Page 27 of Fear the Reaper
“Okay—I have my walking papers.” Kujo dragged his palms along his thighs. “I’ll take Estelle with me. She can stay at my place until all this blows over.”
I nodded. “Right. That would make it easier for Star and I to move.”
“Okay.” She stood. “I’ll get her.”
I couldn’t help myself. As she walked away, I tilted my head to watch her ass—the way it moved in those shorts. My pulse quickened, my body weakened and my head became filled with all the things I wished I could do to her.
Kujo’s soft laughter drew me from my head. “I’m gonna grab you a bag from my car. You hang tight.”
“It’s like I can’t control it.”
“I don’t know why you would want to.” Kujo stopped to turn and look at me. “Life is short, my friend. You want her—I can see it in your eyes. If she shares those feelings and you let her walk out of your life when this is over—you’re an idiot.”
“Aww, Kujo—you’re always so sweet with words.”
Kujo shrugged. “They don’t call me Kujo for nothin’.”
Alone, I checked my gun. It was just about empty and I didn’t bring many changes from Climax. Hell, I didn’t have all that many to begin with. It didn’t take long for Kujo to return with a black bag and set it on the center table. I set to work going through it and was happy to see refills for my Glock, binoculars, a couple of burner phones and snack bars. Also, in the side was a shoulder holster. That helped greatly.
I was in the process of refilling my Glock when I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. I finished, shoved the weapon into the bag before pulling out the holster and zipping the bag up.
Estelle and Star hugged. Kujo and I bumped fists.
Star and I was alone again.
“I’m going to change.” She muttered.
As she walked by me, I grabbed her arm and pulled her into my chest. “You’re going to be angry with me for a while,” I said. “But—I told you I would do this whole gig for a fee to be named later.”
“Okay. It’s later.” Her voice breathily. “What do you want?”
“A few minutes to explain.”
“You already did.”
“Obviously, I sucked at it because you’re still mad.”
“Reaper…”
I smiled. “I don’t know how to prove to you I truly did want more. But you haven’t been with a man since Roger and whether you want to admit it or not, there’s a reason for your abstinence. You’re either scared or you’re saving yourself for someone special.”
“You could be that someone, Maverick. You just don’t want it.”
Those words stopped me in my tracks and my fingers fell from her. I watched her leave the room but inside I was screaming—
I want all of it.
Nova “Star” Shuman
Just by lookingat the place, I could tell it wasn’t a legal bar. Through my research on certain people, I’ve become somewhat of an expert on the subject of underworld boozing. People tend to buy a great quantity of alcohol and set up shop. As fast as the cops could shut them down, they sprout up somewhere else. I leaned across the center, rest my arm against Reaper’s thigh and watched the entrance. It was a heavy grey door. There was no way of hiding the weight of it. Patrons had to brace themselves, palm on the door and pulled before it gave.
Many approached it and had to go through the same procedure—knock, a slit in the door opened, words were exchanged, the slit closed. After seconds, the large door opened and the people went in right before it slammed shut.
Yup—definitely not a legal bar.
A few cars scattered the parking spots around it. It didn’t take long for our target to arrive, glanced both ways then knock. The slit open then closed and soon someone let him in. “That was him—right?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Reaper said.
