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from her shoulders, exposing her creamy soft skin.
"What are you afraid of Shado?"
She leaned in close peering into his face and in his mind he
could see the gentle slope of the dress in back, her firm
bottom straining against the fabric.
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He groaned quietly before he grabbed her chin and kissed
her with a madness that traveled all the way to his groin. If
they hadn't been on a public street, he might have suggested
the back seat.
"Home." He tore himself from her, reminding himself of
how crazy this was to be this absorbed with her. It wasn't
going to last, nothing good ever did. Look at Stephanie and
Daniel.
He gripped the steering wheel to regain his control. At the
very least, get her home, but this time it would be with
protection.
"I have to make a quick stop up here."
She shifted back in her seat, as she tugged the coat over
her arms. "Okay."
His imagination sizzled with the thought of making slow
passionate love to her. The car fishtailed in the snow under
the sudden surge of acceleration.
* * * *
The corner market was unusually busy for eleven thirty on
a Friday night, especially in this weather. Didn't people know
when they should stay home?
Shado shifted from one foot to the other as he tapped the
box of condoms against the bottle of wine he'd picked up. He
knew it looked cliché but he wanted this time to be special, he
wanted to tell her what she wanted to hear. The half-insane
way he'd been behaving suddenly hit him tonight as he
watched her dancing with other men on his force. The
frustration wasn't about Angel, it was about him and coming
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to grips with how he felt for her. She'd apparently arrived at
that realization long before him. Hopefully it wasn't too late to
make things right.
"Next?" The clerk, a methodical man with thick glasses
peered up at Shado and offered a wide grin. "Merry
Christmas."
"Uh, yeah, same to you," he mumbled, placing the items
on the counter as he ruffled in his pocket and found his
wallet.
The clerk held up the box, studying it with a frown.
Shado cleared his throat after a moment. "Is there
something wrong?"
"You knowhow much?" The precise man's broken English
was succinct and professional.
"Doesn't it scan?" Shado glanced over his shoulder at the
elderly couple clutching a gallon of milk and a box of bran
flakes.
"Scanner broke."
His definite response was doing little for Shado's
frustration. What cosmic force didn't want him to own a
blessed box of condoms?
The old man reached around him and grabbed the box
from the clerk without precedence. "Twelve ninety-five." And
he promptly dropped them on the counter. His blue eye
winked in his wrinkled face as he looked up at Shado. "The
missus likes that one."
Shado could not hide his look of surprise.
The ring of the register pulled his attention back to the
clerk. Through the plate glass of the front window, Shado's
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gaze narrowed on the man walking past. He was fairly certain
that it was the same man he'd seen at the hotel that night,
the same one who'd shot at Angel from the car at the
hospital.
"Could you please hurry."
A chuckle erupted behind him. The clerk counted his
change and Shado grabbed the sack and darted out the door
searching the sidewalk for the man.
He yanked out his cell phone and headed for the car,
stopping short of the hood when he realized the passenger
door stood open and Angel was gone.
"Shit!" He tossed the bag in the car and searched the near
empty parking lot. The mist hovering like heavy cotton balls
made it difficult to see more than ten feet ahead.
Shado flipped open his cell phone, dialing the station. "I'm
at the corner of Market and 142nd next to the alley. Suspect
may have our witness in the Espinoza case. He should be
considered armed and dangerous." His gaze scanned the area
searching for anything.
"Ten-four, we'll send squads in the area over."
Grateful they hadn't asked more questions he stuffed the
phone back in his pocket. A slight flutter caught his eye and
he followed his gaze to a piece of sheer fabric attached to a
rusted break in the chain link fence at the back of the lot.
One streetlight illuminated the entrance. Shado pulled his
snub nose revolver from his waistband and moved cautiously
into the murky alleyway. At the opposite end, he could see
the muted streetlight where the next street crossed the alley.
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He picked his way past trash bins and clutter and peered
into an abandoned car, discovering another piece of her dress
secured to the bumper.
Shado put aside the fear that he might not reach her in
time, willing every ounce of his intuition to connect with her.
Three cars, fairly new, sat unattended in the parking lot of
a boarded up adult strip club. He knew he should wait for
back-up, but frustration clouded his judgment. Fear of what
she might be going through tossed his usual reasoning right
out the window.
Skirting the dark shadows away from the streetlights, he
made his way, gun poised to the back door of the deserted
building.
He jimmied the door and it gave enough to indicate it was
unlocked. For a moment he hesitated silently hoping the guys
would be arriving soon. Carefully he eased into the narrow
hallway, the pungent stench of rotting wood, urine and old
liquor permeated his nose.
"I say we take care of business and get out of here."
Shado's jaw clenched, suspecting he knew what the man
meant.
"We need to make sure her boyfriend hasn't followed her,"
another voice spoke. His accent was foreign, probably
Spanish. It dawned on him that it was likely Espinoza himself,
the man they'd been tracking for the past five years.
Shado pressed his back against the wall, his mind racing
with his options.
"I've told him nothing. He doesn't know what any of you
look like."
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There was a laugh that made Shado's skin crawl.
"Loyal. Got to admire that even for her." The Spanish-
speaking man chuckled. A low voice, sounding like gravel
under tires joined in the laughter.
"I'm telling you the truth."
"Sure, mama," Espinoza remarked, the serious tone
returned to his voice. "You, JC, go check it out. Make sure no
one followed you."
He eased into the alcove of the old restroom and held his
breath. His had two choices. Take the guy now and risk
Angel's life, or sit tight and wait for back up. Both choices put
her life in danger.
He didn't have to decide.
One of the men yelled a warning to the others as the back
door came crashing in, splintering under the heavy boots of
the police officers.
"Officer, don't shoot!" Shado bolted into the room ahead of
the officers rounding up the two suspects in the hallway. His
eyes widened as his gaze met Angel, her arms and legs
bound tight in Duct tape.
"Behind you," Angel yelled.
Shado whirled, clothes-lining the man in the neck and
sending him sprawling across the bare concrete floor.
From the corner of his eye Shado saw another man
attempting to wiggle through a broken window. He gave out
an anguished cry when a jagged shard sliced through his side.
He stumbled back in the room, falling on his back and Shado
aimed his gun down at the man.
"Drop it, asshole."
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Shado glanced up realizing he stood face-to-face with the
man who killed his brother and god knows how many other
innocent people.
The barrel of his gun pointed directly at Angel's head.
A muffled moan caught Espinoza's attention and Shado
seized his only chance. He fired off a round and watched as
Espinoza slumped lifeless to the floor.
"That was for Danny," he muttered as the room filled with
blue uniformed men.
Shado reached Angel, kneeling at her side as he assessed
her condition. "Are you all right? Did they hurt you?" Without
thinking he tore the tape frantically from her wrists and pulled
her into his arms.
"I'm all right."
Shado leaned back, brushing back an errant wisp of hair
from her forehead, discovering an angry, blood-crusted
wound on her temple. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]