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"Jesus," Toby interrupted, glancing worriedly at Curtis "What the fk?"

Looking very unhappy with the inforh his teeth, "Was anyone hurt?"

"No, I don’t think so" Why did Curtis care about that? He wanted the bitch dead anyway "They said the dude staying with her restrained the guy until the cops got there and arrested him But it had happened at the bitch’s house They showed her picture! It’s her!"

Toby stood "I don’t like it First the cops say they found soe--"

Curtis slashed a hand through the air, e, and still his heart lodged in his throat and refused to budge

Quietly furious, Curtis said, "We didn’t leave any clues The kerosene was everywhere Regardless of the rule shred of evidence"

Often they had to get rid of evidence Saul and Toby both knew Curtis’s preference for burning it After that daht he tried to get the bitch, Saul had no choice but to kill him He’d dumped the body at a current construction site where it would end up buried Everything else had been burned in the garage

Toby didn’t look convinced, and that worried Saul He didn’t want to go to jail Just the thought of it gave hie hi part in playtie?"

"No!" Curtis bunched up in that dangerous way of his "I just fking told you they couldn’t have"

Still worried, he glanced at Toby, who gave one small shake of his head

"I was on the phone when you burst in here," Curtis explained, "verifying that there was nothing but ash"

"Oh" Saul sed hard, but his throat felt restricted "Well, I just wanted to let you know About the break-in at her place, I mean Andand that they arrested someone"

Eyes narrowed andon"

"Right" After giving Saul a pitying look, Toby walked out of the roo at him with laserlike intensity, Curtis said, "You came here, to my office"

"Wellyeah I didn’t think you’d want me to use the phone Inotice You kno important it is to keep business separate from pleasure"

"Yeah, I do" Saul didn’t understand "But I thought you’d want to knohere she lives"

Curtis turned away "I would have found the woht ti to copy uess" Saul chewed the side of theup a little "I can see where that’d piss you off"

"And now" His voice went gravelly and deep "Now that bitch will be watched iving o into hiding so very difficult"

Saul looked behind hiain when he left

No escape

Curtis’s hand curled around a heavy paperweight on his desktop "Now, thanks to so copycat, she’ll have protection all around her" He turned suddenly and threw the weight with precision

Gasping, Saul tried to cover up, but it bounced off his hunched shoulder, a solid hit that felt like it broke a bone Better than hitting his head and cracking his skull, but still he cried out, cowering, closing in on hih Because I always have a plan" As Curtis advanced, he see whore is going to pay for causing me so much trouble! Do you heartoo loudly

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

RELIVING THE SHAME all over again, Margo forced herself to face one and all during her ad with a few others in supervisory positions, was involved in a nasty little ga fean and Reese, she knew, had heard the rumors Who hadn’t? But true to her word, she’d kept quiet about those involved--as long as they left the force None of them could be trusted to protect the public

Not when they’d already breached that trust in the worst way possible Not when they’d already taken advantage of vulnerable women under their protection

"I knew there was soan a hu And no doubt Reese gleaned the whole story through his different sources"

Reese didn’t look happy, but he shrugged an affirmative

"I should have had theain with her conscience "Unfortunately, for some of them, it would have been very difficult to prove"

"For your father?" Rowdy asked

"Far as I know, he didn’t actively involve hi That’s just as bad I should have--"