. It sure as hell wasn’t hard, not with the careful way the woman was driving. He couldn’t believe her boyfriend had let her borrow his fancy Lamborghini. Damn thing had to be worth a fortune.
He’d been watching Reese’s house since he’d come up with his new plan. Today he’d followed the woman from the house to her office, where he’d made a run at her before. He’d watched her park and go inside, found a spot and settled in to wait.
An hour slipped past. He fidgeted, shifted in the torn vinyl seat, trying to get comfortable. It was chilly in the truck, but when a payoff was involved, Franco could be a patient man.
He turned on the engine, ran the heater to take off the chill, amazed it worked in the old beater truck. All he needed was to catch a break and the job would be done.
He was beginning to get bored when she finally came outside and climbed into the pricey sports car. He followed the vehicle at a safe distance, but no way was she going to spot him, not in the old white Chevy pickup he’d driven out of the junkyard. The way he did business, all the car needed was an engine that would run.
He pulled over when she slowed and parked in front of a flower shop down the street. She ran inside and came back out a few minutes later carrying a pretty yellow bouquet. He followed her again, saw her turn into the parking lot of a four-story brick apartment building and waited while she went inside.
He still hadn’t completely formulated a plan. He was keeping his options open, a technique he preferred. Today might not work, but if he got the chance, he was taking the woman out.
Franco felt a rush of excitement as he leaned back in his seat. This job was right up his alley, a way to make a sizable score all at once. But the challenge, the adrenaline rush of getting away with it . . . well, sometimes it was just downright fun.
* * *
Though Jase had pressed her for the lunch she owed him, Cassidy had put him off, promising she’d make it up to him next week. After leaving the office, she’d stopped at the flower shop, then swung by her place to retrieve some fresh clothes.
She fumbled with the key to her loft apartment, finally got the door open, and walked inside. She’d been gone so long the place smelled musty. She cracked some windows, although it was chilly outdoors, went into the bedroom and packed a rolling duffel, adding a few less conservative, sexier outfits than she’d taken to Pleasant Hill.
Her stomach was growling so she heated a can of chicken noodle soup, popped the top on a Diet Coke, and sat down at the counter in her small galley kitchen.
The apartment had a nice open feeling enhanced by the high ceilings and living-dining combination. Eventually, she’d get around to buying some accent pieces to brighten the plain beige sofa and chairs she had purchased when she’d first moved in.
She finished her lunch and was ready to head for the cemetery, but before she left, she wanted to call her dad. He was retired from the police force, but still worked part-timein the security business. They chatted awhile, which always lifted their spirits on this dismal day.
She phoned Brandon, a cop in New Orleans, but he didn’t pick up, so she left a message. She hoped she could reach Shawn in Afghanistan. She’d try to Skype him when she got back to Beau’s.
It was late afternoon by the time she was in the car, driving toward the small country cemetery outside Kaufman, about forty minutes south of Dallas. The sky had darkened as heavy clouds rolled in, but it hadn’t started raining yet.
The little cemetery occupied a piece of land outside the city limits of the town where her mother had been born, and other members of her family were buried there, too. There was a place for her dad already paid for next to her mom, but she didn’t want to think about that.
It was peaceful as she wandered among the tombstones. Only two other people were in the cemetery and they were standing around a headstone some distance away. She set the flowers on her mother’s grave, stood there awhile, and found herself talking about Beau.
“He’s a terrific guy, Mom. You would really like him. The thing is, he’s in love with someone else, a woman who died a long time ago. Since I deserve a man who’s in love with me, not a dead woman, I don’t think it’s going to work out.”
Just saying the words made her heart pinch. She was already more than half in love with Beau. But talking to her mom seemed to help, so she sat there awhile longer. She hadn’t realized how late it was getting until she noticed the sun dipping below the horizon and it began to rain.
Hurrying to the car, she climbed in and started the powerful Lamborghini engine, settled back and strapped herself into the seat. The sound of the engine made her smile, along with the sweet gesture Beau had made in letting her borrowone of his most prized possessions. Knowing how valuable the car was and how much he loved it, she still couldn’t believe she’d had the nerve to accept his generous gift.
It was raining hard by the time the Lambo rolled through the tall wrought-iron gates enclosing the graveyard. There was another car parked just outside, an old Chevy pickup with WASH ME traced through the dirt on the door. Maybe the rain would give it a long-overdue cleaning.
She wondered who the driver had been visiting, wondered if he had lost a member of his family, too, and felt a twinge of pity.
The pickup lights went on as she drove the Lamborghini along the narrow road down the hill. The truck pulled in behind her. The pavement was slick and the road was curvy, so she was taking it slow.
Too slow, apparently. The old Chevy speeded up behind her, coming up fast in her rearview mirror. She pressed down on the gas, but the road was too twisty to go very fast and no way was she risking a crash in Beau’s expensive car.
She made the first of a series of turns, but the pickup stayed right on her tail.
Idiot. Any trace of pity fled. There was nowhere to pull over, no way to get off the road, and with him so close, no way she could stop. What the hell did he want her to do? She speeded up a little more, but so did he.
She was beginning to get mad. She drove a little faster, then braked for the curve ahead. There were lots of trees, so she needed to be careful, but the pickup didn’t slow, just kept coming, roaring up behind her. She couldn’t believe it when he rammed her bumper hard enough to jolt the car, denting the back for sure.
