Hot Pursuit Read Online Free PDF

it, too.”
    Taylor swallowed. “Your uncle Vinnie has a reading club?”
    â€œJust a few guys from the old days. You know, back in Little Italy.”
    A transplanted New Yorker, Sunny’s uncle Vinnie was now famous in certain parts of San Francisco, namely police headquarters. He had a rap sheet the size of a city block, and thirty years ago he would have been a dead ringer for Tony Soprano. Even now when he walked into a room, women felt a frisson of excitement—and grown men felt their insides churn. He was as “made” as you could get and not be floating in the Hudson River.
    â€œGee, that’s . . . nice. Tell him I said thanks.”
    Sunny stabbed at the air. “You have any trouble with anyone, Uncle Vinnie says to let him know. He’s serious. He has ways to handle problems.” She made two fingers into a gun.
    Taylor squirmed on the imitation velvet chair. “I’ll pass on the hit, Sunny.”
    â€œHey, you never know. If Vinnie can’t help you, my cousin Giovanni will. He lives in Vegas, but he’s got business interests all over, if you know what I mean.” Sunny finished the shampoo and tossed a towel around Taylor’s head.
    Taylor squinted around the towel. “Actually, I could use some information on a man who works in a lab in Pacific Heights. He may be in some kind of trouble.”
    â€œAnd?”
    Taylor chose her words carefully. “And he may be threatening a friend of mine.”
He may also be threatening me.
    Sunny said something in Italian, tossed down her comb, and pulled out a cell phone. Today it was magenta, to match her blouse. “Let Uncle Vinnie handle this. He’s got finesse, you know.”
    As far as Taylor could see, Vinnie de Vito had about as much finesse as Robert de Niro in
Raging Bull
, but she decided not to mention it when Sunny was being so helpful.
    Her friend punched in some numbers. After preliminary family chitchat and the usual questions about when she was going to give up the beauty business and settle down with a nice Italian man and make a big family, Sunny got down to business. “Taylor’s here, Uncle Vinnie. Yes, of course I gave her your love. Yes, I told her you’re waiting for the new book. The thing is, she needs some help.” Sunny winked at Taylor. “No, not that kind of help, Uncle Vinnie. Just some information. She’s working on her next book, and she needs to check on a local lab.” She gave him Harris Rains’ name and the lab name, listened for a moment, then covered the phone. “He says he’ll mail you a cashier’s check for a thousand dollars if you send him the pages for his reading club as soon as you’re done with the book.”
    â€œI wouldn’t dream of—”
    Sunny spoke into the phone, then looked up. “He says five thousand.”
    Taylor swallowed. “He’ll have the first copies, no money asked.”
    â€œYou’re on, Uncle Vinnie. No charge for the pages. So, can you make a few calls about Harris Rains and his lab? We’ll be here at the salon while Taylor gets some color. Blonde,” she added firmly.
    Taylor glared.
    Sunny ignored her. “Within the hour? Great. I knew you could do it. We’ll be waiting.” Sunny cut the connection and rolled back her sleeves. “Let’s get to work.”
    Taylor watched foil squares flutter in the air currents, listening to Sunny’s latest gossip about who was getting hair extensions and BOTOX injections. At the same time, another part of her brain was running through plot possibilities.
    The writer’s curse: always being two places at once.
    She sat up tensely when Sunny’s cell phone rang. Sunny made notes on a pad, then hung up. “Harris Rains, this is your life,” she announced. “Vinnie got everything: home address, home phone, cell, and fax numbers. You also have his driving record. My uncle said to tell you