Twenty minutes after we talked with Sloane we were back at the pickup truck. No sign of cops, so Kade hotwired the engine again and Jack and I piled in beside him. Sid followed behind us at a distance.

Once we got to the strip mall, Sid parked his Oldsmobile a hundred yards away next to a cluster of other cars. Meanwhile, Kade drove the truck out into the middle of the empty parking lot.

“We’re sitting ducks out here,” Jack muttered.

“Don’t worry, I got eyes on ya,” Sid said through our earpieces.

It was kind of crazy, us wearing these Secret Service-type devices. I’d never used them before on my stakeouts. They made everything feel like a spy movie or playing pretend.

Not like we were about to buy a bunch of weapons, go blow up a meth lab, and try to start a gang war.

“Wouldn’t it be better if we were next to a bunch of other cars?” Jack asked.

“I don’t want Susie Homemaker seein’ you buy a bunch of guns while she’s gettin’ Junior outta his car seat. ‘Sides, I thought you said you trusted this broad.”

“I said I trusted her enough.”

“Well, you better pray ‘enough’ is enough.”

“I’m beginning to rethink that.”

“Bad time to be thinking, boy. Buy the ticket, take the ride – so sack up, shut up, and hold on tight.”

Kade raised an eyebrow.

Jack just grimaced, then looked at me. “Your boss is a real ball-buster, you know that?”

I grinned. “That’s Sid.”

“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, Easy Rider.”

Five minutes later a black Dodge Challenger cruised into the parking lot. It pulled up right next to the truck, and Sloane hopped out of the passenger seat. The driver – one of the ZZ Top guys from last night – stayed behind the wheel.

Sloane had ditched the leather jacket and was now just wearing her sleeveless t-shirt and skin-tight jeans.

“Whoa nelly,” Sid muttered.

“Easy there,” Jack said.

“Yeah, shut up, you old perv,” I said, annoyed.

“I ain’t a perv, I’m just a connoisseur of the female form,” Sid retorted, although he pronounced ‘connoisseur’ like ‘conno-sewer.’ “And I may be old but I ain’t dead. Hey – you think, uh, we could trade places?”

“NO,” I said.

“Man… I never get to have NO fun…”

We got out of the truck.

“Hey Kade!” Sloane said flirtatiously, then slapped his ass. “How come you didn’t come by last night?”

“Busy sleeping,” he said, completely unfazed by having his best friend’s ex-wife spank him on the butt.

Sloane looked straight at me and put her hands on her cocked hips. “So, we makin’ this a foursome?”

“No,” I snapped.

She looked around. “Where’s the cue ball? I had a hankerin’ for a dill pickle.”

“Ohhhhhh momma,” Sid groaned through my earpiece.

Jack ignored him – and her. “Where is it?”

“All work and no play done made you a dull boy, Jack.”

“Sloane – ”

“Jesus, keep your panties on. Pigpen, pop the trunk.”

The trunk opened up and we walked around to the back. There were two large canvas bags inside. Sloane unzipped one, exposing a long green tube with a couple of metal thingamajigs on it.

A rocket launcher.

Jesus.

“It’s a LAWS – Light Anti somethin’ somethin’. Woulda got you an AT4, but this was all my guy had on short notice. Basically point and shoot. Make sure you’re at least a hundred feet away from whatever you’re shooting at, though, or you’ll be toast, too. And keep anybody away from the tail end of the thing, or they’ll get flash-fried when you shoot it. I got you two rounds. That should be damn near enough to blow up anything short of a tank.”

“What’s in the other bag?”

“I figured you might need a refill after last night, so…” She unzipped the other bag. Inside were several pistols, a couple of assault rifles, a dozen clips, and boxes upon boxes of ammunition. “Had my guy turn ‘em into full-automatic for you, so don’t go blowin’ your load right outta the gate.”

“Thanks, Sloane,” Jack said appreciatively. “I’ll have to get the money to you later, though.”

“Don’t worry, sugar. You deliver on our deal, this one’s on the house.”

Kade lugged the bags out of the Challenger’s trunk and stashed them in the pickup cab behind the seats.

Sloane hooked her hands in the back of her jean pockets and gazed at Jack. “Well.”

“Well.”

They looked for all the world like a couple with a lot to say, but a lot of reluctance to say it.

I can’t say I wasn’t jealous, but I bit my tongue.

“Don’t get yourself killed, Jack,” she said softly.

“I’ll try not to.”

“Let me know how it goes.”

“We will.”

“Good luck, guys,” she said to all of us as she got back in the Challenger. “Momma needs a new pair of shoes and a shit-ton of new territory.”

With that, the muscle car tore out of the parking lot and back out onto the street.

“Lord God a’mighty,” Sid said.

“Be careful, old timer,” Jack said as we got into the cab. “She’d eat you alive.”

“It’d be a damn good way to go out. You’re takin’ Fiona over THAT? No offense, kid.”

“Sid,” I said, “if we make it out of this alive, I’m going to kick your ass.”

“If you make it out alive, kid, you’re welcome to try.”