Replacement wrinkled her nose and closed one eye. "I sorta already know."

Jack sighed. "If she didn't tell you, I don't want to know."

"But she did." She let out a little whistle. "I kinda took her there."

"Where?"

"Hope Falls."

Jack's mouth fell open. "You took her to Hope Falls? Really?"

"You're not mad?"

Jack stopped to think for a second. "No. No, I think that's a great idea. Maybe we can call Kristine and see if she can stay there until she finds a place."

"I did. She put Marisa up at the inn. She even let her set up an easel in the widow's walk."

Jack could picture Marisa up there at sunset, painting.

She'll be happy.

"Good job, kid."

Replacement beamed. She took his hand and they continued to walk.

"I haven't asked yet but, how's my car?"

Replacement stopped.

d.a.m.n.

"Did they tow her to Sully's?"

She nodded but didn't look at him.

"What did he say?"

She looked up, and he knew his Impala hadn't made it.

"Sully said everything was gone. Engine, frame, just everything. The driver's side was the only thing that made it. It was the most protected..." She looked away.

He put his hand on her shoulder, and she spun around and hugged him. Jack's eyes rolled back from the pain, but he tried to mask it. He softly touched her hair.

"You were so hurt. I remembered you told Ilario to go to the drop at the base of Big Blue, so I ran there as fast as I could. Ilario made a hole in your chest, and there was so much blood. I...they took you to the hospital but you..." She buried her face in his chest and cried.

A couple walking by gave him a pitying look, and he nodded as he awkwardly smiled. Jack stroked her back as she tried to get hold of herself.

She straightened up and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Thanks." Jack smiled lopsidedly.

"Thanks?" Replacement lifted an eyebrow.

"What am I supposed to say? I'm sorry I almost died and freaked you out?"

She nodded. "Yeah. That would be better than thanks."

Jack laughed. He put his arm around her shoulder and started to walk again. When they reached the end of the block, he stumbled slightly.

"Are you okay?" Replacement put her hand on his chest.

"I'm fine. I got distracted." He pointed to the curb where a jet-black Charger was parked.

Replacement smiled from ear to ear, crossed her hands behind her back, and raised herself up on her toes. "Do you like it?"

"Like it? It's my favorite..." His voice trailed off when she held out her hand and let a set of keys dangle from her fingers.

No way. No way.

As his mouth fell open, she squealed. He grabbed her around the waist.

"Don't pick me up. Don't. Don't," she protested.

He picked her up and spun her around anyway. Jack knew he'd be sore that night, but he didn't care.

"Thank you." He looked at her with amazement, and she pushed him toward the driver's side.

"Get in. Start her up."

She ran over to the pa.s.senger side as he slid into the driver's seat. He rolled his fingers around the steering wheel, curled his lip, and looked over the dashboard.

"Wait a second. This is...this is my Charger. It's my police car?"

"Is that okay?" She knelt on the seat, gazed up at him, and held her breath.

His mouth twitched into a smile as he nodded. "But, how?"

Replacement clapped and wiggled in the seat. "I begged Sully to fix the Impala and, when he couldn't, I knew how b.u.mmed out you'd be, and I knew you loved this car. Well, they sent this one to Sully's. I only had a little money, but Sully called in some markers. He knew a mechanic and a body guy, so we went there and he said, 'I never ask for nothing, but I'm askin' for a favor now.'" She laughed as she imitated him. "They said it wasn't as bad as it looked, and Sully got the parts from another Charger."

Jack turned around and started the car. The engine's roar turned into a purr. Jack rubbed the dashboard, and Replacement laughed.

He closed his eyes as he gripped the steering wheel. "I don't know how to thank you."

"Thank me?" Replacement scoffed. "After everything you do for me?"

Jack shook his head. "You're always doing stuff for me."

He turned to look at her, and she sat down in her seat. She folded her hands, and he could see her pressing her fingernails into them. He reached over to place his hand on hers.

She kept looking down as she spoke. "In the emergency room...I was pretty messed up. Did you know they announce it? They say 'code blue.' I didn't know what it meant. A nurse told me. I sorta pushed into the room and...I saw you. Kiku took me away. She wanted me to know what your last words were."

"She told you?"

"She thought you were dead. We all did." Replacement turned to look at him. Her eyes searched his. "Forget every stupid thing I said. I've loved you since I first saw you, and I don't want another second to go by without letting you know that."

Jack smiled.

Replacement looked down for a few moments and looked up again. "This is the part where you're supposed to say something back, Jack."

