Page 49 of Ignite

Yeah, they were nice, but he preferred the natural movement of Jazz’s breasts.

The night wore on, but Wolf’s gut instincts never waned. His muscles grew sore from the constant ready tension, and his head started buzzing with an impending headache. He thought about texting Jazz to see if she could bring him a migraine injection but decided against it. Her sleep patterns were just as irregular as his, so she should be in bed getting some shut-eye. At least he hoped she was. He didn’t remember her saying she would hold off on the hacking thing.

Quillon raised a concerned eyebrow at Wolf’s muttered curse. “What’s on your mind?”

“I should have made her promise me.”

Quillon grunted. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but if it’s over a woman, I’m glad you found someone. I never thought I’d get Tracie, but we’re coming up on our anniversary. Best thing I’ve ever done is put a ring on her finger.”

Wolf nodded. “That’s in the plans.”

Crossman appeared before them, nervous as hell. “Yinz gotta come out now. Denny is here. Somethin’ happened over at the motel, and you’re not gonna like it.”

Wolf and Quillon exchanged glances before moving as a unit to the front door.

Officer Denny was standing outside, along with four other policemen in full uniform. The man’s face showed his age with every year of hard living from his chosen profession. “Evenin’, Wolf. I gotta ask you a couple questions.” He sighed, and his mouth turned down farther. “Where were you earlier tonight?”

“I was at home with my girl, then ran by the bakery to check on things before coming to work.”

Denny shook his head. “Shit. What time frame was that?”

Wolf’s senses shot to high alert. “I left Jazz around seven thirty and got here around nine thirty.”

“Did you go by the motel?”

Wolf didn’t have to ask which motel Denny referred to. “No. What’s going on?”

“When was the last time you saw Candie Sweet? I understand you two had a fight when you fired her. Was it a lovers’ quarrel?”

“Candie was fired because she broke too many rules too many times. We haven’t been lovers in years. Did something happen to her?”

Denny let out a breath. “Yeah, something happened. We got an anonymous tip that someone heard screams coming from that place, and not the good-time kind. We found your former stripper lying face down with a scarf around her neck. She’d been torn up pretty bad and strangled to death. The caller told us he saw you leave her room. Named you specifically as the one who killed her. We have to do a more thorough investigation, but until we get more evidence, I got no choice.” He shook his head. “You have no clue how much I hate doin’ this. Wolf, I’m afraid you’re under arrest for the murder of Candie Sweet.”

29

Liz: I don’t see why this is such a problem for you. It’s not like you have kids at home.

Jazz grittedher teeth at Liz’s assumptive statement. No, she didn’t have kids at home, but she didn’t sit on her ass with nothing to do but watch hours of TV either. When Liz called for some babysitting help, Jazz hadn’t expected her sister to show up at her house with all three kids in tow. Originally, Jazz was going to head over to the Comers’ house to sit with Bill so Madge got a break. It was becoming more and more obvious that the man wouldn’t recover much of his mobility. His health was in a permanent state of limbo, and the two bakery owners showed serious signs of depression. Anytime Jazz could visit their home and give Madge a little time to herself was a big help. Truthfully, she also needed a break from her own head, as she’d spent a lot of hours thinking about what she’d discovered on the dark web. Tonight’s plans had changed with Liz and her kids.

The family appeared at her door with no warning around seven. Liz was dressed to the nines with full makeup and her hair styled and sprayed for a night out. It only took half a heartbeat for Jazz to realize her sister was on the prowl for a new man. Preferably one with money this time. It was now past eleven, and the texts Jazz sent for an ETA had gone unanswered until this one.

Jazz: It wasn’t a problem earlier, but don’t they need to go home and get to bed?

Liz: They can spend the night with you.

Jazz’s mouth dropped open. It had not been on her radar that her nephews would crash at her place. What about when Wolf came home?

Jazz: Where am I supposed to put them? I don’t have an extra bedroom or bed. Not even sleeping bags.

Liz: They’ll be fine for one night with blankets on the floor.

Exasperation colored Jazz’s mind. Surely her sister wasn’t serious.

Jazz: Liz, this isn’t acceptable!

It took a minute before the dots bounced around.

Liz: For fuck’s sake I’m taking the night off! Unless one of them is bleeding, don’t bother me!

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