Page 27 of Stone Cold Bad
“Nope, don’t know her.”
“Just thought I’d ask.Figured it would be a quick ten thousand bucks.”He glanced down at Jade’s picture with a sick grin, and I wanted to rip it from his hands.“Shit, I’d like to hit that, eh?Bet she has a fine little cunt to go with that pretty face.”
My pulse was pounding in my head, and I briefly wondered how fast I could grab his gun and turn it on his ugly motherfucking face.
“I mean ten thousand bucks— she must be quite a fuck.”His dry laugh startled me.He noticed my sudden tension.“Damn, maybe you’re not as steady and confident as I thought, Stone.”He looked at the picture and then at the side of my face.It had been impossible not to react to his comments.Now he sensed something was wrong.
After a long, tense minute, he returned the paper to his pocket.“Knew it was a long shot.But I did hear that you’ve been seen hanging around with a beautiful girl with white blonde hair.Thought maybe she was the girl on the flyer.”
“Told you, I don’t know her.”
Slade and the men returned carrying some of the bundles.I was relieved to see them.
“Are we good to go?”Ace asked.
“Yes, everything’s fine.”
Ace moved his face closer to mine before lowering his gun.“You will let me know if you change your mind about my offer.”
“Don’t hold your breath.”
He laughed.It was a harsh, grating sound.He put the gun back in the holster.I swallowed to relieve the dryness in my throat.It wasn’t the gun pointed at me that had caused it.It was the reality that Jade’s picture was everywhere.It was only a matter of time until some greedy asshole like the one standing on our deck caught sight of her.I needed to get home and tell Jade what was happening.
EIGHTEEN
JADE
Amy parked the car and we climbed out.The rich smell of coffee drifted around the parking lot.There were only a few people in the shop sitting around tables cradling steaming cups in their hands.Several coffee drinkers glanced up as we stepped inside.Two women, in particular, did a double take as if they knew Amy and me.
“Damn,” Amy whispered, “do I have dirt on my face or something?”
“So it’s not just me being paranoid?”
We got in line.I finally had a few dollars of spending money from tips, and I’d told Amy I wanted to buy her a coffee and muffin to repay her for being such a true friend.
“Oh good, they’ve got those little crumb cakes,” Amy said.“Love to dip those in my coffee.”
“How many do you want?My treat, remember?As long as we stay inside my five dollar budget.”
“One is plenty.In fact, we could share it.”She pulled out her phone.“A voicemail from Jack.I’ll bet he needs one of us to come in earlier.”
“I need to get a phone for myself.Someday.”
“Hey, I’ve got to take a whiz.Tell them I want extra whipped cream.”Amy pressed a button on her phone and walked away with it against her ear.
The girl behind the counter looked at me with round eyes, and I wondered what the heck was wrong this morning that was making people look at me as if I had horns growing from my head.Amy came scurrying out from the short hallway that led to the restrooms.She was holding a paper in her hand and looking as if a monster was chasing her from the bathroom.
“What the heck, Amy?Was there a spider in the stall or something?”
She grabbed my arm and spun me toward the door.“Forget the coffee.We need to get out of here.”She led me quickly to the door.
“O.K.now you’re freaking me out,” I said as we raced across the parking lot to her car.
“Yeah?Well be prepared to be properly freaked.”She shoved the paper into my hand.“Someone pinned this to the bathroom door.Get in the car.”
I climbed in.My heart was pounding as I unfolded the paper.My picture was staring back at me with the wordsMissingtyped in bold print across the top.There was a short description below, but I was in no state of mind to read it.The wordRewardand$10,000were printed in red at the bottom of the flyer.I recognized the phone number.It was Ray’s cell phone.
“Shit.Shit.Shit.”
