Page 6 of Last Mile

I grinned. “Yes, Doc.”

My ring girl appeared in the doorway beside Rev. “You’re looking better,” she said, with a cat- that- ate- the- canary smile.

After Annabel took one look at my piece of ass, she rolled her eyes and grabbed her bag. “I would recommend icing your forehead as well, but I can imagine any further advice I give will fall on deaf ears.”

“Pretty much.”

She shook her head. “You Malloy men are stubborn to a fault.”

Lowering my voice, I added, “We’re also horny motherfuckers,

so do yourself and my brother a favor by getting out of here and

going home to bed.”

“You’re impossible,” she muttered, but when she glanced over her shoulder at Rev, I knew he’d be getting some by the secretive smile Annabel wore when she gazed at him.

As soon as Annabel left my side, my ring card girl took her place.

After Rev closed the door, she said, “My name’s Candy, by the way.”

I nodded. I wanted to assure her I wouldn’t need to know her name because we wouldn’t be hooking up again. The only reason why it might have mattered was to make sure I called out the right name when I came, because with all the women I’d been with, they managed to run together.

After making quick work of getting her and myself undressed, I showed her how a true champion can have multiple knockouts in one night.

CHAPTER TWO: SAMANTHA

Boiling summer heat radiated off the pavement, sending beads of sweat trickling down the backs of my legs. Even though the sun had set hours ago, there was no respite from the steamy onslaught. While I might’ve had plenty of ventilation in the black lace bustier and barely there black miniskirt, I waved my hand in front of my face, trying to salvage the makeup that I was sure was about to start sweating off. How in the hell do some women do this day in and day out?

A buzz from the communication device in my ear had me on alert. “Suspect has been spotted in the twelve- block radius. All teams on alert.”

“Copy that,” I murmured.

After making a quick visual sweep of the area, a crackling once again came in my ear. “ETA to Vargas is two minutes, thirty seconds.”

“Look sharp, Sammie- Lou Hooker,” came another voice in my ear.

I fought the urge to glare across the street at the unmarked sedan. Sitting inside wearing a shit-eating grin was my partner, Gavin McTavish. Since he was three years older than me, he was like an annoying older brother. He was more than just my partner— he was my best friend. We had met at the academy five years ago, and I’d shared more blood, sweat, and tears with him than any other person in the world.

Even without having to be radioed, I knew the moment our suspect, Chuck Sutton, arrived on the scene. An awareness hummed through my bones, and I shifted into my chameleon persona. From his teenage days, Chuck had outsourced guns to some of the toughest Atlanta street gangs. After several prior convictions, he’d grown wiser in his older age, and he had learned how to evade our usual methods. We needed him in custody on a lesser charge, so we could outwit him on the case we had been building.

That was where I came in. If Chuck had an Achilles’ heel, it was women, especially ones he bought. There must’ve been something about the illicitness that he craved.

When I heard him behind me, I turned around. After giving him my sexiest smile, I said, “Hey there. You looking to have some fun tonight?”

He licked his lips, and I fought the urge to throw up. “Maybe.”

With slight apprehension in his eyes, he glanced around. “Is it just you tonight?”

I gave a quick nod. “I work for myself.”

“I like that. I don’t like middlemen.”

I ran my hand up his arm before squeezing his shoulder. “That’s just one of the things we have in common.”

To bust him, I had to have him agree to a price and start off with me. Dancing around the subject the way we were now wouldn’t hold up for an arrest.

“Wanna go somewhere so I can see what else you like?”