Booker kicked her door shut, then knelt beside the car, resting his chin in the open window. He fluttered his tongue next to Savannah’s ear. “Speaking of daddies, you should count yourself lucky I didn’t send yours to the bottom of that river with all the rest of the little pussies.”

The steering wheel creaked under Savannah’s tightening grip, but she kept her cool. “Is that so?”

“Don’t look so shocked by what I said, bitch. It’s like I told you. I got an alibi. And the cops got nothing.”

“Drive,” Cole said.

Savannah did, but not before slapping Booker hard across his swollen cheek as she hit the pedal.

CHAPTER 18

TURN left on Hubert.”

“Where are we going?”

“I parked my bike a couple blocks over. How the hell did you find me?”

“Same way you found Booker, I guess. Elmwood’s as small a town as Killington. Only so many places a person can go.” She took a Kleenex out of her purse and wiped Booker’s blood from her palm.

“Nice slap.”

“Thanks. It was a pleasure.”

He looked at her. “You shouldn’t have followed me.”

“Oh, yeah? If I hadn’t shown up when I did, things would have gotten really rough. You’d be in as much trouble with the law as Booker is.”

“That wasn’t rough. Booker Flamont doesn’t know rough yet.”

“Cole, don’t you think you should let the police handle this? Sounds to me like they’re ready to start making arrests.”

He told her to turn left at the next intersection. “I don’t want them to make any arrests. Not yet.”

“Look, you got your licks in. Why don’t you just let it go?”

“That’s it on the right.”

She pulled to the curb behind the motorcycle.

“You’re not going to follow me again, are you?”

“Depends,” she said. “Where are you heading?”

“I don’t want to be your news story anymore.”

“This isn’t about a news story anymore.”

“Please, just back off. This doesn’t concern you.”

“Doesn’t concern me?” She killed the engine and turned in her seat. “Go to hell, Logan! My father was almost killed last night.”

“Yeah? Well, why the sudden concern? Until yesterday, I don’t remember ever seeing you and your dad in the same room, much less talking.”

“Whatever problems there are between my father and me is none of your business.”

“So you got problems with him, too, huh? Well, I guess it’s both of our bad luck he didn’t go down with the bus.”

Her punch was lightning quick and landed squarely on his nose.

Cole bent forward, his face in his hands. “Jesus!”

“You’re an asshole, Logan.”

He came up wiping blood. “Of the first order, princess. But then, you already knew that, didn’t you?”

He stepped out of the car, climbed onto his bike, and was gone in seconds.