AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Travis Holmes slid lower into the shadows of his rental car as his nemesis walked through the pools of artificial illumination in the parking lot outside police headquarters.
His lip curled.
Given the hour, she was still going above and beyond in her job. The very quality that had endeared her to their boss, bolstered her credibility, and ultimately destroyed his career.
He spewed out a string of venom and pounded the heel of his hand against the rim of the wheel.
At least he’d found a relatively safe way to harass her, thanks to his surfing skills and diligent networking.
The story in the St. Louis newspaper about the fire investigator’s death, including the quote from Bri, had screamed opportunity during his Google search. The blaze was suspicious enough to play into her dogged determination.
Meaning that if a crime had been committed, someone who didn’t want that discovered could come gunning for her. A conclusion she would doubtless reach if bad things started happening, leaving him free to make her life miserable with little risk of detection.
Sweet.
And he’d covered his tracks. Left his car in Idaho and drove to St. Louis in the newly purchased clunker he’d sell as soonas he returned, with a wad of cash in his pocket so there was no credit card trail. Parked his car in Marcia’s garage here after claiming he had engine trouble. Had her rent a car for him under her name and credit card through a smaller, off-radar service using local hosts. Brilliant. No one would be able to easily track his movements.
Only Marcia knew he was here, and she was in his corner.
Travis slid a hand into his pocket and touched the trigger of his Glock. Yet after one feather-light stroke, he left the pistol where it was.
There would be no shooting tonight. Whatever happened to Bri had to appear accidental, and that required careful planning.
Like the kind he’d done for—
His cell began to vibrate, and he picked it up off the seat beside him. Grimaced at the screen.
Marcia was fast becoming a nuisance.
While her offer of a place to stay during his “vacation” in St. Louis had been welcome—as had the perks that ended up coming with it—who knew his college crush would turn into a divorcee on the prowl for a new long-term relationship?
Not in the cards. Not with him, anyway.
However, renewing their acquaintance gave him an excuse to be here. It would be foolish to rock that boat until he was finished with his mission.
Quashing his annoyance, he infused his voice with as much warmth as he could muster. “Hey, babe. What’s up?”
“Nothing. That’s why I called. I’m missing you.”
“I’ll be back soon. I told you I had business to take care of today.”
“Today’s over. And I thought you were on vacation.”
As Bri slid behind the wheel of her car, he twisted the key in the ignition. “I am. This was personal business.”
“Do you have another girl here?” Suspicion colored her words.
“How can you think that after the reunion we’ve been having?”
“Yeah.” Her manner softened. “It reminds me of the good old days. Whatever happened to us, anyway?”
He put the car in gear and fell in behind Bri, keeping his distance. “You met Allen and dumped me.”
Which had been fine by him. Otherwise, he’d have had to dump her. Marcia had been fun but too demanding. A realization that Allen had apparently arrived at too late.
“My mistake. But now that he’s history, we could always wind back the clock.”
Travis rolled his eyes. How could she be hinting at anything serious a mere five days into his visit?
