Page 53 of The Highwaymen

“Tease,” I said and kicked him lightly under the booth.

Stu just grinned, utterly unrepentant. “Anticipation is half the fun, pumpkin.” He popped the last bit of bacon into his mouth. “Besides, you're pretty when you squirm.”

I huffed a laugh, shaking my head. Stu always knew just how to wind me up.

Our target finished his phone call with a final barked command, counting out the exact change to cover his bill before heaving himself off the stool with a grunt. Asshole didn’t even leave a tip. I tracked his movements, picturing myself as a lazy predator watching an oblivious prey animal go about its day, blissfully unaware that its clock was running out.

He paused to leer down the waitress's shirt, his bulbous nose nearly brushing the delicate skin of her cleavage. I could see her recoil, the tight line of her shoulders, the way her smile became even more forced. My fingers twitched toward the butter knife, a sudden urge to jam it through his wandering eyeball making them itch.

But I breathed through it, letting the red haze recede. His time would come. And oh, would it be sweet.

The bell over the door jingled discordantly as he pushed through it and Stu met my eyes. “Ready, pumpkin?”

I slid out of the booth, anticipation thrumming through my veins like a live wire. “Born ready, honey bunny.”

We stepped out into the brilliant morning sunshine, the asphalt already shimmering with heat mirages, though it was barely past dawn. Our target was just climbing into a nondescript sedan, the dull gray paint job as unremarkable as the man himself.

I turned to Stu, ready to set the game afoot, but paused when I saw him staring down at his phone. “What is it?”

“Tammy,” he grunted, jabbing at the screen with a blunt finger. “Wants to know if we can swing by to run a load of product for her up to Memphis.”

I smiled to myself. Tammy had done well for herself after Deacon’s death. Romeo’s disappearance had left a gaping hole in the drug trade in the Southwest, one that Tammy had somehow weaseled her way into filling. Who’d have thought the woman had it in her? Guess I shouldn’t have been surprised after the way she mowed down Romeo’s guys at the junkyard.

“Sounds good to me,” I said. “We can probably be back down that way in what? Two? Three days?”

“Less time if we tag team the route.” Stu grinned and slid his sunglasses on before tossing me the keys to Proud Mary. “You drive this time.”

I caught the keys one-handed, their familiar weight solid and reassuring in my palm. Sliding behind the wheel of the big rig always gave me a little thrill, like stepping into Stu's skin for a bit. His scent lingered in the worn leather andsun-warmed metal.

I ran a reverent hand over the dash, the engine rumbling to life beneath me with a throaty purr. Stu climbed in on the passenger side, a solid wall of heat and muscle.

With a grin and a jaunty salute to the road, I popped the clutch and sent the rig roaring out of the parking lot. Our prey’s sedan was a dull glint in the distance, oblivious to the predators on his tail.

Drive safe, little pig, or I’ll huff and puff, and bite your fucking face off.

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