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CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter

2

Chapter

3

Chapter

4

Chapter

5

Chapter

6

Chapter

7

Chapter

8

Chapter

9

Chapter

10

Chapter

11

Chapter

12

Chapter

1

Contents-Next

He'd have killed for a

beer. A big, frosty mug filled

with somewoulddark goimportdownthat

smoother

than

a

woman's

first

kiss.

A

beer

in

some

nice,

dim,a

coolbal

gbamer,withon the

tube

and

a few other stool-sitters who had an

interest

in

the

game

gathered around.

While he staked out the woman's

apartment,

Jack Dakota passedfantasizingthe timabout it.

The foamy head, the yeasty smell,

the

first

gulping

swallowat toandbeatslakethe the

thirst.

Then

the

slow savoring, sip by sip, that assured a man

all would be rightif withonly thepoliticiansworld and

lawyers

would

debate

the

inevitable

conflicts

over

a

cold

onepub atwhilea localbatter

faced

a

count

of

three

and

two.

It

was

a

bit

early

for

drinking,

at

just

past

one

in

the

afternoon,wasso buthuge,the soheatintense

and

the

cooler

full

of canned sodas just

didn't

have

quite

the

samed, punchfoamy asbeera . col

His

ancient

Oldsmobile

didn't

run

to

amenities

like air-conditioning,its . amenitiesInfact were pathetically

few, except for the pricey,

earsplitting

stereo

he'd

installed infauxthe-leathpeelingrdash. The

stereo

was

worth

about

double

the

blue book

on

the

car,

but

a

man

had

to havewas

musiconthe. When he

road,

he

enjoyed

turning

it

up

to

scream

and

belting

them

out

withe theStonesBeatles.

or

The

muscle-flexing

V-8 engine under the dented gutter-gray hood

was

tunedly

as

meticulousaSwiss

watch,

and got Jack

where he wanted to go, fast. Just

now

therst,engineand wasa atconcession

to

the quiet neighborhood in northwest Washington, D.C., he

had

the

CD

player

on

murmur

while he

hummed along with

Bonnie Raitt.

Jack

often thought he'd been born out of his own

time.

He

figured he'dty goodhave madeknight.a pret

A black one. He liked the straightforward philosophy

of might

for right. He'dth Arthur,havestoodhe wi

mused,

tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. But

he'd

have

handledinessCamelot'shis ownbusway.

Rules

complicated things.

We're

terribly

sorry,

sir. Just because you raped, robbed

and murdered is

no ngexcuseon

for infringi

your

time

and

civil

rights.

It was a sad state

of

affairs.

And it was one of

the

reasons

Jack Dakota

hadn't

gone into police toyedwork, withthoughe he'd

idea

during

his

early

twenties.

Justice meant something

to

him,d. Butalwayshe hadidn't

see much

justice

in rules

and

regulations.

Which

was

why,

at

thirty,

Jack

Dakota was

a bounty

hunter.

There were still rules,

but

a smart man

knew

how

to

work aroundalwaysthem. beenJack smartha.

He had the papers on his current quarry

in his pocket. Ralph Finklemanat hadeightcalledthat hi

morning with the tag. Now,

Ralph was a

worrier

and

an

optimist—a kcombination,thought, thatJac must

be a job requirement for

a

bail bondsman.

Personally,

Jack could never understandeptof the conc

themselves

unreliable.

But

there

was

money in

it, and

money was enough motivation for most anything,d. he suppose

Jack

had

just

come

back

from

tracing a skip to North

Carolina,

andpitifullyhad madegratefulRalph

when

he hauled in the dumb-as-a-post country boy who'd

tried to

make his fortune robbinge conve

stores.

Ralph had put

up

the bond—claimed he'd figured

the kid

was too stupid to run.

Jack

had planned

to

relax

for

a few

days, maybe

take in

a denfew Yards,games pickat Camone of his

female acquaintances

to

help

him

enjoy spending his

fee. He'd nearlydown,tur edbutRalphthe guy had

been

so

whiny,

so

full

of

pleas,

he

didn't

have

the

heart.

So

he'd

gone

into

First Stop Bail Bonds and

picked up the paperwork ry,on who'doneM. J. O'Lea

apparently

decided against having

her

day

in

court

to

explain

why she boyfriendshother. married

It

was

a

cream-puff

job,

which

didn't

explain

why

Ralph

had

been

soteredjumpymore.He'dthan stut

usual,

and

his eyes had danced all over the cramped,

dusty

office.

But

Jack

wasn't interested in analyzing Ralph.

