Blacklisted (Loveless, Texas #3) - Jay Crownover Page 0,84
someone if you don’t want to come to the club. That’s about it.”
She huffed out an irritated breath and crossed her arms over her ample and nearly exposed chest. “Fine. Please take a look at it. It’s late and scary all the way out here.”
She was a damn good actress, but even with the colored contacts in her eyes, I could tell her gaze wasn’t quite right. Even if I didn’t know for a fact she was a murderous psycho, I would’ve kept my distance from her based on the wild look in her eyes alone.
When I bent over the car I made sure she caught sight of the gun at the small of my back. I kept an eye on her as I worked, making sure she didn’t get close enough to touch me in case she was going to try something funny while my hands were occupied. It seemed like Case and Hill were right—she was more interested in seducing me than in hurting me. She chatted endlessly about how glad she was I’d stopped and how lucky she was I could fix the car. She mentioned more than once wanting to get my number so she could thank me properly while she was in town. It galled me to no end that I was going to have to give it to her, and that I couldn’t just end this charade right now.
“Do you have a girlfriend? Or a wife? Wait, you call them ‘old ladies’ when you’re in a motorcycle gang, right?” She giggled, and unlike when Presley did it, the sound made my skin crawl.
I clamped the hose back in place and used the screwdriver on my Leatherman to tighten down the bracket to keep it in place. After telling her the car should be good to go, I straightened up and closed the hood, giving the woman who ruined Presley’s life a considering look.
“I’m involved with someone, but it’s pretty new.” I wiped my hands on my jeans and asked her for her phone. She squealed when she handed it over and clapped as I popped my number into it. “I’m Shot, by the way.”
She nodded, taking the phone back and immediately sending me a text message with a heart emoji so I also had her phone number. “Ashley.”
I couldn’t hold back a snort. “Ashley, huh?” It was as close to Ashby as she could get. The obviousness of her entire ploy was grating and insulting.
“If you’re really sure you don’t want to follow me to the motel tonight, I’ll call you later this week. It was nice to meet you, Shot.”
I grunted when she threw herself at me for an unnecessary hug. She flounced back to the car, wiggling her fingers in my direction as she went.
As soon as she was out of sight, I called Case, not caring that it was almost dawn.
He swore at me before asking me what I wanted.
“It’s started. Ashby just made the first move. You and the Ranger better be ready to end this before I take matters into my own hands.”
Case grumbled and I heard him moving around on the other end. “What did she want?”
“She wanted me to go to a motel with her in town.”
Case swore again. “Did she leave you a way to contact her?”
“She did.”
“Okay. Then you need to reach out and agree to get together with her. Meet her at the motel. Get her to confess. Give me something solid on her so I don’t have to drag Presley through a trial and all this can end quietly and quickly.”
I groaned and dragged my hand down my face. “What if she just wants to fuck and not talk? After all, it’s all about making Presley miserable for her. She’s not gonna want to chitchat.”
“I’ll arrest her either way. We’ll wire the room and put a mic on you. But you can’t let the girls know what’s going on. Presley won’t want you in the line of fire, and Kody will blow her top and demand to know why we didn’t just pick Ashby up on the spot. This is complicated, and the less people with their hands in the mix, the better.”
“Agreeing to meet this woman alone at a motel makes me look bad, Case. If Presley finds out, she’s going to be heartbroken, regardless of the intent.” The last thing I wanted to do was betray her in any way, but I wanted her safe and Ashby Grant behind bars.