30 Seconds Read Online Free PDF Page B

couldn’t tell. Damn it , she couldn’t tell. She turned the page. The two men looked at one another. Chief Witten shook his head.
    Frowning, she turned the page back and leaned forward for a closer look. “He has brown hair now,” she said while starring at a picture of a man with blond hair. “This is the man they call Red.”
    Chief Witten took the binder from her. “Good job, Ms. Hart.”
    “Why do they call him Red?” she wondered.
    “Because of all the blood on his hands.”
    She swallowed. “Who is he?”
    “He’s the leader of a Mob.”
    All of the blood drained from her face. “I’m sorry, what? Mob? As in a criminal family?”
    Chief Witten nodded. “They’re not all of blood, but they certainly are family. They aren’t after drugs, diamonds, or money though. Their goal is to kill cops.” He let out a breath before continuing. “When Red was twelve-years-old, a cop killed his father during a sting operation. At sixteen, he killed his first cop and got away with it. Ever since he’s been hell bent on getting vengeance. Last month, he and his men killed ten police officers.”
    Dani stood abruptly. She was too shocked, too scared to stay seated. She put a hand over her trembling heart to calm it. “I remember,” she said, her voice shaking. “Ten officers were brought to my hospital, I was the resident on that night, and they all died. Even the one I fought for five hours to keep alive.” She didn’t like to lose a life, especially one who died protecting the lives of everyone else. “And Blake went undercover? He pretended to be one of them? Why the hell would anyone do that? He could have been killed!”
    “We needed to know which officers they were going to target next,” Chief Witten explained. “Blake wanted to do it. He knew the risks.”
    Dani’s head spun. “They believe Blake is Dr. Hart. What if they find out I’m really Dr. Hart and think I’m working with the man who tricked them? They’ll want me dead too!”
    “We won’t let that happen, Ms. Hart.”
    At that moment, Blake stepped into the room. She glanced at him and put a hand to her forehead. She was breathing fast and the room was whirling. She knew the signs, knew what was going to happen. She looked at Blake. “I’m sorry,” she said.
    Blake made his way to her. “For what?”
    “For fainting.” Her eyes fluttered, her knees dissolved under her, and darkness descended over her vision.

Chapter Four
    Slowly, Dani opened her eyes. For a moment, all she could see was white but as she looked around, the room became clearer. She fully remembered running faster than she had run in her whole life. Her legs still carried the aching memory. She also remembered becoming light-headed after she found out the Mob was after her.
    I’ve been in a coma, but I’ve never fainted once. Her hand lifted to her face and she massaged her nose. “It’s not broken,” she said aloud, surprised.
    Blake turned away from the window. “Why would it be?”
    “When you blackout you generally fall forward or backward with gravity,” she explained as she eased herself into a sitting position. “I remember the sensation of falling face first.”
    “You didn’t fall,” Blake told her. “I caught you.”
    Her gaze flew to his. “Oh.” A man tells you he caught you when you fainted and you say “oh”? What a moron.
    She cleared her throat. “Well, thanks for making sure I didn’t break my nose.”
    Blake bent over her and ran a finger down the brim of her nose. Then he tilted her chin with his thumb, raising her face a bit before kissing the tip of her nose. “You have a cute nose,” he said.
    She watched his eyes lower to her lips. She knew he wanted to kiss her by the way he dipped his head, and even though she was aware this was not the time, she wanted to kiss him too. She could also tell, by the way her heart raced in anticipation, that she wouldn’t be able to restrain her own urges if he did.
    Startling her and