For You (The 'Burg Series) by Kristen Ashley Page A

flowers. Colt used to buy them for her every birthday even though they cost some cake, finding tulips in October. Florist had to special order them. He bought them for her on Valentine’s Day too. In her bedroom when she was a teenager, she had a big picture, white background, a spray of pink and white tulips in a vase displayed over her bed.
    Colt kept speaking, giving them information to take their mind from the disturbing thoughts about how well this guy knew their daughter, their sister. It wouldn’t take much to know Feb liked tulips, you just had to pay attention but you also had to be close.
    “Dead end on the flowers. He’d arranged them himself, bought the vase at Pottery Barn and fuck knows how many Pottery Barns are around the St. Louis area, not to mention he coulda gone to any mall between here and there. No prints on the vase, no stickers or residue left. He coulda got the flowers from anywhere, seein’ as they’re in season. Spring’s here.”
    Colt used to buy her tulips in spring too, just because you could find them easy, they were all around and she liked them. To this day spring meant tulips to Colt and sometimes when he wasn’t paying attention and didn’t have control of the path of his thoughts, he’d see them, at a grocery store, in Janet’s Flower Shop window, and think, I’ll pick those up for Feb , before he could stop himself.
      “Is Feb in danger?” Jack asked and Colt looked at him.
    Jack was trying to keep those cards close to his chest but the hold he had on them was far from steady.
    “Can’t say,” Colt replied, “but the Feds, especially the profilers, they’ll know more.”
    Jack nodded. He didn’t like it, but he nodded.
    Colt moved on to different business. “Sully and I went down Feb’s list. Five names. We had the chat.”
    “They gonna keep quiet?” Morrie asked.
    Colt thought about these visits. They were short and they were all the same, every one of them. The news was met with amusement, the upsets history, so slight they were barely remembered. Then Sully and Colt gave them more information and the amusement died and the fear set in. He wasn’t surprised at the end response. Two of them said the same exact words, “Poor Feb.”
    Not, “Oh my God,” and not, “Poor Angie.”
    Angie was known, she managed to hold down her job but by most of the townsfolk she wasn’t respected, she was tolerated. Some may have felt sorry for her but most simply didn’t think about her and, when they did, they didn’t think much.
    Feb, that was a different story.
    “They’ll keep it quiet, for how long, don’t know,” Colt answered then he caught his friend’s eyes. “You need to move back in with Delilah.”
    Morrie grinned. “Shit, tell me somethin’ I don’t know.”
    Colt shook his head, Morrie wasn’t getting it.
    “Far’s I can tell February loves few people in this world. Jack, Jackie, Jessie, Meems, their families, your kids and you .”
    Morrie’s grin faded.
    Colt continued. “Angie and Feb had a stupid, teenage girl fight years ago and Angie bought it. You think Dee might not be on that list, this guy thinks he’s takin’ care of Feb’s business, this guy thinks Dee hurt you and, through that, hurt Feb?”
    Colt watched Morrie’s entire frame grow tight.
    “Talk to her, move back in with her, explain it,” Colt pushed. “You need me to come with you, I’m there. She’ll let you move in, least until this is over.”
    “You got time tonight?” Morrie asked.
    “All the time you need,” Colt answered.
    “Let’s go,” Morrie said.
    “Hang on two shakes,” Jack said, his eyes on Colt. “This business is pressin’, so I’ll let you two go. That don’t mean we don’t got shit to talk about.”
    “Jack –” Colt started.
    “I saw what I saw in that bathroom, Colt. We all did,” Jack stated.
    He could guess what Jack thought he saw. What Colt saw and felt leaking into his shirt was Feb crying her eyes out at the death of some