Silent Deceit Read Free Page B

bullshit. He signaled scar face to stand
down. “Get back to work, Natasha, and take Don Juan with you. We’ll be out of
here as soon as the fire department arrives.”
      Skip breathed a sigh of relief. He recognized Kingman's
type; short on brains and long on power. The bastard would kill Natasha in a
heartbeat if he believed she posed a threat to him, and enjoy watching her die.
    ––––––––
      N atasha stumbled off the emergency bus at
her motel, sliding across ice on wobbly spike heels.
Rena struggled to stay upright beside her while bikers skidded past them
heading for the front desk. Skip came off the bus last, hitching her and Rena
by the elbows and hustling them to her unit.
      “Get lost MacQuade. There's only one bed
in my room.”
      “Like I’d stay with you, Tas. You’re
trouble, plain and simple. I’m out of here as soon as I can rent a pickup. My
Duc’s lying in pieces back at the club. I need to load her up before someone
steals what’s left of her.”
      Uh-huh. Natasha remembered his Ducati—a
chrome and black rocket of power and hotness. She loved that bike—had actually
drooled over it when he was hauled in for questioning about a murder in Calgary
a few months ago. And sure, she’d planned to take it
off his hands once he was arrested. Figured he’d need
some quick cash to pay his lawyer and post bail. But Skip had skated on the
charge, which was plain wrong in her book. She thought he'd be prosecuted. “Use your cell phone.”
      “Can’t. It’s in the saddle bags on the
Duc.”
      “I’ll give you two minutes.” She fumbled
with the door lock, her fingers numb with cold. “Then I’m booting you out.”
      He wrapped a hand around hers and helped
work the key into the lock, pushing the door open and bundling them all inside.
“That’s all I need.”
      Natasha crossed the threshold and ground
to a halt. Her boss, Blue Falcone, stood in her living room, his muscled
arms crossed and a scowl riding his face. Panicked, she whirled and beat feet
for the door again.
      Skip blocked her path, gave her a light
shove, and sent her straight into her CO’s arms.
      “I drove all
night to beat the storm, and it's a good thing I did.” Blue grabbed her arm and planted her in
the desk chair. As close as he was, she could see the strain in his eyes and
dark circles beneath them, and had a feeling she had caused both. “What in blazes were you thinking, Nat, infiltrating
Kingman’s bar on your own?”
      He raked a hand through tangled blond
hair that hung past his shoulders. Dressed in biker garb accessorized with a
lot of piercings and tats, he looked downright scary—which
he was. He had to be. The ability to blend in with scum kept him alive. His
shitkickers, filthy denim jeans, studded leather jacket, and the arsenal he
carried concealed were all part of the job. So was the hint of marijuana smoke
clinging to his clothes. “Have you lost your ever-loving mind?”
      Natasha
wished she could disappear. Live to fight another day. She swallowed hard and
somehow found her voice. “I wasn’t alone. I had Rena with me. She would have
called you if I needed help.”
      “Ha!
You mean Rena O’Mally?” Blue swung around, taking in the other woman with a
smirk. “The confidential informant who sold herself on the streets to keep her
boyfriend in drug money? Boy, that’s some backup.”
      Rena
walked up to Blue and punched his shoulder. “Hey! Take a good look in the
mirror, pal, before you start judging me!”
      Natasha
gave Rena credit for taking on someone as intimidating as Falcone. Heck, even she knew better than to push his buttons. She would never have cut him out of the
loop if she hadn’t been so desperate to protect Zach. But, this was a side to
Rena she hadn’t expected. The woman could hold her own.
      “I
did what I did to keep on breathing. The only way a woman left that gang
was in a body bag, because knot heads like you controlled