Josh cast him a glance.
“Sorry.”
“That’s all right. It really is fucked up.”
The kid looked out over the rippling grasses in the pasture, obviously disappointed the ride would be canceled. “So I guess we won’t be going.”
“Oh, we’re going. The last place I want to be is cooped up in the house. I need some air and this is the best way I can think of to get it.” He nudged the big buckskin through the gate, into the open field. “I need a few minutes. I’ll meet you at the stock pond. Wind’s picking up. Red may get a little nervous so stay alert.”
“I will,” Ty said, clearly eager.
Josh urged Thor into a trot, then a canter. Soon he was bending over the animal’s neck, the buckskin running flat out, black mane and tail flying, the ground rushing beneath them.
Thor was a damned fine horse. He would fetch a good price when it was time to sell him. Or maybe Josh would keep him.
The buckskin’s hooves pounded the earth. It gave him something to think about besides the murder of one of his best friends.
* * *
Damon paced the floor of the wood-paneled office where Izzy Watkins clattered away on his keyboard, working his seemingly limitless Internet magic tricks.
Izzy was a real kiss-ass. The guy would do just about anything to be included in Damon’s pussy posse. He loved the women Damon’s money and good looks scooped up, loved the booze and the drugs.
Damon liked him well enough, and his skills as a computer geek, combined with his unshakable loyalty, made him a real asset.
“How’s it coming?” Damon asked, stopping to peer over Izzy’s bony shoulders. Already losing his blond hair at the age of twenty-nine, Izzy wore round-rimmed glasses and was slim, not much to look at, but he knew the deep dark secrets of the computer world inside and out.
Izzy rubbed his hands together. “Got some good stuff going on here. Guy won’t know what hit him.”
Damon found himself smiling. Izzy knew about his engagement to Victoria, knew about her betrayal and who she was currently fucking, Joshua Cain.
Izzy had been the one to come up with the mercenary-for-hire website called The Dark Side. An ad on the site had led Damon to the Street Marauders. The cell phone pictures he’d received from the raid showed the vandalism, including the shot-out windows in Cain’s barn. It wasn’t enough to stir the cops into a frenzy, just enough to tweak Cain’s nose and let him know who was in charge.
The hassle of identity theft was going to be even better. Given the distance between him and Cain, given the fact he couldn’t get to Tory—not yet—it would have to be enough.
It was the same way he’d felt about the trashy little redhead. His dick stirred to life as he thought about the things he had done to her, the way he’d had her on her knees, the way she had begged him to stop.
He hadn’t been sure he was ready to see it completely through, but in the end, the pleasure he’d found had dissolved any misgivings he had.
“All finished,” Izzy said, leaning back in his chair. He chuckled. “That ought to keep the bastard busy for a while.”
Damon nodded, though he had no idea what Izzy had actually done. It didn’t matter as long as it caused Cain trouble. “Good work.”
Izzy shot him a look. “We still heading for the Peacock?”
Damon’s favorite hangout. He wasn’t really in the mood but he had to keep his minions happy. He still owed Izzy for the alibi.
“Sure, why not? It’s still early. Night hasn’t really gotten started yet.”
Izzy grinned and got up from his chair. Damon headed down the hall of the cheap, nineteen-fifties, flat-roofed house where Izzy lived.
He thought of the redhead and how she’d made him feel, and his mouth watered. He hadn’t expected the itch to start again so soon. He needed to get to Tory, end his obsession with her. Once he’d dealt with her, he could bring himself back under control.
Perhaps it was time to start planning.
* * *
For the second time in a few short weeks, Tory watched Josh walk into the kitchen wearing his marine dress blues. Her heart ached for him.
