“Gary’s in town? Good.”
“Good? Why the hell is that good? He’s going to can me. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“He’s not going to do that. Why would he come all the way up here to do that when you’ll be back in Denver in a few days? It doesn’t make sense, babe.”
“I know something’s wrong. There’re no loose ends with the strip mall project. No reason for a meeting. Plus, I have this feeling…”
“Calm down, sweetheart. Breathe deeply. No reason to get yourself all worked up until you know for sure what’s going on.”
“I do know. Gary’s going to fire me. I’m not going to the meeting.”
Baylee waited for Axe’s response, but when it didn’t come she thought her phone had disconnected.
“Axe? Are you there?”
After a long pause, she heard him breathe out forcefully.
“I’m here.”
“Are you doing something else?”
“No. You have to go to the meeting tonight. You’re jumping to conclusions. Maybe he’s going to tell you that you made partner.”
“From the way he talked earlier, I doubt it. At first, I thought he was leaving the firm or that he’d been diagnosed with an illness, you know? He definitely acted like he was indirectly saying goodbye to me. Now, I get it. He’s canning me.”
“Go to the meeting.”
“Why do you care if I go or not?”
“I know you. You’ll obsess about it for weeks if you don’t know for sure. Just go, and we can talk about it when I pick you up after.”
She sighed. “You’re right. I’ll go, but if I’m going to the slaughterhouse, I’m going to treat myself to a helluva shopping spree.”
Axe chuckled. “That’s my woman. Call me when the meeting’s done, and I’ll come by.”
“Thanks. Love you.”
“Me, too.”
The heaviness in her heart lifted after she’d spoken to Axe. He was her elixir, and she couldn’t imagine him out of her life. Don’t go there, Baylee. Stop it. Right now.
She grabbed her purse and sunglasses and headed down the hallway. When she passed Tina’s desk, she said, “I’ll be out for a couple of hours. I have something very important I have to do.” With cash and credit cards in her purse, Baylee left the building to do some serious shopping.
* * *
The green-eyed man stretched his arms over his head as he looked out the window. In less than three hours, he’d do what he should’ve done seventeen years before—kill Baylee Peters. He’d let his spineless cohort talk him out of it too many times. He’d tried to do it again by saying Baylee would never be able to positively identify the killer with the green eyes, but as long as she lived, the green-eyed man had no peace. Against his better judgment, the killer had left a mess for all these years, but later that night, he’d rectify it once and for all.
He smiled as he watched the clear blue sky slowly take on tinges of gold. Having the Insurgents involved in all this had given him some anxiety, but he depended on their stupidity, and he wasn’t disappointed. Not able to figure out squat, they’d hired a private investigator to track the murderer down. He laughed. The inept PI bungled his way around town trying to track down clues, and all the while, he—the man of Baylee’s nightmares—sat back and watched, enjoying the farce.
The nice-looking man went over to his desk, opened the drawer, and stared at his Glock 20 semi-automatic pistol. He loved the power of the gun; it was a pistol on steroids, and it’d make his job a lot easier. He closed the drawer then glanced at the clock. The man figured he’d have time for a prime steak dinner before he met up with Baylee and his partner. By the end of the night, the killer would have struck again, but this time, there would be no loose ends.
Chapter Thirty
After dropping off numerous shopping bags at her hotel, Baylee drove back to the office with a heavy heart. Not knowing for certain what the meeting was about drove her crazy. Even though Axe thought it was about making her partner, she’d seen how dejected Gary was, and her instincts told her something was amiss. She’d known Gary since she was born, and she’d never seen him as downhearted as he was that afternoon.
As she pulled into a parking space, she knew that if she did lose her job over her relationship with Axe, so be it. If she had to do it over, she would in a heartbeat. Falling in love with Axe had been one of the few highlights in her life since her mother died.
When she got to the office, no one was there. It was eerie. Usually a couple of the engineers worked late, but they were gone. Even the cleaning crew had come and gone. She checked out Logan’s office on the off chance he may be there, but he was gone, as well. It was seven o’clock—not enough time for her to run back to the hotel or even do an errand. No, she’d pull up a game of Yahtzee on her computer to pass the time before the chopping block fell.