her—where?
She shivered. She was in danger, and she could let John’s men deal with the threat. Or...
Another idea was forming in her head. Craig Branson had a detective agency. Didn’t that make him equipped to find out what was going on in her life that she didn’t know about?
It was a logical conclusion, but she knew it was also a rationalization. She had pulled away from Branson because she’d been afraid, but now that she had some distance from him, she wanted to repeat the experience.
Which meant she had another problem. John’s men were following her around. If she approached Craig Branson, they’d know it.
* * *
T OMMY L ADREAU MOVED restlessly in his seat.
“You gotta pee?” his partner, Marv Strickland, asked.
“Yeah.” Tommy was thinking he’d ask Marv to make a quick stop in an alley when his cell phone rang. He looked at the number, then pressed the answer button.
Marv looked at him questioningly.
Reynard, Tommy mouthed
“Report” was the crisp command from the other end of the line.
It was the man who paid him a good salary to do a wide variety of jobs—from messenger duty to surveillance to murder. Murder got his adrenaline going. Sitting around in a car keeping track of Stephanie Swift was another matter. But he always carried out his assignments to the best of his ability. He’d known all along that he was working for a dangerous man. Then Arthur Polaski had washed out of the ground in the bayou country.
It was well-known that he’d been an employee of John Reynard when he’d disappeared twenty years ago.
Reynard had been upset about the man’s reappearance as a fleshless skeleton. He’d tried to keep the information quiet among the guys currently working for him, but the word had gotten around—eliciting quite a bit of speculation.
Was it the boss who’d put Polaski in the ground? Or was it someone else? Nobody knew. Nobody was happy about the discovery. And everyone was wondering—why now?
Tommy cleared his throat. “Ms. Swift left the house and went over to her father’s place.”
“And?”
“She stayed for about a half hour. Then she came back home, and she’s been there ever since.”
“And you had no problem following her?”
“No problem.”
“Okay. Good. Stay on it. If anything unusual happens, I want to know about it immediately.” He hesitated for a moment. “And I want to know immediately if that guy shows up. Brady. The one she claimed rescued her at the dress shop.”
“Will do.”
Reynard clicked off, and Tommy looked at his partner. “You hear that?”
“Yeah.”
“He didn’t like Brady sniffing around his honey the other night. Now he’s upset about the guy showing up again at the dress shop.”
“Want to bet that Brady ends up dead?” Marv asked.
Tommy shook his head. “I’m sure as Shinola not going to bet against it.”
* * *
S TEPHANIE SAT in her car for a few moments, trying to calm down after her meeting with her father. It was hard to believe they were related to each other. Sometimes she had fantasies about being someone else’s child—and that was the reason she could never connect with him on any meaningful level.
She switched her thoughts back to Craig Branson and felt a rush of emotions—only some of them pleasant.
With a sigh, she climbed out of her car and headed for her back door. When she stepped inside, she gasped as she took in the shadowy figure sitting in the easy chair across from the door.
Chapter Six
Craig Branson watched Stephanie’s security detail take off. When the car was out of sight, he crossed to the alley in back of her house and found her car missing.
They were tailing her, and either they had X-ray vision, or they had some other way to know which way she was going.
He clenched his teeth. There was no way to find out about that for sure until she came back.
Instead, he used his lock picks and went inside, then focused on the interior of the house, liking the mixture of antiques,
She shivered. She was in danger, and she could let John’s men deal with the threat. Or...
Another idea was forming in her head. Craig Branson had a detective agency. Didn’t that make him equipped to find out what was going on in her life that she didn’t know about?
It was a logical conclusion, but she knew it was also a rationalization. She had pulled away from Branson because she’d been afraid, but now that she had some distance from him, she wanted to repeat the experience.
Which meant she had another problem. John’s men were following her around. If she approached Craig Branson, they’d know it.
* * *
T OMMY L ADREAU MOVED restlessly in his seat.
“You gotta pee?” his partner, Marv Strickland, asked.
“Yeah.” Tommy was thinking he’d ask Marv to make a quick stop in an alley when his cell phone rang. He looked at the number, then pressed the answer button.
Marv looked at him questioningly.
Reynard, Tommy mouthed
“Report” was the crisp command from the other end of the line.
It was the man who paid him a good salary to do a wide variety of jobs—from messenger duty to surveillance to murder. Murder got his adrenaline going. Sitting around in a car keeping track of Stephanie Swift was another matter. But he always carried out his assignments to the best of his ability. He’d known all along that he was working for a dangerous man. Then Arthur Polaski had washed out of the ground in the bayou country.
It was well-known that he’d been an employee of John Reynard when he’d disappeared twenty years ago.
Reynard had been upset about the man’s reappearance as a fleshless skeleton. He’d tried to keep the information quiet among the guys currently working for him, but the word had gotten around—eliciting quite a bit of speculation.
Was it the boss who’d put Polaski in the ground? Or was it someone else? Nobody knew. Nobody was happy about the discovery. And everyone was wondering—why now?
Tommy cleared his throat. “Ms. Swift left the house and went over to her father’s place.”
“And?”
“She stayed for about a half hour. Then she came back home, and she’s been there ever since.”
“And you had no problem following her?”
“No problem.”
“Okay. Good. Stay on it. If anything unusual happens, I want to know about it immediately.” He hesitated for a moment. “And I want to know immediately if that guy shows up. Brady. The one she claimed rescued her at the dress shop.”
“Will do.”
Reynard clicked off, and Tommy looked at his partner. “You hear that?”
“Yeah.”
“He didn’t like Brady sniffing around his honey the other night. Now he’s upset about the guy showing up again at the dress shop.”
“Want to bet that Brady ends up dead?” Marv asked.
Tommy shook his head. “I’m sure as Shinola not going to bet against it.”
* * *
S TEPHANIE SAT in her car for a few moments, trying to calm down after her meeting with her father. It was hard to believe they were related to each other. Sometimes she had fantasies about being someone else’s child—and that was the reason she could never connect with him on any meaningful level.
She switched her thoughts back to Craig Branson and felt a rush of emotions—only some of them pleasant.
With a sigh, she climbed out of her car and headed for her back door. When she stepped inside, she gasped as she took in the shadowy figure sitting in the easy chair across from the door.
Chapter Six
Craig Branson watched Stephanie’s security detail take off. When the car was out of sight, he crossed to the alley in back of her house and found her car missing.
They were tailing her, and either they had X-ray vision, or they had some other way to know which way she was going.
He clenched his teeth. There was no way to find out about that for sure until she came back.
Instead, he used his lock picks and went inside, then focused on the interior of the house, liking the mixture of antiques,
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