Page 154 of Crow
“The sheriff let you off easy.”
“He’s not too bad as far as badges go.”
“You know, I started to think the shadow man was Damon. I actually convinced myself he was, especially when he stopped talking around me. It’s crazy how paranoid I got.”
“I thought it might be Justin. I had Ink and Vegas tail him, but nothing panned out.”
“Is he still in Alina?”
“No, he moved on. I still don’t know what he was doing here or if he was shacking up with a woman named Wanda. I worried about him trying something with Valerie or the kids. The guy’s real messed up in the head—always has been.”
“How is Valerie doing?” Angie saw a muscle tick in his jaw.
“She took off with some scumbag. They went to Florida.”
“I know you’ll miss Noah and Maddie.”
His eyes narrowed. “She didn’t take ’em. The jerk she’s with didn’t want them tagging along, and she was ready to give them to foster care when I shut that shit down real fast. They’re staying with my parents. My mom’s thrilled. She’s missed having someone to fuss over since we all left home.”
“I can’t wait to meet your parents.”
“I was thinking we can go to Mesa in the fall—after the rally.”
“I bet they were shocked when you told them about Josh.”
“Yeah, they knew him since he was a young kid. He fooled everyone.”
“The cops were onto Josh,” she said.
“I just beat them to it. He fucked up and left prints on a whiskey bottle near Jim’s body. They ID’d the prints from the asshole’s military records.”
“How do you know all that confidential information?”
“Brutus has a citizen squeeze who works for the badges. She likes the way he fucks, so she feeds him information.”
“You guys.” Angie lightly punched his arm.
“What? I never did that shit.”
“I doubt you were a choirboy.”
“I never said I wasthat.I just didn’t use chicks. They always knew the score with me.”
“No strings attached?”
“Yeah, until you came along. Woman, how the hell did you catch me?”
“The same way you caught me.”
“Fuck, darlin’.” Crow cupped her breast and squeezed it gently.
Pushing his hand away, she said, “I have to take a shower.”
“That’ll work.” He rose to his feet, taking her with him. “Let’s go.”
A feeling of warmth tinged with nervous excitement rushed through her body. She curled an arm around his waist, and they quickly climbed the stairs.
“You look happy,” Aunt Rosa said as she placed a big piece of lasagna on Crow’s plate. “Every time you come in the shop, you look so serious, so stern, but now you’re smiling. Your eyes sparkle. I like to see that.”