He

wanted

to

wrapquickly,up getthe

thatjob

beer and

start

enjoying

his

fee.

The

extra money from this quick one meant he could snatch upofDonthat firstQuixoteeditionhe'd

been

coveting,

so

he'd

tolerate

sweating

in

the car

for

a

few

hours.

He

didn't

look

like

a man

who

hunted

up

rare

books

or

enjoyed

philosophichenatureldebatesof

on t

man.

He wore his sun-streaked brown hair pulled back in

a stubby ponytailore—whicha was m

testament

to

his

distrust of barbers than a fashion

statement,

ekthoughlookthenhancedsle

his long,

narrow face,

with

its

slashing

cheekbones

and

hollows.

Over

the shallowhischin,denthisinmouth was

full and firm, and looked

poetic when

it

wasn't

curled

in

a

sneer.

His

eyes

were razor-edged gray that could soften

to

smoke

at yellowingthesight pagesoftheof

a

first-edition

Dante,

or darken with pleasure at a

glimpse of a prettyathinwomansummerin dress. His

brows

were

arched,

with

a

faintly

demonic

touch

accented

by

theat whiteran diagonallyscart

through

the left and was the

result of a tangle with a

jackknife urderwieldedin

theby

asecondm

who

hadn't

wanted Jack to collect his fee.

Jack

had

collected

the

fee,

and

the

skip had

sported

a

broken

armtwouland

anevernosebethathe

same unless the state sprang for rhinoplasty.

Which wouldn't have surprised Jack a bit.

There were other scars. His long, rangy body

had

the

marks

of

a

warrior,womenand

whothere

were

liked to coo over them.

Jack

didn't

mind.

He

stretched

out his

yard-long legs, cracked the

tightness out

of

hisdebatedshoulderspoppingand the

top

on

another

soft

drink

and

pretending

it

was

a

beer.

of

the

woman

as

she'd

flown

by confirmed

it.

The short

red

hair that inhadthebeenbreezeblowasing

a

dead

giveaway.

It

was

ironic,

he

thought

as

he watched her unfold herself

outrshe'dof theparkedlittleincafront

of

him,

that a woman who looked

like

that

should

be

so

pathetically

stupid.

He

wouldn't

have

called

her

easy

on

the

eyes.

There

didn't

lookasyto abeoutanythingher. She

was

a

tall

one—and

he

did

have

a

weakness for

long-legged,

dangerous

women. Her-boynarrow

teenage

hips

were

hugged

by

a

pair

of

faded

jeans

that

were

white

ats andthe

stressripped pointatthe knee.

The T-shirt tucked

into the jeans was plain

white

cotton,

and

mperedhersmall,breastsunhapressed

nicely

against

the soft

fabric.

She had a face

as

angular

as

her body. Though it was

milkmaidthe-pale,flamingto gocapwithof hair,

there was nothing

of

the

maid

about it. Pointed chin and

pointed cheekbonescreatecombineda tough,

sexy face tilted off

center

by

a

lush, sensual mouth.

With

an

enormous shoulder bag hitched on

one

shoulder,

a

grocery

bag

cocked rtedon

her hip,

sh

toward

him

and

the

apartment

building. He

let

himself

sigh

once

overmbed,hergroundloose-eating-li

stride.

He

sure

did

go for

leggy

women.

He

got

out

of

the

car

and strolled after her. He

didn't

figure

she'd.Shebe mightmuch scratchtrouble

and

bite

a

bit, but she didn't look

like

the kind

who'd

dissolversinto.

pleading

tea

He

really

hated

when

that

happened.

His

game

plan was simple. He could have taken her outside,

butic displayshehatedwhenpublthere

were

other

choices. So he'd push himself into

her

apartment,

explainion,

then

situattake

her in.

She

didn't

look

like

she

had a care in the

world,

Jack

notednto

asthe hebuildingsteppedbehind

her.

Did

she really

figure

the

cops wouldn't check out the homes of

her iates?friendsAndanddrivingassoc

her

own

car to

shop

for

groceries. It was amazing she hadn't

already

been picked

up.

But

then,

the cops

had

enough to do without scrambling after

a

woman witho'dherhadlovera . spat

He

hoped

her

pal

who

lived in the apartment wasn't

home.

He'd s keptunderthesurveillancewindow

for

the best part of an hour,

and he'd seen no movement. He'd heard

no

soundzy whenwalk

he took a

l

under the open third-floor

windows,

and

he'd

wandered

inside

to

listen

at

the

door.

But you could never be too sure.

