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“Hmm. We’ll see, old man. Tell me the number.”
I give it to him. “This is time-sensitive,” I say, thinking about the stalker. “So, don’t go back to sleep with a plan to do it later.”
“I’m eighteen, Liam. That’s a year older than you were when you killed a guy and the same age fucking Luke was when he went into the military and learned to blow guys’ heads off.”
“So?”
“Stop talking to me like I’m a fucking kid.”
“Stop acting like one, and I’ll see if I can rearrange my impression of you.”
He hangs up, and I blow out a breath. Killian’s got a point. But so do I. Hopefully things will even out with him.
I return to the table where there are two pints of Guinness but only one menu.
“Did you order already?” I ask.
“Hell, yes. I’m hungry. Can’t wait all day while you wander around like you’ve eaten a dozen gummies full of weed. What’s with you?”
I cock a brow. I haven’t had drugs since I ate contraband brownies in jail, and under their influence, shaved my head and got a jailhouse tattoo that looks like shit. Whisky’s my only vice now, since I consider Guinness medicinal. With a swallow, I flag the waitress down.
I put in an order for shepherd’s pie and begin busting Aiden’s balls about his mysterious late-night hook-ups. The guy is usually an open book with me about everything. Too much so, at times. But lately, he’s been keeping secrets.
After a dozen minutes or less, my phone rings. Glancing at the screen, I’m surprised to see Killian’s name already.
“Give me a second,” I say to Aiden, getting up. Walking away, I answer, “Yeah, I’m here.”
“All right, now I’m curious, too.”
“Why?” I walk out the door to stand near a tree, away from anyone else.
“Olivia Nichols is renting a single room in what passes for a modern day boarding house in the town of Stone Hill, Maine, population 4,012. She works at the local inn, and on her last grocery run, in addition to the things you’d expect any woman to buy, this girl also bought ten jars of baby food and two packages of disposable diapers. From the size, I’m guessing her baby is about ten months old.”
If there’s any noise left in the city, I don’t hear it.
“You know how my mind likes math. Her pregnancy would coincide with a big event that went unexplained,” Killian says.
My mind is roaring like a runaway train, so I only half process what he’s asking.
“You still there, Li?” he says.
“Yeah.” My voice is so low I’m not sure he hears me.
“This Olivia girl left Boston in a hurry. Right around the time your crazy ex-fiancee shot you. Interesting timing. Always wondered what set the psycho chick off. Maybe you hooking up with a new girlfriend?”
I rub the side of my neck. Killian’s right. He’s not a kid anymore. And his mind works so fast it can be dangerous.
“Text me the address, Killian.”
“Sure. Am I right that the timing’s interesting?”
“Yeah.”
There’s a beat. “All right. Talk to you later.”
“Hey, Killian, thanks, and listen, your skills are being wasted. Time for us to change that. In a few days, we’ll talk about work you can do for me. It’ll pay well.”
He’s silent.
