Serendipity (Southern Comfort) Read Free Page A

favor.  He was scheduled to give a lecture to a group of bureaucrats about that joint task force we were on last year. Something came up last minute, so I was the stand in.”
    “So you were leaving that conference when you were attacked?”
    “Sounds like.  But honestly, I don’t remember.” 
    “Pretty common with an injury like yours.  It might come back to you, it might not.”  Voices sounded in the hall, and Jesse climbed to his feet, ambling to the door to peer through the crack.  “Looks like the detectives are back.  Get ready to go through everything again.”  He turned, and his jaw was set.  “I’ll hold my tongue, because it’s their jurisdiction.  But make no mistake, little bro.  From this point on, I’ve got your back.”

CHAPTER THREE
    THERE was a goon in Ava’s parking lot.  Heaven help her, she got so angry every time she looked through the window that she nearly howled like the dogs in her kennel. 
    Protection, her ass.  Her uncle just wanted to intimidate her.
    “Staring isn’t going to make him go away, Dr. Martinez.  Believe me, I’ve already tried.”
    Hands on hips, Ava turned toward her assistant.  Auburn hair spilled from beneath a blue bandana as Katie’s head popped up from behind the computer monitor, putting Ava in mind of a colorful jack in the box . 
    “What are you going to do?”
    “I have no idea.”
    Abandoning her hunting-and-pecking, Katie came around the reception counter to join Ava at the window.  “That guy’s facial craters might warrant a visit from NASA.”
    Ava couldn’t help but laugh.  “I knew there was a reason I hired you, Katie.”
    “You mean other than the fact that I blew you away with my extensive knowledge of everything that walks on four legs, not to mention my outstanding public relations prowess and exceptional secretarial skills?”
    “You barely kne w how to turn on the computer.”
    “I’m getting better, aren’t I?”
    “Well you certainly couldn’t have gotten any worse.  But just for the record, One-Eyed Jack convinced me.  Anyone who can give him a bath without losing their own eye deserves your meager salary.”
    “Nah, Jack’s a sweetie.” As if on cue, the aptly-named gray feline rubbed against Katie’s long, long legs.  He circled around her in a figure eight, giving Ava a wide berth.  “I think he’s still mad at you for that rabies shot.”
    “He’ll get over it.” Ava watched the cat jump onto the counter, where he flicked his tail to show how wrong she was.
    “Homemade Sin out there is go ing to scare off all your business.”
    Ava turned back toward the window. The man was exceptionally ugly, all oily dark hair and pockmarked skin encased in a dirty wife beater.  Chains of gold dripped like gilded sweat. 
    But more disturbing was the fact that she knew, without question, that he was also exceptionally ruthless.  And she had no doubt as to why he’d been posted.  Her uncle was giving her a warning.  Talk to anyone, about anything, and I’ll know it.
    When she’d finally made it back to the club last night, the goons were gone – no doubt scrambling around trying to find the man who’d disappeared from their trunk – and Ricardo had been distracted.  But he’d let her know that her loving uncle, worried about his only niece’s safety during her father’s upcoming trial, had ordered a security detail to see to her protection.  Carlos was concerned about the associates of the man her father murdered seeking out Ava for reprisal. 
    Which was bullshit. 
    Her uncle just wanted to ensure that she stayed quiet during her father’s trial.  Unlike her father, Ava had no loyalty to Carlos, and the bastard knew it.  Which was why he’d sicced his ugly dog. 
    “Bastard.”
    “Language,” Katie said .  “Do you really think he’ll keep a tail on you twenty-four hours a day for the duration?”
    “I don’t know.  Hopefully, once he realizes I’m not inclined to play