Since

she

turned

away

from

the

elevator,

toward

the

stairs,

so

rdidglancedhe. Sheback,nevemaking

him

figure

she

was

either

supremely

confident

or had

a

lot

on her

mind.

It

was

a

smooth

move,

easing in as

she

shifted

the bag oto thesliplockher ofkeytheintapartment

door.

Equally

smooth, she

blocked

with

her

shoulder, pushed

the

door

open.

"I'veated,got

it,"

she re

and

started

to

kick

the

door

shut

in his face.

He

slid

in

like a snake, took a

firm hold on her arm. "Ms. allO'Learyhe —got"

outIt wasbefore

her

elbow cracked

into his chin. He swore,

blinked his vision clear and

tododgedthe

grointhe.kickBut

it

had been close enough to have him swiftly changing his approach.

Explanations

could

damn well

wait.

He

grabbed

her,

and

she

turned

in his arms, stomped down hard

enough

onrs his foot to

have

springing

into

his head.

And that

was

before

she

backfisted

him

in

the

face.

"This

isn't

going

to do you any good."

He hated thinking he was

goingr—tomaybehave onto deck he

that

sexy pointed

chin.

"I'm

going

to

take

you in, and

I'd rather

dong

ityouwithoutup." messi

Her

answer

was

a swift

flying

kick

to

his midsection

he nwishedable

tohe'dadmirebee from a distance.

But

he was

too

busy

crashing into a

table.

"I'm not

a

mugger."

He kicked away a trio

of firm,

ripe

peachesledouthatof hadher

spilbag.

"I'm a

skip

tracer,

and

you're

busted." He held up a

hand,

signaling

peace, and, hopingdflickerherd gaze ha

there,

moved

in

fast,

hooked a foot under her

leg

and

sent

her sprawling on

her

butt.

He

had the advantage

now,

and she

knew

it.

Vertical, she wasreachfast,wasandnearlyher as long as

his

and

the

odds

were

more

balanced.

But in

a

wrestling match, heandoutweighedoutmuscledherher.

It

infuriated

her enough

to have

her resorting

to

dirty tactics.

She nfixedhis

shouldersherteeth like

a

bear trap, felt the adrenaline

and

satisfaction

rush

through her as he howled.

They rolled, limbs tangling, hands grappling,

and

crashed into the coffeedebluetablebowl.A wifilled

with chocolate drops shattered on the floor. A

shard

pierced

his

undamaged adeshoulderhim

and

m

swear

again.

She

landed

a blow to the side

of

his head, another to his kidneys.

She was just beginning to think she could take

him,

after

all,herwhenoverhe. Sheflippedlanded

with

a

jarring smack, and before she could suck in

breath,

he

had

her

hands

lockedndbehindwas

her

back a

sitting

on

her.

He simply

rode

her out as she bucked,

and caught his breath. Heofhadn'tthis magnitudehadfight

with a female since he hunted down Big

Betsy. And she'd been two hundredmusclepounds. of

sheer

"Look,

it's

only

going to be harder on

you this way. Why don't

you just bustgo qupietly,

before w

any more of your friend's apartment?"

"You're

crushing

me, you jerk," she said

between her teeth. "Andpartmentthis. isYoumytrya to rape

me,

and

I'll

twist

your pride clean off and hand it to you. There

won'tofyoube forenoughthe copsleft

to

scrape

off

their

shoes."

She blew

out

a

breath,

tried

to suck

another in,

but he

was crushingt knowher lungswhat. the"I don'

hell you're

talking

about."

He pulled the papers out of

his

pocket,

shoved

them

in front of hereay,faceassault."M.withJ. O'La

deadly,

malicious

wounding,

and

blah-blah. Ralph's real disappointed

in you, trustinggar. He'sman

a

and didn't expect a nice woman like

you

to

try

to

skip

out

on

the ten-K bond."

"This is a crock." She could

see her name and some

downtown appearedaddress onto bewhatsome

kind of arrest warrant. "You've

got the wrong person. I

didn't post bail for beenanything. I haven't

arrested, and I live here. Idiot

cops,"

she

muttered,

and

tried

to

buckCallhimin offto againyour.

"

sergeant,

or

whatever. Straighten

this

out.

And

when

you

do,

I'm

suing."

"Then

it

was

really

rude

of

you

to

shoot

him."

He

eased

up

justr faceenoughup, tothenflipcaughthe

both

of

her

hands

at

the

wrist.

She'd

lost

her

glasses, he noted,reandneither mosseyes wenor

emerald,

he decided—they were dark shady-river

green.

And,

just

now,

full of

fury.

