Ice Blue Read Online Free PDF Page B

help it. He just wanted it over, if that's what had to be.
    She was sitting in the tub, her back to him, her long hair loose, dark with water. She was humming, some tuneless little song that was making this whole fucking thing even harder, but he couldn't let himself hesitate. He moved so fast she didn't have time to turn around, to know he was there, sliding his hand under her thick veil of hair, finding the right spot and pressing, hard. She was unconscious in a matter of seconds, and he pushed her down on her back in the water, holding her there.
    She lay still beneath his hands, her hair fanning out around her, her face still and peaceful and eerily beautiful; he knew she couldn't feel a thing.
    But he couldn't do it.
    He hauled her out of the tub, a naked, dripping deadweight, and threw her over his shoulder. He didn't know how much water she'd swallowed, only that it wasn't enough to kill her. He tossed her on the bed, rifled through her drawers and grabbed whatever clothes seemed suitable. All black—she didn't seem to own anything in color, including her underwear. He was about to dress her when he heard the noise outside. The Shirosama already knew he'd lost his quarry, and he'd sent new stooges after her.
    Taka wrapped Summer's unconscious body in the bedspread, tossing the dark clothes into the cocoon before he lifted her again. She was damn heavy; American women, no matter how thin, always seemed to weigh more than other women. Maybe they simply had bigger bones. Not that Summer Hawthorne was a delicate flower. He'd been working, but an important part of his job was observation, and Summer Hawthorne naked had a soft, curvy body, not his usual type of woman.
    He shifted the weight, tossing her over his shoulder again, and a moment later he was gone into the night, as the white-robed brethren broke in the front door.
     
    Summer was cold, wet, miserable and totally disoriented. She was immobilized, moving fast and she felt like she was choking, coughing up water. When she could finally catch her breath she tried to push the wet hair out of her face, only to find her arms trapped at her sides. She shook her head, realizing in sudden horror that she was back in that damn car with that damn man, hurtling through the night once more.
    "What the hell…?" she said weakly, struggling. She was wrapped in her bedspread, her arms at her sides, the seat belt strapped around her, and the man driving didn't even glance at her.
    "You had some unwanted visitors. I figured you were better off with me than the holy brothers."
    She tried to speak, coughing instead, the spasms racking her body. "They must have tried to kill me," she managed to choke out. "How did you know?"
    "I was keeping an eye on things. I didn't think they'd give up that easily."
    She was silent for a moment. "How many of them did you kill?"
    He glanced over at her. "You think I'm a coldblooded killer?"
    "I have no idea who or what you are."
    "Takashi O'Brien. I work for the Japanese Department of Antiquities. We've been looking for the Hayashi Urn for a long, long time."
    She blinked. He didn't exactly fit her idea of a Japanese bureaucrat, but then, nothing was fitting her preconceived notions today. "Why didn't you just come to the Sansone and ask if we knew anything?"
    "We had no interest in drawing the attention of the True Realization Fellowship. We needed to secure it before they could get their hands on it."
    "Why?" Her teeth were chattering. He reached over and switched on the heat, and she glanced at the dashboard clock. It was just after 1:00 a.m. It had been less than three hours since she'd left the museum. Three hours to change a lifetime.
    "You can worry about that later. In the meantime we need to get you someplace safe and warm."
    "And dry," she said. "And dressed," she added in sudden horror. "I'm not wearing anything under this, am I?"
    "Since you don't make it a habit to bathe in your clothes, then yes, you're naked. I grabbed some clothes for