“April.”
“Um, I’d like to say thanks for the voucher. I’m headed to the shop now. There were some dragon-eye dice I wanted, so… thank you,” I said lamely.
“Damn, that was a good guess that you’d still be addicted to the game.”
“It’s a hard one to quit playing. Um… I suppose I’d better be off.” I felt awkward in the light of Stone’s smile—clearly happy that he’d got my gift right.
I turned and began walking away, then I stopped. Stone seemed startled at my abrupt turn and quickly lifted his eyes from where he’d been gazing at my ass. A faint blush lit Stone’s cheeks before he squared his shoulders and met my gaze defiantly.
“Fancy a drink tonight?” I blurted, and again Stone looked like I’d hit him with a two-by-four.
“Sure. Oh, shit, I can’t.”
And there it was: the rejection. I nodded and turned away. “April, I’m on a stakeout tonight. Unless you feel like joining me, can we arrange for tomorrow night?”
“Surveillance?” I demanded, cocking my head. That was something I’d never done. It could be interesting.
“Yeah, I’m a PI now.”
“You are?” I exclaimed. Well, that was a surprise.
“Yup.” Stone’s smile was warm.
“Can I come?”
Stone blinked. “You want to join me on a stakeout?”
“It’s an experience I’ve not had before.”
“Okay, I’ll pick you up at half six. Wrap up; it’s going to be chilly tonight.”
“See you then.” I walked away feeling a warmth in my chest I’d not felt for a long time. I couldn’t have stopped my smile for a million bucks!
Harlequin
Goddamn, she was cute. April bounced down the steps of Clara’s house, and it was hard to suppress my grin. I don’t know what she’d expected, but she’d clearly watched too many movies. April’s hair was tucked up into a bun underneath a dark beanie. Black jeans and a long-sleeved sweater matched it. She carried a bag and two large drink containers. April had also put two streaks on each cheek for blending in.
“I didn’t know how to dress!” she exclaimed with a laugh. “Was the camouflage too much?”
“A little,” I said, pulling out a tissue and trying to wipe the stripes off. Instead, I smeared them across her face. “Shit, I made that worse!”
We both began laughing as April pulled some wet wipes from her purse and cleaned them off.
“Guess that was stupid,” she admitted. “However, I’ve never done a stakeout.”
“They’re pretty boring,” I said as we walked towards the vehicle I was driving tonight. Slaughter had five cars, which the company used for things like this to save us from using our own. It helped to rotate them so a perp couldn’t easily spot our vehicle.
“We’re using this. It’s a common enough make of car, we won’t stand out.”
“Who are we watching?” April asked. She headed around to the passenger side, and I just beat her to open the door. April smiled shyly as she climbed in.
“We’re monitoring someone who I think knows more about an eighteen-year-old girl’s disappearance than he’s letting on. Do you remember Darren Rogers? His daughter, Julie, went missing six months ago. The cops haven’t got a lead. I confronted this guy two days ago, and something’s off.”
“Off how?” April asked as I started the car and drove away.
“Margrave’s whole demeanour is wrong. I caught him in a lie. He claims the last time he saw Julie was when she left the library. Margrave’s statement says he spotted Julie in passing. However, that day, the library was shut, so he lied. But Margrave did describe exactly what Julie was wearing, which is worrying.”
“How old is this asshole?” April asked.
