Page 70 of Burn With Me

Hey, D,

I have a job for you. I know you said no more jobs, but this one is up your alley.

Below is a list of three names. Each one comes with a very large sum of money.

I’ll wire the money as soon as the job is completed. Do your homework, and you’ll see these guys are fucksticks. Sorry for the letter, but I had some technical issues and didn’t trust to call or text.

I never know when those fucking FBI assholes are listening. In case you’re still tempted to say no, I’ve doubled the payout for each target.

You’ll need to drop by and say ‘Hi’ at the clubhouse when I get back. We can have a shot or ten.

Your Cherry Popper

Fucking Mathers. I stared at the list of names committing them to memory before walking over to the sink and holding the paper over it as I set it on fire.

“Light show! Oh, we can do fireworks. I love fireworks.”

I looked over my shoulder at Ava as she pulled the latest batch of cookies out of the oven. How many people she thought she was baking for was beyond me.

“Do you mean actual fireworks, or are you talking about a fire, like a building burning down?” The fact that I needed to clarify that statement said a lot about both of us.

She shrugged. “Either. Did you know my friend is pregnant? She’s going to have a baby.”

“That’s usually what being pregnant means,” I said, pulling a bottle of water from the fridge. “You want one?” I asked, holding out a bottle to Ava, but she shook her head no. “Is this Mathers’s girl?”

“You know Mathers?”

The bottle paused on its way to my lips. Not this again. “Are you sticking around for a little while?” It was safer to simply change the subject.

“The Dragon wants me to stay.” She smiled and then walked over and stuffed a hot cookie in my mouth. “Naughty Dragon,” she murmured and gave me a wink.

As soon as she was out of the room, I spit the scalding cookie out into my hand and chugged the water. I quickly blew on the cookie and proceeded to stuff it back into my mouth before she returned. There was a good chance she’d start crying, and I didn’t know what to do with her tears.

“Huh, this is really good Ava,” I said, once the tastebuds returned to my mouth.

She’d made them with peanut butter, banana, and oatmeal. I turned at the sound of rain and stared out at the shower that was passing through, even though there didn’t seem to be a cloud in the sky.

“Yay! Rain!”

The front door slammed open, and I stepped into the hallway just in time to get Ava’s shirt in my face as she flung it off her body. Pulling the pink shirt off my face, my mouth dropped as she flicked her bra off and then wiggled out of her shorts. She was apparently going commando and sprinted out my door with nothing but her pink sneakers on.

Well, this was great, I’d managed to go this long without the cops coming up my driveway, and I was going to be taken down by a naked girl dancing in the rain in my front yard. There was something oddly magical about her freedom. For as free as I now was, parts of me remained locked up in a dark room with no one but myself.

She spun in a circle and headed back with her tongue out as she caught the raindrops. She looked at me and waved wildly.

“Bye, Dragon.”

“What about your clothes?” I called after her.

“But it’s raining,” she said like I was being ridiculous and then waved. She pulled a small pink scooter out of the bushes where it had been hidden from sight.

Ava put on her helmet and got on the scooter in her birthday suit. She whipped out of my driveway and along the road.

There were some things in life I’d pay money to see, and the looks on all those that passed Ava as she whipped past as naked as the day she was born, was at the top of my list. I could picture her waving at all the open mouths and not even noticing the gasps, shocked looks, or turned-on expressions. She was truly unique.

Closing the door, I picked up her clothes and put them in a pile on one of the kitchen chairs. There was no way to tell if she would come back for them or not. Looking around the kitchen, I scratched my head.

“What the hell am I going to do with all these cookies?”