Page 114 of Hours to Kill
AWEEK LATER, Addy leaned against the counter in the Portland safe house. She was starting to regret volunteering to be the local agent assigned to Zamora’s babysitting detail. They’d made sure word got out on the street that Razo had died and Zamora had taken over his business. To make things appear real, they had to release Zamora from jail. They were keeping him at the safe house under guard, and he issued orders from there to Razo’s posse, claiming he was hiding out, as he feared whoever had killed Razo was after him.
She looked at him where he sat at the round table, computer in front of him. Kiley sat next to him, keeping an eye on his computer habits. Sean and Cam were sitting on the sofa, wrapping up paperwork from the Razo investigation and waiting for any lead Zamora might produce.
Mack, who had been gone on an urgent errand, came jogging down the stairs, a huge smile on his face as he crossed over to her. He took her hand. “I need you to come with me.”
“Where to?”
“It’s a surprise.” Mack tugged on her hand.
She crossed the room, glancing at the others, and their sly expressions told her they were in on the surprise. She had no idea what he could have waiting for her, but her pulse tripped faster. Bear whimpered from his bed. She left him behind, as she had no idea what to expect.
Mack held the door open, and she stepped out. There inthe driveway sat her cherry-red Mustang completely repaired, polished, and shiny.
“My dad’s car. They said it was totaled . . .” Tears flooded her eyes. “But you had it fixed.”
“I know how important it is to you.” He led her down the steps.
She ran a hand over the fresh paint. “She’s even prettier.”
“I have to admit, there are parts we had to cannibalize from another vehicle. Everything you see, though, is just as your dad left it.”
She turned and threw her arms around Mack’s neck. “Thank you. This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
He smiled. “Just the first of many, I hope.”
“You’re going to spoil me.”
“That’s my plan.” His smile disappeared. “I love you, Addy.”
“Right backatcha,” she said with gusto.
His eyes darkened and he kissed her, his lips warm and insistent. He held her so tightly, she couldn’t imagine a thread fitting between them. She could go on and on kissing him, but she had a job to do, and she took it very seriously.
She pushed back. “As much as I would like to take the car for a spin, we need to get back to Zamora.”
“See. Someone coming between us again.” He chuckled and held her hand as they returned to the basement.
She received smiles from the others, minus Zamora, whose face was glued to the computer screen.
“Is it pretty?” Kiley asked.
Addy nodded. “We can go for a ride later.”
“Hey, what about the rest of us?” Cam faked a pout.
“We all can go when this guy is back behind bars.” She went to the counter to brew a cup of tea. Mack followed her. Except for when he’d gone to get the car, he’d been like a magnet for the last week, just like Bear who traipsed after him.
She poured water from the electric kettle into a mug andleaned against the counter to dunk her tea bag, the peppermint scent rising up to greet her.
She looked at Mack over her mug. “I still can’t believe we agreed to offer Zamora a deal.”
“Not much of one,” Mack said.
Addy thought using Zamora’s connections was a long shot, and she really didn’t want to work with a creep like him. Just being in the same room with the person who’d tried to kill her—and worse yet, someone who trafficked young girls—was hard to take. Much less working with him for seven days. Shedidwant to find the missing girls, though, so she was on board with the operation.
Zamora grabbed a slice of pepperoni pizza from the nearly empty box, chomped off a bite, and followed it with a swig of cola. Then he belched and laughed about it. This was the guy they’d been pinning their hopes on for a week now. Seemed ludicrous.
She shook her head. “Prepare yourself for not succeeding. He could just be blowing smoke.”
