Still Mine Read Free Page B

Her gaze caught the dashboard clock and she corrected herself—it was officially morning.
    One a.m. or not, Jo had every intention of driving home and sleeping until something other than her job woke her up. As she turned the corner, Jo automatically hit the lock button in the car. All four doors secured their locks. Red Wade’s wasn’t in the friendliest area of town, and she sure didn’t want to waste the early hours of the morning filling out a report on why she’d shot any would-be purse snatcher. Her purse was tucked safely under her seat to keep it out of sight as well. Tossing a handbag onto the passenger’s seat was like laying out fresh bait. One solid strike to the window with any sharp tool closed in a fist while you were stopped at a red light, and your purse was gone in a shower of glass.
    “Jesus!” The car’s brakes locked up and the tires slid as Jo tried in vain to keep from hitting the truck that had pulled out in front of her. The crunch of glass mixed with the groan of metal colliding with metal. Whatever sort of vehicle she’d hit, it was solid steel. Her car crumpled like tinfoil under the impact. Her clear observation of the collision abruptly ended as the airbag deployed. Her vision went dark as the cushion of air slammed her back against her seat. The interior of the car turned into a sauna as the hot gas used to inflate the air bag surrounded her.
    Cool air rushed in when the door was yanked open. Rough hands pulled her from the wreck without any regard to possible injury. Her brain was fuzzy, but she tried to form some word of protest past her lips while she was dragged from the wreck of her car. She firmly pushed one of her rescuers away from her body, digging her heels in to stop. Her resistance was dealt with harshly. Her groggy mind snapped to attention as she was roughly jerked about, the hands on her arms tightening to a painful level. They dragged her forward to the open back door of a van. It was like a dark cavern in the night. A hand wrapped around her neck as she was pushed towards the open doors.
    Planting her foot firmly on the bumper of the van, Jo used the solid leverage to jam her body backwards. The surprise of her action broke the firm hold her captors had on her. She dropped to the asphalt and wobbled as her senses still refused to work completely. Letting gravity take her all the way to the ground, she rolled under the van and the limited protection it offered her.
    Continuing her motion, Jolene pushed herself to her feet on the opposite side of the van. Harsh cussing hit the night as did a snap and pop that her brain instantly recognized. She kept moving, struggling to get her feet under her as a bullet shattered the side window of her car.
    She silently thanked God she had served that warrant today. While she didn’t have her main sidearm any longer, she still had her back-up weapon secured to her ankle. She removed the small-caliber pistol with a swift movement.
    Her would-be captors came into view. The moonlight danced off the barrel of a pistol as it erupted with a tiny flame. Her shoulder stung as she brought her own weapon level with her oncoming threat. They surged forward with arms outstretched. Jolene had nothing more than a split second in which to decide a course of action. Her fuzzy brain chose survival and she pulled the trigger. At their close range, the bullet went through the first man and lodged in the second. Enough to drop the first man, but the second was simply wounded and he made a grab for her weapon.
    Jolene pulled the trigger a second time and her assailant dropped to the ground. Both men lay on the pavement. The streetlights cast an unnatural glow to the scene and Jo felt herself losing her grip on reality again. Her shirt turned hot as it became soaked with blood. She looked at the spreading stain with mild interest while the streetlamps turned into stars of light. She slowly slid the safety on her weapon before dropping to the pavement to