Shattered Vows. Maggie Price

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СКАЧАТЬ He eased out a breath. When it came to standing on her own the woman never gave an inch. “No one’s going to view you as dependent if you bunk at my sisters’ house for a few days.”

      “I carry a gun for a living, too,” she said, shaking off his touch. “I know how to take care of myself.”

      “The corrections cop probably thought the same thing. We’ll never know since he’s on a slab at the morgue.”

      “I appreciate you letting me know about Heath.” As she moved to slip past him, her shoulder brushed his. He felt the instant connection. The pull. She was right, he thought dourly. They should have just stayed in bed having mind-blowing sex and bypassed the wedding.

      When she reached the counter opposite him, she turned. “I’ve got three active cases going right now. All have surveillance involved, which means I won’t be spending a lot of time here over the next week or so. When I am here, I’ll activate the security system. Keep my guard up.” She patted the Sig she’d left beside her leather jacket. “I’ll keep my eyes open. If you have a picture of Heath, that would help.”

      “His picture’s all over the television by now.”

      “I’ll turn it on. Memorize his face. You’ll let me know when you find out who helped Heath escape?”

      “The minute I know, you’ll know.”

      He gave her a considering look. As long as she chose to stay here alone, there wasn’t much he could do about it. And, he conceded, when she’d gone with him to the police pistol range she’d proven she was his equal with a gun. She also held her own in hand-to-hand combat—he might have had her on the ground outside, but the way she’d moved had kept him from going for his weapon. Yet knowing all that, he still wasn’t satisfied.

      “I’ve arranged for extra patrols of the neighborhood by both uniformed cops and plainclothes,” he said.

      She slanted him a look. “Is one of those extra patrols going to be you?”

      “Not officially. Everyone involved in the shootout is on desk duty until the review board completes its report.” He lifted a shoulder. “That doesn’t mean I can’t drive by, simply as a concerned citizen checking the safety of a neighborhood.”

      “I’ll be careful. You don’t need to worry about me.”

      A vicious case of frustration had his head pounding. He wished to hell he had even an ounce of control over the situation. Over her.

      “If something happens, call my cell. Even if you get a bad sense about something, I want to hear it. That goes for everyone in the family. You need us, we’ll be here for you. You know that.”

      “I know.” Her eyes softened. “It’s nice to have dependable backup who all carry badges.”

      “Yeah.”

      She wouldn’t call him, Bran would stake his life on that. She’d spent the entire time they’d been married showing him how independent and take-charge she could be. It was ironic, he thought, that his innate nature was to protect, comfort and soothe and he’d married a woman who wanted no part of that.

      Patience had. She had always considered him her protector.

      Turning, he walked back to the table. He jerked on his parka, wincing when the age-old injury to his right shoulder kicked in.

      He had always figured he and Tory would get around to dealing with their unfinished business. After tonight, he wondered if the smart thing to do was just to let things go. Make the break before they heaped more emotional debris on what they’d once had.

      He crammed his black ball cap low on his head. Maybe when he got to his apartment, he would sign the damn divorce papers and be done with it.

      That would be the smart thing.

      Chapter 2

      “It’s just a ding,” Danny Dewitt said after he returned Tory’s four-door Taurus to her garage the following morning.

      Her gaze razored from the vehicle’s right rear to her brother. He was tall and lean with a lopsided smile and black hair worn in a stubby ponytail. His face was angular, and his eyes a dreamy shade of green. His looks, combined with a glib tongue and the cocky sense of self-confidence that accompanied youth, often had females falling over their own feet.

      Females other than his sister.

      “It’s a dent, Danny,” Tory pointed out. “The size of a dinner plate.”

      He gave the Taurus another look. “A small dinner plate.”

      She pressed her lips together. “You took my car without permission. All of my equipment is in there. My cell phone.”

      “I didn’t mean any harm.” He shrugged. “A friend dropped me off here yesterday afternoon. You weren’t around—”

      “I was helping Sheila on a case. It’s called working.”

      “Figured you were doing something like that,” he said, ignoring her jibe. “I came out here and saw your car. I decided the least I could do was buy you gas, a wash and an oil change.”

      “Gas, wash and an oil change take about an hour. Tops.” She wrapped her arms around her, gathering Bran’s Oklahoma Sooners red-and-white football jersey closer to ward off the cold. The jersey still carried the musky scent of his cologne and made her feel even more unsettled. Hollow. “If I had intended to let you drive my car, I’d have given you a key.”

      Danny grinned. “You keep an extra set in one of those magnet things under the front bumper.”

      “Not anymore.” She wiggled her fingers. “My keys.”

      He handed them over with an amiable shrug. “When I got to the gas station I ran into Rocco,” Danny explained. “He had a line on a poker game, so I left your car at the fast lube. Jewell was at work, and I planned to hang at the game until time for her to get off, then pick up your car and bring it back. But I started winning and couldn’t leave. This morning, Rocco took me to get your car. The manager at the lube place said it got hit in their lot. Their insurance’ll cover it. He gave me a form to fill out. In triplicate. It’s over the visor.”

      “Don’t take my car again. Ever.”

      “Sorry, Tor. I was trying to make things easier on you.”

      How many times over the years had she heard that? And always, Danny’s good intentions took a left turn, leaving a mess for her to clean up. In triplicate.

      “Want to hear how I spent last night?” she asked. “After I wasted hours looking for you and my car, Bran dropped by.”

      “Bran?” A hopeful look sprang into Danny’s eyes. “Are you guys talking again?”

      “Oh, we talked,” she confirmed. “First about an escaped killer who might be gunning for Bran. Then about the messages he left on my answering machine and cell. Messages I never got.”

      Danny winced. “Yeah, I checked the machine. I meant to write you a note about Bran’s СКАЧАТЬ