Charged - Book One Read Online Free PDF Page B

a shot,” he said. “Oh, and I wouldn’t
mind meeting this Kye,” he said, smiling.
    “She’s taken,” I said.
    “Yeah, right! I’m sure she was really charmed by the
Elmer Keith revolver you shoved in her
chest!”             
    “What, this?” I said, pulling my jacket back a
little, showing him my holster with the .357 Magnum in it. “This
talks to women.”
    “Besides ‘freeze, turn around and put your hands up,’
what exactly does it say? I’m curious,” he said, smiling again.
    “Well, it says, ‘I’m here to protect you, assuming
you don’t make any sudden movements.’”
    “Charming.” Aaron was shaking his head and laughing
under his breath now.

CHAPTER 10
     
    WHEN I GOT BACK TO THE APARTMENT, there was a man
knocking on my front door as I entered the hallway. I was caught
off guard and he saw me immediately.
    “Mr. Kagen?”
    Actually, I noticed he was just a kid, couldn’t have
been more than sixteen.
    “I have a delivery for you,” he said, holding out a
box that looked like it contained flowers.
    After a very long hesitation, which made even the
delivery boy uncomfortable, I took the box, signed his sheet and
watched him leave. I unbolted the door and laid the box on the
kitchen counter. I made my quick search to make sure the place was
empty and found Zero hiding in the shower stall, trembling.
    “Some guard dog you are.”
    The apartment was empty. I went back and bolted the
front door and snapped my gun back in its holster. I figured if
someone wanted to blow me up, I’d be dead by now. Plus, Kye said
she’d be contacting me. I walked over and opened the box. It was a
dozen of long-stem roses with a card that read, Tonight. Rusty’s
at 8 . It was a woman’s handwriting. Kye probably wrote it
herself. I thought it was a little old-school, but it was just too
easy to listen in on a cell phone.
    While I thought about Kye, I picked up and held Zero
for a while just to see if for once he would stop trembling. He
didn’t. His bulging little eyes were fixed on the box, so I walked
toward it with him cradled in my arm and he started growling. This
made me a little uneasy. I grabbed the note, flicked on the gas
fireplace and tossed the note in. I didn’t need anyone knowing
where I was going, should my place be vandalized again.
    I rubbed the dog’s head for a while, trying to come
up with a plan. I could watch the restaurant till Kye showed, but
she might not show if she didn’t see me. Plus, I had no intentions
of actually bringing the box. I needed to find out if it really
belonged to her. Rusty’s was always a crowded place, so I decided I
would just show up like a normal customer, except I would be
packing both the revolver and my pistol.

CHAPTER 11
     
    IT WAS APPROACHING SEVEN-THIRTY and I’d already
showered, shaved and dressed. I picked out a black sweater and blue
jeans with my brown leather coat to conceal the shoulder holster. I
had the pistol in my ankle holster and took more than a couple
ibuprofens for the pain in my knee.
    I knew Rusty’s. I’d been there a couple of times
during my career, back when you could smoke in the place.
Everything was nonsmoking now in Seattle. It was a small, yuppie
café about a fifteen-minute drive from my place. You couldn’t miss
it. The sign was bigger than the place itself and the coffee was
good.
    On the way there, I thought about Kye. I knew I
wouldn’t be taking her to Aaron’s and giving her the box. I wanted
to believe her, but I didn’t. To make matters worse, this was theft
and tampering with evidence. Even if I handed the box over to the
Seattle police, there would still be charges against me. And now,
Aaron was involved.
    Why had my feelings for a childhood friend allowed me
to slip beyond all of my ethics? I tried to convince myself that it
would turn out okay and my sentence would be reduced to a
misdemeanor with no jail time. I knew I was the only one who cared
about what happened to Richie. I