Page 51 of The Hitman and the Psychic

“Well, that’s good to know, but I’ve got more bad news for ya. They found a body in the trailer. There’s also a couple of eyewitnesses that gave a pretty good description of you and a woman leaving the scene. No surveillance cameras, and it was dark, so you’re in the clear, but that’s how I figured it was you.”

“Damn. I was afraid of that. Thanks for covering for me.”

“Don’t thank me yet.” He hesitated. “There’s more.”

“What?”

“A drug raid was supposed to go down last night, but the perps were warned. Our inside man told them it was you and a woman in a red dress. I’m guessing it was the same person?”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. What happened man? I told you to keep your distance for a while. Did you forget?”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Look, someone’s trying to kill me. I have to chase down every lead. And I found out that he’s linked to the gang… or at least to the dead guy in the trailer who’s part of the gang. I was at the park for more information. I need to know who’s behind this. When everyone scattered, we went to Cash’s trailer to talk to him and got our asses handed to us.”

Dino huffed out a breath. “You’re talking about you and Sen, right? Grizzo said that was her name. What does she have to do with all this? Besides which… I’m surprised you’d take a woman to a drug meet. What the hell were you thinking?”

I closed my eyes and wandered into the kitchen for a glass of water. “It’s not what you think. Vanetti hired her to help me find the guy who’s trying to kill me. She’s a—” I sighed and bit the bullet. “She’s a psychic. She warned the gang members, but not on purpose.”

Scardino actually laughed. “You’re shitting me. Who is she really?”

I ground my teeth. “I’m not shitting you. It’s true. When she met them, she had a vision that they were all in jail… except for your guy, Grizzo. She knew he was an undercover cop, but she didn’t give it away. Someone overheard her telling me about the raid, and they all took off.”

“So, this Sen person is a psychic? An actual, honest to God, psychic?”

I glanced at Serenity and found her studying me. Worry tightened her mouth, but she looked more angry than frightened. “Yeah, that’s right.”

“What’s her real name?”

I huffed. “I’m not going to tell you.”

“Come on, man.” Dino huffed out a breath. “If she’s for real, then maybe I should hire her to work for us. The fact that she didn’t rat out the Grizz is a real good sign.”

Serenity mouthedwho is it?I muted the phone. “Dino wants to know if you want to work for the cops.”

Her brows rose. “Dino? Wait, do you meanDetectiveScardino?”

My stomach clenched. “You know him?”

Her lips twisted and she nodded.

“How the hell do you know him?”

“He’s the one who worked on my case. I needed his testimony about the accident so I could get my settlement money.”

The phone squawked. “Stone! Stone? You there? You talking to her? What’s she saying?”

Shaking my head, I un-muted the phone. “I’m still here.” I paused and raised my eyebrows at Serenity. She nodded reluctantly. “And I guess you already know her. Serenity Jones? Ring a bell?”

“Oh… yeah… sure. I worked on her case. So wait. She’s a psychic? For real? She never mentioned it. Do you believe her?”

“Yes I do… she’s the real deal. But you can’t have her. She’s mine.” For some reason, saying that settled something in my gut.

“Hmm… I guess we’ll see about that.”

“So, are we done?”

“Sure… for now. You’re on the narcotic squad’s radar, but that’s nothing new. Just be careful who you talk to for a while. And Stone…” He paused to let out a breath. “Be sure to fill me in on what you find out about these bombings. I’ll try to keep you out of it, but if you figure out anything, let me know. Okay?”

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