He chuckled nervously, but as he gazed at her emerald green eyes, he knew.

"I love you, too, Alice."

Epilogue.

The shiny, two-seater sports car pulled into the parking lot of the Boar's b.u.t.t. Kiku opened her door. The four guys who had just exited the restaurant stopped dead in their tracks. With three-inch heels, a clingy black dress, and long hair streaming down her back, she was every drunk's fantasy come to life.

They watched as she crossed the parking lot and sauntered up the steps. After exchanging a look, they silently agreed they had left a little too early. They jostled one another as they scrambled back to the bar.

Kiku opened the door, and all the guys' mouths dropped and the women's eyes narrowed. Dressed to kill would be an understatement, but so would drop-dead gorgeous. A faint smile played on her lips as she crossed the floor to the bar.

"Whiskey-neat." Her voice was low, and the two men on either side of her leaned in, drawn like metal to a magnet.

She sipped the drink and waited. Man after man tried to summon the courage to approach her. But like knights trying to draw Excalibur from the stone, each was met with failure.

Some she cut down with a look, others with a shake of her head, but each left dejected, and one by one, the smiles from the men in the room grew fewer. Finally, the man she'd been waiting for approached.

Ralph Waller was a beefy man in his late twenties. Divorced and recently fired from his job at the car wash for theft, he had a lot of time on his hands, and most of it he now spent doing one of two things: drinking or hunting. Ralph was a bow hunter but not a very good one. Drunks usually aren't. Ralph had been deer hunting recently, but there were two things wrong with that. One, it wasn't in season. Two, he'd shot a deer and only wounded it. Ralph, being Ralph, had been too lazy and heartless to chase the deer down, so he'd left it to suffer and die in the woods.

Kiku turned to smile at him.

Ralph practically drooled as he offered to buy her another drink, which she gratefully accepted.

It had only taken Kiku a trip to the local sports store to get the name of the man who hunted around Woodlawn Drive with the bright red, razor-tipped arrows no regular hunter would use. Ralph's reputation and big mouth had made it easy for her to find him.

Kiku would take her time talking to him tonight. Slowly, she worked the conversation around to hunting and let Ralph brag. She'd let him ramble and boast until he confessed his sin.

She raised her gla.s.s and drained the shot. Her smile broadened until her red lips revealed her pearly white canines. She bit her bottom lip and leaned closer to him; her foot ran up his leg. "How would you like to go hunting?" she asked in a voice loud enough a man two seats over fell off his stool.

Ralph's chest rose and fell rapidly. He licked his lips, swallowed, and nodded spastically.

Kiku left a twenty on the bar and sauntered toward the door.

Ralph excitedly hopped off the bar stool and pounded two men next to him on the back. "I'm going hunting, boys. I've gone and bagged me a hot one."

Kiku held the door open for the eager man, and her eyes gleamed as he raced past her and into the night.

Ralph was right about going hunting, but he was wrong about one thing. He wasn't the hunter; he was the prey.

.Here's a preview of the next book in the Jack Stratton Collection:.Jack and the Giant Killer."You said people were safe, so he wanted to let them know they're not. He wants people to be afraid. He wants them to be scared. If you want to catch this killer, let him know he accomplished his goal. You need to let people know he's right-they should be scared, because they're not safe."Jack Stratton is back in another action-packed, thrilling adventure. While recovering from a gunshot wound and the loss of his job on the police force, Jack's romance with feisty Replacement continues to develop. When Replacement gets a seemingly harmless private investigation job-locate the owner of a lost dog-Jack begrudgingly a.s.sists. Little do they know it will place them both into the crosshairs of a merciless serial killer.5.0 out of 5 stars Even Superior to the Other Jack Books October 30, 2014 By Rick Mitch.e.l.l VINE VOICE Amazon Top 1000 Reviewers This one [Jack and the Giant Killer] eclipses the others in content and form. It puts Mr. Greyson in the upper echelon of mystery/thriller writers writing today. He has given even more depth and sophistication to the characters without sacrificing any plot. It is as if his writing has matured with his characters, especially Replacement's (aka Alice).Click the link below to purchase:.Jack and the Giant Killer.You could win a brand new.HD KINDLE FIRE TABLET.when you go to.ChristopherGreyson.com.Enter as many times as you'd like.No purchase necessary.It's just my way of thanking my loyal readers.Novels featuring Jack Stratton in order:.GIRL JACKED.JACK KNIFED.JACKS ARE WILD.JACK AND THE GIANT KILLER.