Only when he had no other choice.
The house remained, other than the initial crime scene cleanup, exactly as it had been fifteen years ago.
Stuck in time ... just as Carson’s personal life had been for so very long. But no more.
The Tanner case was closed, and Stokes was serving a life sentence.
Ask yourself if you’ll ever really know what happened.
Maybe not, but the truth was that the past was the least of his worries.
Annette Baxter was the problem of the moment.
But her time was limited.
13
4:45 p.m.
1st Avenue, Birmingham
Jazel Ramirez climbed out of the Lexus. She slammed the door shut and leaned against it to watch her racy red Mustang roar up the street like a mighty beast. Shivers danced over her skin.
God, she loved that car!
The Mustang screeched to a halt, and the driver’s-side door opened. Jazel’s breath caught as she watched Annette emerge. She was so freakin’ beautiful! Jazel wanted to be just like her!
They had the same body build. Lean and toned. Except Annette’s tits were huge compared with Jazel’s. But shit, that was okay. Jazel was only twenty-two. She had plenty of time to consider implants.
She tugged the blond wig from her head and finger-combed her dark mane, then reached up just in time to catch the keys Annette tossed her way.
“Good catch.” Annette leaned against the Lexus. “Any trouble today?”
Jazel propped next to her idol. She shook her head as she exhaled. “It was cool. I went to the park. Drove around in my old neighborhood. Then came here.” The black miniskirt and tight-ass camisole looked almost as good on her as it did Annette. Except for the cleavage. Jazel needed those implants.
Annette inclined her head. “You didn’t notice a tail at any point?”
A frown tightened Jazel’s forehead. “No way. You know I’m too smart for that.” Damn. Annette rarely questioned her this way. Had she messed up somehow? She hoped not. The money she earned with this gig was paying for the Mustang. She would never have owned a car that cool without Annette.
Annette nodded. “Good. Payment’s in the glove box. I’ll probably need you again this week. Is that a problem?”
Jazel grinned. “Absolutely not.”
Annette glanced around the empty street like she was nervous or something. “Okay, sweetie. You take care going home.”
“I always take care.” Jazel pushed off the Lexus and headed for her Mustang. As she slid behind the wheel, Annette drove away in the sleek Lexus. Hell yeah, Jazel wanted to be just like her. Annette had it all. Looks, money, anything she wanted.
Jazel intended to have it all, too. But first she had to finish her nursing degree. Annette insisted. No school, no work. No negotiation.
Burning rubber, Jazel sped away.
A full tank of gas. She grinned. Annette always filled up the tank before returning her car. Jazel tossed the blond wig onto the back seat.
She glanced at the clock on the dash. Damn. She had to get home. Her mother would be heading to work in fifteen minutes. Jazel had babysitting duty tonight. Just one of the many perks of belonging to a huge family.
As she left the city traffic behind she let her inhibitions go and jammed down hard on the accelerator. With the windows down and the wind blowing through her hair she felt as if she owned the road. She pumped up the volume on the radio and belted out the words to one of her favorites on this week’s hit list.
Movement in the rearview mirror snagged her attention. She glanced at the mirror. What the hell? A black car was right on her ass.
