Page 5 of Ace of Spades

CHAPTER TWO

The man changing a tire that hadn’t needed changing ducked his head when the car with the female FBI agent inside drove by. He’d parked on the side of the road, far enough away from the crime scene so as not to draw attention. With binoculars, he’d been able to seeherup close and personal. She was beautiful, with her sun-kissed blonde hair and pale skin. It had been hard to see the color of her eyes, but he already knew they were blue.

His first two angels had been found almost immediately. One by a man needing to make a pit stop and the other by a photographer who’d set out to get pictures of the Everglades and its slithery inhabitants. The man chuckled at thinking how surprised the photographer must have been.

When his latest angel’s body hadn’t been found after two days, he’d called in a tip from a burner phone. He’d done his research and knew the FBI would take over with this one. He wasn’t afraid of the FBI. After all, he was smarter than they were. Everything he’d done and planned to do was for her.

After calling in the tip, he’d driven to this spot to wait. He hadn’t been sure she would be assigned to the case, but when she’d appeared, he knew it was a sign that his mission was blessed.

A little later, she walked into view again, heading back to her car. He brought the binoculars back to his eyes, frowning when the man who’d arrived after her got into the car with her. He’d never seen her with a man before and took that as another sign. She was waiting for him.

When her car passed again, heading back to Miami, he assumed, he’d only allowed himself a brief glance at her. Then he kept his head down, concentrating on putting the last of the lug nuts on, even though he’d longed to look up again. To look in her eyes. To let her see him. But it was too soon for that.

Who was the man who had been in the car with her? The question burned in his mind long after she was gone from sight. He sure hadn’t looked like an FBI agent. Did she have a boyfriend? The thought sent anger coursing through his bloodstream. He slammed the lug wrench against the bumper, leaving a dent.

She was his, and no one was going to keep him from claiming her.