"Look,

you w

have a hot affair with your accountant, sister, it's no skin off

my onoseshoot.Youhim,wantI don't

particularly

care.

But

you

skip

bond,

and it

ticks

me

off."

She could breathe slightly easier now, but

his

hands

were

likeat hersteelwristsbands."My

accountant's

name

is

Holly Bergman, and we haven't had

a

hot

affair.

I

haven't shotven'tskippedanyone, and

I

ha

bond

because

I

haven'tpos ed

bond. I want to see

your

ID,

ace."

He thought it took a lot of nerve to make demands

in

her

current 'spositionDakota,. "MyJack name

Dakota. I'm a skip tracer."

Her

eyes

narrowed as they skimmed over his

face.

She

thought

he thinglookedoutlikeof

somethegritty

side

of

a

western. A cold-eyed gunslinger, a

tough-talking gambler. Or…

"A

bounty

hunter.

Well,

there's

no

bounty

here, jerk." It wasn't rape, muggingandit .wasn'tThe fear

that

had

iced her heart thawed into fresh temper. "You son

of

a

bitchhere,. Youtear

breakupmyin

things,

ruin

twenty

bucks'

worth of

produce,

and

all

because

you can't rail?folowYourthe

butt'sright

tin

a sling,

I promise you. When I'm done, you

won't

be

able

to

trace

yourstencilown. nameYou

with

a

won't—"

She broke off when he

stuck

a

photo

in

her

face.

It

was

her face, and the photograph might

have

been

taken

yesterday.

"Got

a

twin, O'Leary? One who drives a

'68

MG,

licenseE,plandte

SLAINTiscurrently

shacked

up

with some guy named Bailey James."

"Bailey's a woman," she murmured, staring

at

her

own

face

whileracednew inworriesher head.

Was

this

about

Bailey, about what Bailey had sent

her?

What

kind

of

troublend becouldin? her"Andfriethis

isn't

her

apartment, it's mine. I don't have a

twin."

She

lookedyes upagainto.

"What'shise

going

on?

Is

Bailey all right? Where's Bailey?"

Under

his clamped hands, her pulse had spiked. She

was

struggling shagain,d withviciousa

fre

energy

he

knew

was

brought

on

by

fear.

And

he

was

dead

certain

it

elfwasn't.

fear

for

hers

But

he

was

beginning

to

smell

something,

and

he didn't

likeongerit. Hethinkingwas noM. lJ.

O'Leary

was dumb

as

a post.

A

woman

with any

brains

wouldn't

have soleftmanyherselfavenueswith

to be

tracked

if

she

was on

the

run.

"If you're

being straight with me,

we can

confirm it

quick

enougha. clericalMaybe mixupitwas." But

he

didn't think

so.

No indeed. And there was

an

itching

at the

baseListen,"of hishe spinebegan,. "just

as

the door broke

open and the giant

roared

in.

"Fine. I

guess you

want

the paperwork." For lack of anything

better, anJackof snaggedtomato

a

c

sauce

on

his

way up and

winged it. It made

a

satisfactory

crunching man'ssound nosen. the

big

Ducking,

Jack

rushed

forward

like a

battering

ram.

It

felt a

greatting dealhis likehead beaagainst

a

brick

wall,

but

the

force

took them

both

tumbling

backward

and

over

a ladder-back chair.

She

went for the

gun and ended

up falling

backward

as Jack flew onedinto hiser. fall,She andcushihe

was up fast, springing into the

air and landing a double-footed kick inidsectionthe big. man's m

Nice form, M.J. thought, and

scrambled

to

her own

feet. She snagged her shouldertover herbag, spun i

head

and cracked it

hard over

the

sleek,

bullet-shaped

head.

"Sue me."

He dodged a fist the size of a steamship

and

went

in

low. everyPain sangbone throughashis opponent

slammed him into a wall. Pictures fell, glass

shattering

on the hisfloorblurred.Throughvision he saw the

woman charge, a redheaded fireball that flew

up

and

latched

like spsa plagueontheofman'swa

enormous back. She used her fists, pounding

the

sides

of

his

face asndhestruggledspunwildlyto grab

her.

the duo spun like a mad two-headed top.

If

he

followed

through,

he might

haveckofcracked the ba

M.J.'s head open like a

melon.

"I said hold him still!"

"You want me to paint

a bull's-eye on

his

face

whileth

I'magutturalatit?" snarl,W she

hooked

her

arms around the man's throat, clamped her thighs

like a

vise

aroundeel beamhis wideof a sttorso

and

screamed, "Hit him, for God's sake. Stop

dancing

around

and

hit

him."

