Page 107 of Jagger's Remorse
"And the other two?"
"Wind. But we'll find them." His eyes are cold. "When we do, they're yours if you want them."
"When you do, I want them alive."
"For questioning?"
"For Scarlett."
He looks at her, at the blood, at Raven still hovering protectively. Something shifts in his expression.
"She's earned it," he agrees. "When she's ready, they're hers."
"Hear that?" I tell her. "You get to plan their punishment."
"Christmas came early," she murmurs, but her voice is fading.
Her eyes are drooping again.
"Hey. Stay with me."
"Trying. But you're getting fuzzy. Fuzzy Jagger." She giggles weakly. "Sounds like a drink name."
"Scarlett—"
"Tell me something," she requests. "Keep me awake. Tell me... tell me about the first time you saw me. Not that night. Before."
I think back.
"Berkeley. Three months before everything. You were at that coffee shop near campus. The one with the terrible music and overpriced lattes."
"Heartbreak Café," she supplies. "Stupid name."
"Yeah. You were studying. Had this massive stack of law books. Kept pushing your hair back when it fell in your face. You'd bite your lip when you were concentrating."
"You were watching me study?"
"I was watching everything about you. Trying to understand Miguel's weakness. His pressure point." I brush hair from her face, sticky with blood. "Followed you for three days before I realized what you were."
"His daughter?"
"His everything. His reason for breaking the rules. Everything he did, everything he stole, was for you."
"That's... sweet. In a stalker-murderer kind of way."
"That's us."
She manages a laugh, weak but real. "Yeah. That's us. Tell me more. Keep talking."
"You had a routine. Coffee shop from two to five. Library until eight. Sometimes you'd stop at that taco truck on Durant."
"Theiral pastorwas amazing."
"You'd get two, extra pineapple, and eat them while walking back to your apartment. Always took the long way, through the campus gardens."
"It was pretty at night. All the lights in the trees." Her voice is getting dreamy. "Felt safe."
"You weren't. I was always there. In the shadows. Watching. Learning."
