Ultimate Kill (Book 1 Ultimate CORE Trilogy) (CORE Series) Read Free Page A

of a minister or judge, but he’d made that pledge to her. And he’d meant every word.  
“This is simply a recon mission,” he said. “Like I told you, I might keep on driving through.” Another lie. He’d come this far and he never did anything by half.  
    “Like Owen, you couldn’t lie your way out of a paper bag.”
    “What the hell does that even mean?”
    “You’re full of it. You’re going to go there and meet with her and possibly mess with her life. On top of that, if this goes as bad as I think it will, you’re going to come back to Chicago surlier than when you left.”
    “Surly, huh?”
    He heard more tapping from the keyboard. “Yes, gruff, brusque, curt, boorish—”
    Chuckling, he shook his head. “Are you reading from a thesaurus?”
    “Yes, I am. And while this entry wasn’t in there, I’d like to add crab-ass to the list.”
    “I haven’t been that bad.” Or had he?
    “That’s what you think. You know, maybe you should meet with Naomi. Get her out of your system once and for all, then come back to Chicago. I already started a profile for you on one of those online dating sites. You need to get laid. And with the picture of you I have up there, I have no doubt you’ll find someone new in no time.”
    His cheeks burned. While used to Rachel’s bluntness, her ‘you need to get laid’ comment was too straightforward, even for her. “First, worry about your own sex life. Second, don’t you dare put me on some dating site.”
    “I said I have it ready to go. I would never do that to you.” She let out another sigh. “I care about you, Jake. I just want to see you happy.”
    The Lincoln approached a sign.  
    Welcome to Woodbine. Established in 1893. Home of Georgia’s Official Crawfish Festival.
    The anticipation and dread strengthened as the overgrown terrain he’d been driving past morphed into mowed lawns and well-kept houses. Minutes from now, he’d pull up to the school where Naomi worked at as a nurse. If Rachel wanted to see him happy, this could be her chance. Unless…
    Needing fresh air, he rolled down the window.  
    Unless Naomi blew off his ass.
    “Thanks, Rachel. I’ll call you when I’m heading out of here. It’s a fifteen hour drive from Woodbine to Chicago. I might want to catch that plane, after all. Either way, I’ll be home by Monday to work on Ian’s cold case.”
      “I’ll let him know. And, Jake…I know this sounds pessimistic, but prepare yourself for the worst.”
    Right. If he didn’t expect too much, he might not be let down. “Got it,” he said, then after saying good-bye, he ended the call. The well-kept houses disappeared into marshland as he took the bridge into Woodbine. When the marsh disappeared and the houses returned, he slowed the Lincoln and turned into the parking lot of the Rainbow Lodge, an old single story motel. While he wasn’t sure if he’d stay in Woodbine, he planned to secure a room just in case.  
    Screw it. He pulled back out of the parking lot and followed the Lincoln’s GPS to the local elementary school. Rachel was right. He should prepare for the worst. The nearest major airport was in Jacksonville, Florida, and only a forty minute drive. He’d check on Naomi, try and catch her as she was leaving work and invite her to dinner. If she flat out wanted nothing to do with him, he’d head right back the way he came.  
    Unacceptable .
    He had a lot of questions that needed answering. Namely, who was the real Naomi McCall?
     
    *
     
    “All better, Joey?” Naomi asked the adorable and klutzy second grader who had been a frequent visitor to the nurses office since kindergarten.
    The boy nodded and handed her the ice pack. “Better.”
    “Good. I hope this means you won’t be running through the library anymore.”
    “And have to flip my star? Uh-uh. If I flip my star, I don’t get to pick anything from the candy box.”  
    She took his hand and led him out of her office. “Oh, my. That would be