Page 169 of Soul So Dark

“Is that where all the townies in Daisy Dukes are lining up to have his babies and make him casseroles?”

“You’rea townie,” I point out.

“Whatever,” Aiden scoffs. “I’ll cover my dick in hot fudge and roll it in rainbow sprinkles if even one of them knows that Beethoven is a composer and not a dog. Uncultured swine.”

“Leave your hobbies out of this and stay focused.”

We won’t have the cover of a private residence, but it’s much less of a hassle to find Bowen’s vehicle out in the wild and stick a GPS tracker on it than deal with getting on and off his property.

“Anyway,” Aiden changes the subject, “looks like you decided to show up just in time.”

“Why’s that?”

“I haven’t been completely honest with you.”

I cast him a sideways glance. “How so?”

“I was glad when you asked me to do this, but not just because it’s a chance for you and me to spend some quality time together and go fuck some shit up. I was planning on doing it anyway.”

“Why?”

“You’re not the only one who sought me out for my skills of questionable legality.” He shifts his sardonic gaze to me. “Your kitten grew claws and decided to go to war. She’s going after the white whale.”

“Dallas is?”Jesus Christ…“Just her?”

“Just her,” he nods. “Well, shedidcome knocking on my door asking for my help, but it was her idea. AndAlejandro,” he casts me a sideways glance, “is she a sight for sore eyes. And she might even be more fucked up than I am. No wonder you all got along so well.”

“You can stop now.”

“Wait,” Aiden pauses, “you didn’t know?”

“No.” This news just threw a wrench in my plan. It’s bad enough I caught Garrison hanging around her workplace, but Dallas is going to get herself killed if she starts poking the bear.

“Then let me enlighten you. She’s straight up hustling that motherfucker, pretending to be some dude while she games with him every night and tries to pull dirt out of him about Evie.”

“What?” I snap.

“I was just as surprised as you are, I didn’t think she had it in her. But I made her a deal, I’d only help her if she stayed away from him. That’s why we’re doing this. If I find out she went within a mile radius of him on her own, I’m pulling the plug. You should be glad she came to me.”

“Shit,” I murmur right before catching sight of a sign lit up by floodlights. “Hey, there it is.”

Aiden swerves into the entrance of the parking lot, spraying gravel in the air.

“You’ve never been one for subtlety,” I mutter as he whips around the back of the building and parks at the edge of the asphalt, behind a couple of duallies and a Mustang laced with rust.

“Subtlety is for corpses,” he replies, killing the engine and pulling a black ball cap over his hair along with the hood of his black sweatshirt.

I do the same, sans the hat since I need an unobstructed view. Instead, I pop one earbud in as we exit the Lexus.

“The black F250,” I say as we head for the truck parked near the end of the first row.

Aiden reaches for his phone, staying near the front of the building while I disappear behind the shadow of Bowen’s truck. I roll onto my back and shimmy underneath the chassis. That’s when my phone vibrates and I reach for it to answer.

“Hi, can I get a large Hawaiian pizza,” Aiden’s voice hums in my ear, “withextrapineapple?”

“Are you going to roll your dick in that, too?” I reply, adjusting my earbud.

“You taste it before you feel it.”