THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

away.
    When a shop front with burglar bars on the door and windows came into view, she knew what she had to do. Twisting off her mother’s ring, Angel stepped through the door of Quick Deal Pawnshop.
    But would she walk out with enough money to reach Ft. Lauderdale?
     
    Chapter 7
     
    “What do you mean there’s no print on the coffee cup? Even I touched that cup at one point,” Zane barked into his cell phone while he wove his truck through Ft. Lauderdale’s Wednesday afternoon traffic. That news pretty much ruined what was turning into the longest day he’d ever endured.
    He eyed the dregs left in his coffee cup.
    That sludge wouldn’t fix his level of sleep deprivation. Crawling into his own bed last night should have been the ticket to a solid eight to ten hours sleep, but he’d tossed and turned during the few hours he’d managed to stay horizontal.
    Long bruised and bleeding legs had haunted his dreams.
    He’d given up and spent the rest of the night searching the Internet for anything he could use as a lead. Nada.
    That he understood, but no fingerprint on the cup?
    “Sorry, Zane, I’ve been all over this thing. It’s clean as my mother’s kitchen floor,” Ben said.
    “Damn.” Zane raked his hand across his head. Where else would Angel have left a print? She’d been on her own for over twenty-four hours. Was she still alive? “I’m going back to check the Titan again. I’ll swing by as soon as I get something.”
    “Sooner the better or I might not be here.”
    “Haven’t you had that baby yet?” Zane teased. “Thought Kerry was gonna pop while I was gone to Raleigh.” 
    A wife, and now a baby. Ben had chosen well.
    Zane had never envied another person and wasn’t ready to settle down, but there were days he’d trade his empty life for one like his buddy’s. He’d met Ben in grade school and they’d grown up together in Texas. Always had each other’s backs. Even when Zane flew fighter planes halfway around the world, they’d never gone a full week without a phone call.
    “She’s overdue.”  Ben’s weary voice attested to the strain of waiting to be a father for the first time. “We’re now scheduled to induce on Tuesday, if she doesn’t go into labor before that. Her doctor assured me we’d be able to reach him over Labor Day weekend. Hey, man, if I’m not here I might be able to get a friend to run the prints for you.”
    “If you aren’t there, I’ll wait. I don’t want anybody else in on this. Not even Vance.”
    Ben’s pause stretched too long. “Zane ... Buddy, what’re you up to?”
    “I’ll tell you about it when I stop by.”  Zane wasn’t ready to discuss this yet, not even with Ben. And definitely not over an unsecured cell phone.
    “Don’t mess up your gig with the agency.”
    “I don’t plan to.”  
    “Wheels turn slow in the dot gov,” Ben sympathized, using current computer-based slang for government agency. “But investigating on your own is bad juju. If you get into deep water, they won’t blow a big investigation to pull you out.”
    Too late for that advice. “I hear you.”
    Ben made a grumbling noise but didn’t push his point. “Get me a print as soon as you can and I’ll try to turn it around quick.”
    “Thanks, man. See you later.”  Zane swung into the terminal of Sunshine Airfield and parked next to the Titan. He yawned as he opened the cargo door then jerked his head back. Good God. Mouse stink left over from the critters woke him up like no caffeine could.
    A slash of light from the late afternoon sun reflected off of something small just beneath the copilot seat.
    Standing on the ground, he moved his shoulders down to eye level with the corner of the seat. He leaned close to confirm what he saw.
    A silver band.
    Sometimes the best tool was his small pocketknife. He used the blade tip to move the band out from under the seat. It had been cut in half and crimped in several spots.
    His stowaway had made good use of the time when he’d left her in the Titan while he met with his High Vision representative. This had to be a tracking device. And he’d bet she’d used his tools to cut it off of her arm.
    He’d lift a print off of this .
    Zane could do that, thanks to Ben.
    When Vance had offered Zane serious cash for keeping his ears open and passing on any tips that would help the DEA, Ben had spent a day teaching him how to pull fingerprints just in case . He’d given Zane the small box that contained