Page 19 of Sentinel's Kiss

“So they didn’t threaten you?”

“Not in so many words, but you could tell by the way they looked at me. They were up to no good.”

“How did they look at you?” Ashley tilted her head and seemed engaged in the conversation, like she believed the bullshit Stan was spewing. The camera panned back to Stan, who frowned at the question.

Evil snorted and talked to the television screen. “With their eyes. Their beady eyes.”

Stan crossed his arms and glared at her. “Sarah’s brother is ex–Special Forces. He knows how to make people disappear.”

“Great,” Sentinel said. “Now I’m Houdini.”

“Captain Lehmen is a decorated war hero,” Ashley said.

“Ooooooh,” Ryder said. “Captain Lehmen is a hero.” She fluttered her eyes and made a show of sighing dreamily.

“Go fuck yourself,” Sentinel said, and hoped the blush he felt crawling up his neck wasn’t too visible. But Ryder never missed a trick.

Stan stuttered a bit, backtracking on what he’d said. “I thought it was best to stay out of contact until either my wife’s killer was found or things settled down.”

“She’s making him look like a paranoid dick,” Warden said.

“She’s playing me and him off against each other,” Sentinel growled. “Wait until you see the questions she asked me.”

“It’s good TV,” Ryder said. “It’s going to get Sarah’s case in the public eye again. I can’t fault her for that.”

“I don’t like that he mentioned us as planning on killing him on television,” Evil said. “That’s all Munson needs to hear and he’ll be on our ass like a diaper again once Stan disappears.”

“I’ll handle Travis,” Ryder said.

“Travis?” Sentinel arched an eyebrow at Ryder.

Travis Munson was an Internal Affairs detective who had been a thorn in Evil’s side when he was still on the force. All of last year, Munson had been trying to pin the vigilante murders on the SOBs. He came close too. But Lucy and Evil had managed to throw him off base. Now it was just personal. He made a nuisance out of himself to the vice and homicide cops, but he had an uncanny knack for getting things done by poking his nose in shit that didn’t concern him.

“You’re on a first-name basis with that douche canoe?” Warden grumbled.

Ryder shrugged one shoulder. “One of us has to be the go-between. He’s not a moron, and he can’t be bought.”

That was almost swooning praise from Ryder. Sentinel exchanged an amused look with Evil, who just rolled his eyes.

“So we have to be careful. You let me worry about him. You need to keep Newscaster Barbie out of SOB business.” Warden tossed an empty beer can at his head.

“She won’t get close,” Sentinel said, swatting it back at him.

“You need to make sure of it,” Ryder said. “We still have these jobs to do for the Judge. I’m taking over your sniper while you babysit the reporter.”

“The fuck you will,” he said.

“Get her out of town while we finish the jobs,” Ryder said.

“I’ll do it,” Warden volunteered. “I’ll ask her if she wants to go for a bike ride and I’ll take her up to the cabin for the weekend.”

“The fuck you will,” Sentinel said.

“Fine, you do it then. Stop being such a little bitch.” Warden laughed and tilted the rest of his beer down his throat.

“Shut up, dipshits,” Ryder said, hushing them. “It’s Sentinel’s big moment.”

The segment switched over after a commercial break and it was Ashley and him in the studio. His mouth dropped open at the edits. She managed to make him look like a tough guy who was deeply affected by his sister’s death. But not as unbalanced as Stan looked.