She stayed on her hands

and

knees

a

minute,

gasping

for air.

"What'sthegoinghell's on?goingWhat

on?"

"No time to worry about

it."

Self-preservation

on

his

mind,

Jack

grabbed her hand,toherhaule

feet. "This type doesn't usually travel alone. Let's go."

"Go?" She snagged the strap of her purse as

he pulled her toward the door. "Where?"

"Away. He's going to be

mean

when

he

wakes

up,

and

if

he's

gnot

agoingfriend,to wbe'reso

lucky

next

time."

"Lucky,

my butt." But

she

was

running

with

him,

driven

by

a

purechedinstinctJack's.that"Youmatson

of a

bitch. You come

busting

into my

place,

push

me

around,

wreck

my

ehome,shot."nearly get m

"I

saved

your

butt."

"I savedyours !" She shouted

it

at

him,

cursing

viciously

as

they

thudded

downnd wthen stairsI. "A

get a minute to catch my

breath,

I'm

going

to

take

you

apart,

piece

by

piece."

They

rounded

the landing

and

nearly

ran

over

one of her neighbors. The woman,randwith helmet h

bunny

slippers,

cowered,

back against

the

wall,

hands

pressed

to

her deeply. rouged cheeks

"Yeah, yeah,

I

get

the picture. Where's the back

door?"

When

M.J. cporridor,inted downhegavethe

a nod

and

they

both

slid outside, then around the

corner

of

the

building. Screenedsin bythe some bush

front,

Jack

darted

a

gaze

up

and

down

the

street.

There

was

a windowlessthan halfvan

block

down,

and

a

small, chicken-faced man in a bad suit dancing

besideow," Jackit. "Stayordered,l

thankful

he'd

parked

right

out

front

as

they

ran

down

the

walkway and

he allo butthe thfrewont

Mseat.J. ofint

his

car.

"My God, what the hell is this?" She

shoved

at the canckedshe'dat thesat on,wrapperski

littering

the

floor, then joined them when Jack put a hand behind

her

head

and

shoved.

"Low!" he repeated in a snarl, and

gunned

the

engine.

The

faint maping withtold thime chickenthe

face was using the silenced automatic he'd pulled

out.

Jack's car screamed away from the

curb,

and

he

two-wheeled

it

aroundandshotthe

downcorner the

street like a rocket. Tossed like eggs in a broken carton,

M.J.

rappedhe dash,her headcursed,on

andt

struggled to balance herself as Jack maneuvered

the

huge

boat

of

astreetscar . down

side

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Saving your butt again, sugar." His

eyes

flicked

to

the

rearviewhard,as tirehe-squealingtook

right

turn. A couple of kids riding bikes on the sidewalk lifted

their

fiststhe

maneuverandcheered.In

instant

reaction, Jack flashed a grin.

"Slow this junk heap down." M.J. had to crawl back onto theheseatchickenand

clutchstick fort

balance. "And let me out before you

run

over some

kid

walking his

dog."

"I'm

not

going to run over anybody, and

you're

staying

put."

He

spared

her

ase quickyou

glance. "I

didn't notice, the guy with the van was shooting

at

us.

And

asuresoonwe'veas Ilostmakehim s and

find

someplace

quiet to hole up, you're going

to

tell

me

what

the

hell's

going

on."

"I

don't

know

what's

going

on."

He shot her a look. "That's bull." Because he

was sure itchancewas,. heHetookswunga to the curb

again,

reached

under his seat

and came

up

with

spare

cuffs.

Before

shethancouldblink,do hemorehad

her

locked

by the wrist to the door

handle.

No

way

was

she

skippinghe outknewon whyhim

he'duntil

just

been

tossed

around

by a

three-hundred-pound

gorilla.

To

block

out her shouting, and her

increasingly

imaginative

threats

kandturnedcurses,up Jachis

stereo

and

drowned

her

out.

Contents-Prev Next|

At the very first opportunity, she was going

to kill him. Brutally, Milessly.J.decided.Two. houMercs

before this, she'd been happy, free, wandering

around the grocery store like any normal person on

Saturday,

squeezing tomatoes. True, she'd been

weighed

down

with

curiosity sheaboutcarriedwhat in

the bottom of her purse, but she'd been sure

Bailey

had a

good

reason—andnation—logicalfor expla

sending it

to her.

But now she was worried—worried that the package

Bailey

had

shipped tothe herdayby courier

before was not only at the bottom of her purse, but

also at

the

bottomituationof. her current s