Elemental Assassin 02 - Web of Lies

locked, gold on gray. My chest tightened, and Estep_Web of Lies_1P EP.indd 24-25
    12/17/09 9:32 PM
    26 JENNIFER ESTEP
    Web of Lies 27
    the familiar heat flooded my veins, pooling in my stomhot desire in every direction. I breathed in. The detecach before sinking lower. I eyed the detective’s navy coat. tive’s clean, soapy scent filled my nose, overpowering the The wool fabric draped over his shoulders and hinted at cumin, red pepper, and other spices in the air. Donovan his lean, hard body beneath. I remembered the feel of that looked away and cleared his throat.
    hard body. His mouth pressed against mine, our tongues He jerked his head, and I followed him to the far side crashing together. Hands clawing at each other’s clothes. of the restaurant, out of earshot of everyone else. The crisp, clean scent of him filling my nose. The way “You want to tell me what happened?” he asked in a he’d murmured my name over and over like a curse—or low voice.
    the answer to a prayer—as he’d thrust into me, quick and
    “You want to tell me why you’re here?” I countered. hard and deep. Mmm.
    “Detectives don’t usually come out for Southtown robThe short cop saw me staring at the detective. He beries, especially those that are thwarted.”
    walked over, murmured something to Caine, and jerked Donovan stared at me. “All right. I asked dispatch to his head in my direction. Probably pointing me out let me know if there were any incidents at the Pork Pit.”
    as the owner and prime witness. Most women, most
    “Why? Afraid I might take to killing people in my own left-behind lovers, would have stalked forward and deplace of business? You must not have gotten the memo, manded to know what Donovan Caine was doing here. but I’ve retired, detective.”
    Why he hadn’t so much as called. Instead, I leaned one His black eyebrows drew together in surprise. “Retired?”
    elbow against the counter and remained nonchalant, I nodded. “Retired. Now I spend my days here at the even though my stomach clenched at the sight of him. Pork Pit serving up the best barbecue, cole slaw, and Patience was one of my virtues. Always had been. The blackberry iced tea in Ashland.”
    detective would come to me soon enough.
    Some emotion flared in his amber eyes. It might have Less than a minute later, Caine finished his quiet conbeen relief or even hope, but it was gone before I could versation with the other cop and walked in my direction. decipher it. “Well, good for you, I suppose.”
    He stopped about a foot away, his golden eyes taking I shrugged. My quitting the assassin business wasn’t in my grease-stained blue apron, worn jeans, and longgood or bad. Fletcher Lane had been after me to retire for sleeved T-shirt. Two scarlet tomatoes decorated the top of months before his murder. After his death, I’d decided to the black cotton.
    honor the old man’s final wish. Nothing more, nothing
    “Gin.”
    less. But as my eyes slid down Donovan Caine’s body,
    “Detective.”
    I couldn’t help but wonder if my revelation would be We stood there staring at each other. An invisible enough to get the detective back into my bed. Certainly electric current hummed between us, firing off sparks of couldn’t hurt.
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    12/17/09 9:32 PM
    28 JENNIFER ESTEP
    Web of Lies 29
    Donovan dug a pen and notepad out of his hip pocket. Being an assassin has been my way of life since I was thir“So tell me about it.”
    teen, detective. I’m not going to forget what I did for I recapped the events of the last hour. After I finished, the last seventeen years just because I’m not doing it anyCaine stilled, his pen frozen on his notepad, turning over more.”
    something in his mind. Then he raised his golden eyes
    “I see.”
    to me.
    This time, the disappointment was as sharp as one of
    “Why didn’t you kill them?” he asked in a soft voice. the silverstone knives hidden up my sleeves. Donovan
    “We both know you could have.”
    Caine still wanted me, but he wanted his conscience to
    “Easily,” I agreed. “But one of the girls was on the floor be clear about it too. I wasn’t the only one who needed next to me.”
    to change.
    “And you didn’t want her to see you do it?”
    Caine cleared his throat. “You know who the blond I shrugged. “Witnesses are bad, detective. I’ve told you kid is?”
    that before.”
    “Jake McAllister. Jonah McAllister’s nearest and dearHe snorted. “And here I