Page 171 of Soul So Dark

“Is she into that?”

“Hell yeah, she is.”

“You got somewhere to do it?” Bowen asks with a sudden burst of intrigue.

It’s taking all I have to stay still. I’ve sat for hours in complete silence, waiting for a twig snap to signal the approach of an enemy. I’ve traveled hundreds of miles through hostile territory, avoiding IEDs and ambushes. I’ve stood on the other side of walls being held together by two rusty nails and a shredded tarp, waiting for dudes with rocket launchers to go on their merry way. But this makes me want to split out of my skin and execute them both in the middle of this parking lot.

“I don’t know,” the second guy sighs, “her brother kept tabs on her like no one’s business for the last few years. She can’t walk out her door without him knowing. He’s a fucking psycho.”

“Col’s gone, man,” Bowen says dismissively. “He’ll never come back here.”

“How do you know?”

“Would you show your face around here again if you murdered your stepsister?”

There’s a long pause, and after a few seconds, Bowen finally opens the door. “Think about it. I promise you there’s nothing better than punishing a woman while she thanks you for it.”

“I told her I’d go to GalactiCon with her. I knew she’d eat that up.”

“Then you’re halfway there.” Bowen climbs into the cab. “Just don’t let her go this time.”

I’m too incensed to hear the response, but I snap out of my tunnel vision when Bowen’s door slams shut. The Nikes disappear out of view and I’m left staring at the underside of the truck. A moment later, I hear Aiden’s voice in my ear.

“Still with me?”

“Yeah, where do I have a clear path?”

“Second man’s gone, Garrison’s still fucking around, exit stage right and stay low.”

I start scooting toward the right side of the truck when it suddenly roars to life and the sound lights a fire under my ass. In an instant, I roll out and straight under the SUV parked next to it. I scoot through the gravel on my stomach, trying to stay concealed until Bowen is gone. Soon enough, he backs out of the space and his tail lights disappear into the night.

I scramble out from under the SUV and jump up, covered in gravel dust, spinning around as I scan the parking lot for the guy in the Nikes.

“Who was the guy with Bowen?” My eyes dart around as Aiden approaches.

“I don’t know, why?”

“He was talking about Dallas. He knew who she was.” I’m searching the parking lot frantically, trying to put eyes on him for one second. “He knew her. He was talking about her like…like he was maybe an ex, I don’t know.”

“So? What’s wrong?”

“What did he look like?” I snarl.

“I don’t know, some basic dude in a Cavs shirt. He was facing away the whole time.”

I let out a frustrated grunt. “Fuck it.” I snap. “Let’s get out of here.”

He’s gone and I don’t know his name or what he looks like. The only thing I know is that there’s someone else,besides Bowen,with insidious plans formywoman. I check the app on my phone to confirm that the GPS is working and I can see Bowen’s vehicle moving steadily away from us. The pieces are falling into place and, soon, it won’t matter who’s talking about Dallas and why.

Once safely back in Aiden’s Lexus, he’s about to shift into drive when he freezes. I follow his gaze to two figures who’ve just stepped off the curb a short distance ahead. It’s a guy dressed in a black t-shirt with a backward cap, and he’s holding the hand of a woman with shoulder-length dark hair in a flowy white tank top. They split at the back of a black Mustang and when the guy turns his back to us, I see the gold insignia on the front of his cap.

Canaan Police.

My eyes dart back and forth between Aiden, Jay Rhinehardt, and Hildy Garrison standing just yards away as the veins in his neck begin to pop. Or is it Hildy Rhinehardt now? That would be the icing on the cake.

Both of us watch in silence as they pull out of the space and disappear onto the dark road. There’s a subtle change in Aiden’s eyes and I reach for the grab handle just as he jerks the gear shift and shoots out of the parking space. I brace myself against the door as he skids out onto the road and guns the engine, sling-shotting us into the night.

I know where he’s going, and it’s not long before I see tail lights appear in the distance.