FOR THE BABY'S SAKE Read Online Free PDF Page A

didn’t she say something? Hell, why didn’t she blink? She
just kept her pretty green eyes focused on his face. Sawyer kept his breaths
shallow, unwilling to let any more temptation into his lungs. “Any more
letters?” he asked. He kept his voice low, not wanting others to hear.
    She shook her head. “Our mail doesn’t usually arrive until
after lunch. I left before it got there.”
    “So, no news is good news?”
    “For tonight.”
    He understood avoidance. At one point in his life, he’d
perfected it. He felt silly standing in the middle of the floor. He stepped
closer to Liz Mayfield, and she slipped back into his arms as if it was the most
natural thing in the world.
    Which didn’t make sense at all because it had to have been ten
years since he’d danced with a woman. It felt good. She felt good.
    He really needed to remember that he wasn’t here to dance.
“What did your little friend have to say?” he asked.
    Her body jerked, and he realized he’d been more stern than
necessary. “I’m sorry,” he said.
    “That’s fine,” she said. “It’s just that I...I didn’t see Mary
today.”
    “She didn’t show, did she?”
    Liz shook her head and jumped in with both feet. “I had to
cancel most of my appointments. I didn’t feel well.” That much at least was
true. She’d been sick after hearing Mary’s voice mail. I’m
not coming today. I’ll see you tomorrow at the regular time.
    Liz had tried to call her a dozen times before giving up.
Dreading that Detective Montgomery would find her before she had the chance to
locate Mary, she’d left the office. She’d worried that a frustrated Detective
Montgomery might take matters in his own hands and track Mary down.
    Liz had never expected he’d show up at the fund-raiser. But she
should have known better. Detective Montgomery didn’t seem like the kind of guy
who gave up easily. In fact, he seemed downright tenacious. Like a dog after a
bone.
    She tried to hold that against him. But couldn’t. While it made
for an uncomfortable evening, she couldn’t help appreciating the fact that he’d
held her to her twenty-four hours. He took his work seriously. She could relate
to that.
    “Are you okay now?” he asked, sounding concerned.
    She nodded, not willing to verbalize any more half-truths. From
across the room, she caught Carmen’s eye. She was standing behind the punch
table, pouring cups for thirsty dancers. Liz could read the concern on her
pretty face. She’d had that same look since Liz had told her about the
letter.
    Liz shook her head slightly, reassuring her. Carmen was little,
but she could be a spitfire. If she thought Liz needed help, she’d come
running.
    “Who’s that?” Detective Montgomery asked.
    “Carmen Jimenez. She’s a counselor, too. I think I mentioned
her yesterday.”
    “I remember. Did you tell her about your letter?”
    “Yes.”
    “She hasn’t gotten anything similar?”
    Liz shook her head.
    “I’ve got some bad news,” Detective Montgomery said. “We found
another dead body this morning. Right outside of this very hotel. He’d been
shot. Up until a few weeks ago, he’d been a cook for Mirandez.”
    “Mirandez has a cook?”
    He leaned his mouth closer to her ear, and she felt the shiver
run down the length of her spine. “Not like Oprah has a cook. A cook is the guy
who boils down the cocaine into crack.”
    “Oh. My.”
    “People keep dying,” he said. “It’s my job to make it stop. If
Mary knows something, it’s her job to help me.”
    She’d been wrong. He wasn’t like a dog after a bone. He wanted
fresh meat. She pulled away from him, forcing the dancing to stop. She couldn’t
think when he had his arms around her, let alone when his mouth was that close.
“If you had enough to arrest her,” she protested, “you’d have done it yesterday.
You don’t have anything but a wild guess.”
    He had more than that. The tip had come from one of their own.
It had taken Fluentes two