them.
He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and called the travel agent again. "Yes, Mindy, I’m enjoying Las Vegas immensely. I think I’ll stay another day here, but then I’d like someplace nice and relaxing along the California coast. Can you set that up and get back to me with the details?
Mindy, a pretty young thing who evidently never watched the news because she hadn’t recognized his face or his name, said she knew just the place.
"Wonderful. I’ll send you a little something extra for all your excellent work."
He snapped the phone shut and tried not to smile with too much satisfaction. Even now, his latest itinerary change was most likely being conveyed back to Tanner. Just like he’d planned. While Texas’s finest were trailing him to California, he’d actually be headed the opposite direction to complete unfinished business.
He’d never killed a woman before, never met one who’d been worth the effort. But the cop’s wife, the one who’d sent him to the concrete hell, was definitely worth it. And he wouldn’t just pop her like he had her husband. No, he’d make her suffer first, suffer like he had during all those endless months of being caged up. Stupid guards telling him when to sleep, when to eat, when to go to the bathroom. Well, she’d take orders from him for a while. She’d feel the powerlessness as he drove into her.
He smiled, thinking about how she’d cry and beg until her little pale face turned blue. Then he’d kill her, and enjoy doing it. A surge of excitement sped through his veins, but he reined it in. She’d get hers, but he had other things to do before he headed her direction.
Number one was taking out Tanner, the cop he hated even more than the one he’d killed. Failing to kill Tanner was the one thing that had gone wrong that day. Tanner was Myers’ best man. He should have been close by as Myers exited the church. But by the time Eddie realized he wasn’t, it was too late. One cop was better than none.
He wouldn’t miss this time. And with Mindy booking him a little cottage by the California sea, Tanner wouldn’t expect him to appear in Dallas to finish the job he’d started two years before. He couldn’t get to the two stinking cops who’d planted the evidence that got him arrested, but from what he was hearing their asses were toast anyway. No, it was Tanner and the Myers witch who demanded his attention.
Eddie leaned back, satisfaction making his smile grow wider. He was smarter than Tanner, smarter than his own brother whose inability to do his job right had led to the whole mess to begin with.
Eddie sighed and closed his eyes, letting his senses soak up the atmosphere. In a moment, he’d go enjoy his plaything upstairs yet again before nightfall. When the lights came on in Vegas tonight, Eddie wouldn’t be there to see them. He’d be headed for the Lone Star State, inching ever closer to his prey.
****
CHAPTER FIVE
An hour after Shelly turned him into an impromptu carpenter, Reed found himself atop a cabin roof with a hammer that seemed to have a mind of its own. He cursed at the unfortunate moment that one of Shelly’s half dozen guests walked by. The woman looked up at him with a disapproving scowl on her face.
"Sorry, ma’am," he bit out past the pain pounding in his forefinger. He held it and the hammer up for her to see. "Hammer versus finger, and the hammer won."
That brought a hint of a smile to her mouth. "Be careful," she said, then moved toward the cabin she and her family were renting.
Once she was out of earshot, he cursed again, using words that would have scorched her eardrums. Since climbing up the ladder, he’d managed to smash his fingers three times, once for each time he’d allowed himself to remember how close he’d been to pulling Shelly into his arms and kissing her.
He tossed the hammer to the side and lay back on the roof. A nasal cherring sound from the trees above caught his attention. He
He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and called the travel agent again. "Yes, Mindy, I’m enjoying Las Vegas immensely. I think I’ll stay another day here, but then I’d like someplace nice and relaxing along the California coast. Can you set that up and get back to me with the details?
Mindy, a pretty young thing who evidently never watched the news because she hadn’t recognized his face or his name, said she knew just the place.
"Wonderful. I’ll send you a little something extra for all your excellent work."
He snapped the phone shut and tried not to smile with too much satisfaction. Even now, his latest itinerary change was most likely being conveyed back to Tanner. Just like he’d planned. While Texas’s finest were trailing him to California, he’d actually be headed the opposite direction to complete unfinished business.
He’d never killed a woman before, never met one who’d been worth the effort. But the cop’s wife, the one who’d sent him to the concrete hell, was definitely worth it. And he wouldn’t just pop her like he had her husband. No, he’d make her suffer first, suffer like he had during all those endless months of being caged up. Stupid guards telling him when to sleep, when to eat, when to go to the bathroom. Well, she’d take orders from him for a while. She’d feel the powerlessness as he drove into her.
He smiled, thinking about how she’d cry and beg until her little pale face turned blue. Then he’d kill her, and enjoy doing it. A surge of excitement sped through his veins, but he reined it in. She’d get hers, but he had other things to do before he headed her direction.
Number one was taking out Tanner, the cop he hated even more than the one he’d killed. Failing to kill Tanner was the one thing that had gone wrong that day. Tanner was Myers’ best man. He should have been close by as Myers exited the church. But by the time Eddie realized he wasn’t, it was too late. One cop was better than none.
He wouldn’t miss this time. And with Mindy booking him a little cottage by the California sea, Tanner wouldn’t expect him to appear in Dallas to finish the job he’d started two years before. He couldn’t get to the two stinking cops who’d planted the evidence that got him arrested, but from what he was hearing their asses were toast anyway. No, it was Tanner and the Myers witch who demanded his attention.
Eddie leaned back, satisfaction making his smile grow wider. He was smarter than Tanner, smarter than his own brother whose inability to do his job right had led to the whole mess to begin with.
Eddie sighed and closed his eyes, letting his senses soak up the atmosphere. In a moment, he’d go enjoy his plaything upstairs yet again before nightfall. When the lights came on in Vegas tonight, Eddie wouldn’t be there to see them. He’d be headed for the Lone Star State, inching ever closer to his prey.
****
CHAPTER FIVE
An hour after Shelly turned him into an impromptu carpenter, Reed found himself atop a cabin roof with a hammer that seemed to have a mind of its own. He cursed at the unfortunate moment that one of Shelly’s half dozen guests walked by. The woman looked up at him with a disapproving scowl on her face.
"Sorry, ma’am," he bit out past the pain pounding in his forefinger. He held it and the hammer up for her to see. "Hammer versus finger, and the hammer won."
That brought a hint of a smile to her mouth. "Be careful," she said, then moved toward the cabin she and her family were renting.
Once she was out of earshot, he cursed again, using words that would have scorched her eardrums. Since climbing up the ladder, he’d managed to smash his fingers three times, once for each time he’d allowed himself to remember how close he’d been to pulling Shelly into his arms and kissing her.
He tossed the hammer to the side and lay back on the roof. A nasal cherring sound from the trees above caught his attention. He
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