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KEVIN DOYLE SAT in the driver’s seat of an older Chevy Trailblazer. Even with some rust holes, the smaller SUV still had enough weight to splatter someone across the street. Doyle had found the car just a few blocks away. Now he was waiting in the same spot he had a day ago: next to the popular chicken place, looking down the street to where Jaime Nantes would be strolling by on his way to eat at Island Delight.

Doyle planned to make the hit before Nantes walked into the restaurant. He wasn’t going to risk his last target getting away from him. Doyle had already texted his employer that they had not finished the job with Bennett. He left off anything about what might have happened to “Joe.”

Considering how much he had to pay Amir to dispose of another body, he doubted anyone would ever have a clue what happened to Joe. Sure, someone would miss him. Eventually. But in his line of work, there were far too many suspects for anyone to blame Doyle for his disappearance. At least that’s how Doyle chose to look at it.

He had very specific plans today. Finish this hit from his original contract. Collect his few belongings from the hotel in Brooklyn. Dump this shitty Trailblazer, and grab the first flight he could from LaGuardia. He wasn’t even sure where he wanted to go. He just wanted out of the greater New York City area. And frankly, at this point, Doyle didn’t care if he ever came back.

He knew there’d be questions about Bennett, but once he was gone and had destroyed his burner cell phone, he didn’t expect to hear anything more about it.

Doyle kept his eyes on the street. He knew a knucklehead like Nantes would never realize someone had intentionally tried to run him down the other day. He’d assume it was just a bad driver. Guys like that never really thought ahead or looked at the details of life surrounding them. They simply kind of blew through the day without paying much attention. That’s what Doyle was counting on today.

His mind drifted back to the diner where Tammy worked. He’d gone a day and a half without driving past the diner. He was slowly starting to get the manipulative waitress off his mind. It took him a while to realize she was a little like his employer. She knew what buttons to push to make him do different things. The difference was, he’d known his employer a long time. Tammy had picked up on his weaknesses almost immediately. That was another reason he’d be glad to leave town. He was afraid he’d end up doing something stupid if he saw her again.

Doyle sucked in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. He had tried meditation and yoga classes, but nothing ever seemed to keep him as calm as he wanted to be. His mind focused only on concerns, never on pleasure. He intended to change that.

With any luck, Doyle would be somewhere far away by this time tomorrow. Then he could focus on what he actually wanted to do with his life. And maybe forget about everything he’d done with it up till now.