Page 115 of Fiona and the Fixer

“She’s going to be a Coal Springs police officer!” Dottie exclaimed.

Everyone talked at once. I held up my hand.

“I haven’t decided yet. One thing at a time.”

Like finding Dax. Then finding Coal Springs. Then finding Dottie and Hannah and Jack and Brittany and Nitro. And finding me.

I’d know what I wanted to do soon enough. For now, I was going to take a break.

If that was even possible in this town.

My cell rang as Nitro tugged Brittany out of the room. Thank goodness because they weren’t letting up on the smooches.

“Not on my couch!” Jack called.

I looked at the screen and my heart skipped a beat. The look on my face made Dax take my hand. “Who is it?”

I didn’t answer, only answered the call. “Hello?”

“Fiona Whitaker?”

“Yes.”

“This is the warden at–”

For someone who could hear so well, I only processed half of what the man said.

“He’s dead?” I asked, when he was finally done.

“Yes. He was caught in the middle of a fight between two rival gangs. Stabbed.”

“Thank you,” I replied, then disconnected.

Everyone was staring at me.

“My father’s dead,” I announced.

No one said anything. I sat numb, staring at my plate of grilled salmon and rice.

Then my brain kicked back in, and I looked to Dax.

He was studying me carefully. My hand was still in his.

I arched a brow.

“I take care of what’s mine.”

61

DAX

There wasno way in hell I was letting her father live after what Fiona told me. Nitro agreed and it’d been easy to get him dead in a way that didn’t look like a hit. Even if someone suspected, they didn’t really care. No one looked kindly at anyone who fucked with a kid.

As for the other names on my own FUCKERS OF FIONA’S LIFE list I had in my head, it was getting smaller.

Neidermeyer was taking himself down easily enough. He’d got caught planting evidence on his case and was in the process of being fired. He might be able to get a mall security job if he was lucky.

Trotter’s wife would be getting some interesting pictures in the next few days. So would the interoffice messaging system on the fourth floor of the Denver field office.

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