Page 204 of Eight Years Gone

“I shouldn’t be much longer. We probably have time for a movie or something.”

“If you’re up for it, I was thinking of something different.” She sent him a smile as she snagged her lip with her teeth. “Colton went over to Amanda’s for a while.”

He immediately craved Grace. “Hell yeah, baby. Give me ten minutes, and I’m all yours.”

“Sounds good. I’ll get a fire going in the living room.”

He wiggled his brow. “I’m going to get your fire going.”

She laughed as she walked away.

He grinned before it faded as he got the completed files ready to send off to Jason and Rod—his insurance policy if anything went wrong.

Grabbing the four dozen pictures he’d printed over the last week, he put them in a yellow envelope. “You’re done, motherfucker,” he muttered as he secured the envelope’s clasp.

Quickly closing his laptop, he headed for the living room, eager to heat Grace up as promised. It had been a while since they’d been free to get crazy in an empty house.

Fifty-Four

Jagger walked around Millsdale Automotive’s smaller car lot, taking a few minutes to check out a couple of the higher-end vehicles.

He’d chosen to wear black jeans and a cream-colored sweater with one of his nicer jackets. The perfect outfit for a potential paying customer—business casual and harmless.

After another moment of perusing, he took off his sunglasses and headed inside, where Ray met him at the door, flashing a friendly smile.

“Good morning.” He held out his hand. “I’m Ray Killinger, the owner here at Millsdale Automotive.”

Jagger returned Ray’s handshake, smiling back at the clean-cut fifty-something man. “Good morning.”

“How can I help you today? We’ve got a lot of great cars out on our lot.”

Jagger nodded as he looked toward Ray’s inventory again. “Yes, you do. But I’m hoping I can show you a couple of things I brought along with me.”

Ray glanced at the yellow envelope Jagger wiggled in his hand. “Absolutely. Building something custom is a great way to go—something I can certainly help you with. Come on back to my office. Can I get you a cup of coffee or bottled water?”

Jagger shook his head. “I’m all set, but thanks.”

“All right, then. Let’s see what we can do for you.”

Jagger followed Ray to the windowed space overlooking the showroom, taking his seat, setting the envelope on Ray’s desk as Ray sat down. “I’ll let you take a look at what I’ve got,” he said, pushing the envelope across the tidy desk.

“Sure thing.” Ray picked it up with a smile. “This is heavier than I was expecting.”

Jagger smiled with a shrug. “I’m incredibly thorough.”

Ray laughed. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Jagger’s lips curved again. “I couldn’t agree more.”

Ray unfastened the clasp and reached in, pulling out dozens of eight-by-ten pictures. His eyes grew huge as he swallowed, flipping through the images. “What the hell is this?”

Jagger folded his hands, watching with satisfaction as sweat started to bead along Ray’s forehead. “This is me telling you that you’re going to leave Colton Sawyer alone.”

Ray’s hands trembled now as he kept flipping, stopping on the photos of Jimmy and Greg casing the dealerships Friday afternoon. “Are you a cop or something?”

Jagger shook his head. “I’m just a concerned citizen who isn’t going to let you fuck around with a seventeen-year-old kid.”

Ray looked at him now. “You’re the guy from the flower shop. The one who broke Greg’s nose.”

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