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tossed a handful of bills onto the table, moved to her
side, pulled back her chair and grasped her arm.
 We re leaving, now?
 Yes. Zacke ignored the shock on her face,
handed Miranda her handbag, and eased her to her
feet. He welcomed the ashen look on their waiter s
face when he showed him a glimpse of incisors.
He hustled her out of the restaurant and to the
car. He tamped down the urge to scream out his
agony to the Heavens. He had no right to expect a
Heavenly host to help him out of this mess.
After seating Miranda and closing her door, he
224
Kensington s Soul
walked to the driver s side on unsteady legs. His
insides quaked with the mortal food he had
consumed and with fear.
Come Hell or high water, before dawn exploded
in the eastern sky again, Zacke would know if he
had lost Miranda forever.
225
Faith V. Smith
Chapter Nineteen
Miranda kicked the front door shut so hard she
broke the heel off her shoe. She yanked off both
shoes and threw them against the wall; the clunks
that echoed throughout Zacke s house pleased her.
Her handbag hit the far corner, its soft thud not
quite as satisfying as she hoped. She removed her
earrings and tossed them on an end table as she
headed for the kitchen.
How dare he try to turn the tables? What right
did he have to be angry with her? She d been an
open book to his locked diary. Did she get any
answers? No! He had to go to work. Yeah right. She
strode to the kitchen door then turned and retraced
her steps. A drink wouldn t drown the fury inside
her or the disappointment that Zacke would just up
and leave the coward.
She stalked toward the staircase and her
peripheral vision caught two rather large shadows
scurrying toward the back of the house. Good! She
didn t need to deal with two more men afraid to face
her.
In stocking feet, she thudded up the oak steps.
Tears burned the edges of her eyes and blurred her
sight but couldn t dispel the image of Zacke leaving
her at the front door without so much as a  see you
later.
Her bedroom door received the same care as the
front door. Miranda hopped across the room, her
throbbing toe a reminder not to kick a door while
barefoot. She jumped onto the bed and stifled her
shriek in a throw pillow. When the pain ebbed, she
226
Kensington s Soul
used the pillow to wipe her face. Salt tracks left her
skin dry and itchy. She ignored the discomfort and
crawled into the middle of the bed.
The evening had been a total bust. Zacke made
stilted conversation, while she replied in kind. His
mood remained so somber, she discarded any hope of
talking him into acquiescence. His laughter and
unexpected anger had been the only genuine
emotions she witnessed.
Her stomach clenched again as it had when
Zacke told her he was ready to talk. The anticipation
made her limbs tremble with happiness and dread.
But she had been doomed for disappointment.
Zacke s cell phone once again prevented him
from spilling his guts. His explanation had been
abrupt something to do with two men out on bail.
Miranda knew Zacke had to go, but she didn t
have to like it.
She looked around the room. The clock on the
bedside table read almost midnight. She had to be at
work in the morning and should try to get some
sleep.
If she stayed awake, would he talk to her when
he returned? Shoot, she didn t know if he d even be
back tonight.
Miranda eased down and pulled her knees to her
chest. Maybe she would read for a bit. Hopefully that
would relax her so she could sleep. A bit later, the
words in her book blurred. She needed to get
undressed and ready for bed. Try as she might to
force her body to move, Miranda couldn t and soon
gave up. She rested her head on her folded hands
and closed her eyes.
****
Zacke moved through the darkness with Gideon
flanking his left side. Over the years, they had
developed a point position, which always placed him
a couple of feet in front. Together they had refined
227
Faith V. Smith
their stalking technique to a few key hand signals. A
wave of the hand or the pointing of a finger indicated
which direction the other would take. Tonight, they
would need silent communication as they hunted the
men Zacke had arrested several months prior for
drug trafficking and child prostitution.
Jake Archer and Tyler Brown had been lying
low since they d made bail. Zacke knew, as their
court date approached, Jake would seek any means
he could to escape the airtight charges.
The material witness had already given a
written statement specifying Jake s methods of
forcing teens to shake down johns for money. Zacke s
own testimony about Jake and Tyler s attempts to
murder a law-enforcement officer would ensure the
man and his second-in-command would be behind
bars until they were too old to do more than crawl to
freedom.
The phone call that cut off his planned
explanation to Miranda had been from an informant
who always supplied Zacke with accurate
information over the years. He disclosed that Jake
and Tyler had thrown their lot in with a woman.
Rumor had it she knew something about the Slash
and Maul murders.
Zacke slowed his pace and motioned to Gideon
to do the same as they neared the alley behind the
hotel. He doubted seriously that Gabriella would
conspire with two lowlifes like Jake and Tyler, but
he couldn t take the chance. But they could know of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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