wrong about people before. Her ex-husband for one…
“The restraining order you have against him specifies a fifty-foot buffer,” Billy said, fiddling with something in the mid-sized black duffel bag on his lap.
“That says he can’t come within fifty feet of me ,” she insisted as Mac checked the clip on a…she squinted from backseat…it looked like a Glock 22 .40 caliber. And rock on! Her shooting instructor would be so proud of her! “It doesn’t say anything about me staying away from him .”
“Same difference,” Billy muttered, tossing the bag into the back seat with her. Whatever was inside made a clanking noise when it landed, rattling her already frayed nerves.
“But I want to see what he’s up to just the same as you,” she declared, scowling at Billy when he swiveled in the driver’s seat to frown back at her. “I think I deserve that much after all he’s put me through.”
That, and the fact that she was trying to be tough. And as far as she could figure, being “tough” meant she couldn’t very well sit out here while Billy and Mac ran around doing the dirty work. That’s what the old Eve would’ve done, and she’d been vigorously endeavoring to leave that milksop of a woman behind.
“Did you miss the part where we’re loading our weapons?” Bill demanded. “This guy could be headed out to catch a movie, or he could be headed out to light another fire in some woman’s house. In which case, we’ll be required to apprehend him. And at that point, since we’ll have already gotten our hands dirty with him, we might as well take the opportunity to make him confess.”
“By make him confess I’m assuming you mean force him to confess,” she said, her lips pursed.
“Naturally,” Billy nodded, thumbing off the safety on his weapon. “After all, we’re the ones with the guns.”
“Ever think of just asking him?” she inquired, batting her lashes.
Billy stopped fiddling with the Glock to look up and gape at her, one brow climbing steadily up his forehead. “Just asking him? What are you? Canadian?”
She pursed her lips. “I just don’t want to see you guys get into any trouble over this. If he does something hinky , as you put it, couldn’t you just turn him over to the police and have him arrested for suspicious activity or something? They could question him, detain him, and keep him from being a threat to me or anyone else.”
“You mean the same CPD who have had their heads shoved up their asses since day one where you’re concerned?” His tone was bland. “The same CPD that botched the fire’s point of origin?”
“That was the C F D,” she stressed.
“Whatever,” he waved a hand. “The fact remains that they’ve dismissed the attempts on your life without even questioning your stalker, and—”
“Yes,” she harrumphed. “Jeremy was pretty upset about that.”
“And I can see why. It’s shoddy work. So, to say my faith in doing this thing by the books is at a rock-bottom low would be putting it mildly. In case you haven’t noticed, your life is on the line here, Eve. Which means I’m not just willing to bend the rules; I’m willing to break every last one.”
His words sent a surge of warmth through her entire body. “But what if Dale sees you guys? Or what if you do wind up questioning him— illegally , I might add—and he has you arrested?”
“Never going to happen,” Bill shook his head, smiling. “We’ve got the Chicago Police Chief on our side.”
Yep, they’d mentioned this Washington person on more than one occasion. “What’s your relationship with him?” she asked, wrinkling her nose. Visions of Mac and Billy being loaded into a paddy wagon and carted off to the clink ran through her head. Although…were paddy wagons even a thing anymore?
“Let’s just say he’s one of the very few people living here in Chicago who is privy to BKI’s true calling, and he owes us a couple of favors. So stop worrying. Sit tight.
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