In the Dead of the Night Read Online Free PDF Page A

stood in the office of his Pensacola, Florida hideaway. He glared the whole time at his hired hand. “Didn’t I say Jenny wasn’t to be hurt? Didn’t I say I needed her?”
    Sonny, brown-haired and slightly built, trembled as he glanced over at another of Thurman’s men. A squared off, bulldog of a man, Caruso, folded his arms as he leaned against the wall, waiting for Thurman’s next order.
    Sonny cleared his throat. “Blackie’s to blame. He woke the woman. I…I swear I don’t know what happened after that.”
    Sonny gesticulated wildly with his hands, as if that would help him live through the night. Thurman leaned against his oak desk. He loved to see a man sweat before he died, the fear evident in his eyes, the perspiration dripping down his forehead. Sonny’s hand snaked out and rubbed the back of his neck.
    Then he shoved his hands through his greasy hair. When he began to speak, he waved them around again like some kind of clown. “Blackie was going to get her. He ordered me to get the truck. By the time I managed the mile hike to the vehicle and drove back, lousy cops swarmed the place.”
    Sonny shifted his attention back to Caruso as if expecting to see if he agreed or not. Caruso listened, stony-faced, not saying a word. Sonny turned to Thurman, his gray eyes focusing on his boss’s chin. He wouldn’t look him in the eyes.
    Coward . Thurman hated cowards. They didn’t deserve to live.
    “I waited, you know, to see if Blackie was coming out of there or not, but he never made it. Well, in a body bag, I guess. But one of the agents carried the woman out. She wasn’t moving, but she had to be alive, as carefully as he held her.”
    Thurman looked down at the floor. He’d paid good money for his thugs, but none of them could ever be as clever as he was. “I have to have her.” His gaze refocused on Sonny. “Now they’ve got her. And they weren’t the police. Damned A.T.A. Always one step behind me. How had they been alerted that I was in Waco? That’s what I want to know.”
    Thurman had barely escaped when he first spotted A.T.A. agents near Jenny’s tax office. He couldn’t very well have snatched her from her workplace. Too chancy to try to get to her at her home either.
    He’d hoped his hired hands wouldn’t bungle the job, but he’d figured the agents were watching the place. No way had he planned to get caught going after the woman. He should have married her as he’d intended and then…he took a deep breath. She was the only woman he’d ever really been interested in. Too bad for her.
    As soon as he’d recognized one of the agents in town, the number of A.T.A. agents in the area increased rapidly. Everywhere he looked, he thought he’d recognized one. He smiled. Having pulled a stint with them briefly, sure gave him an advantage. If they only knew. Cosmetic surgery worked wonders for a face.
    Sonny shuffled his feet. “I don’t know, Mr. Wilson. We used every precaution when we went into the house.”
    “Caruso says differently. He says the two of you bungled it. You were supposed to grab her while she slept. You were supposed to switch off the back porch lights and slip into the house unnoticed. Who the hell shot them out?”
    “Conners. Not Blackie or me. I used the key you gave me and got into the house, but I got turned around and ended up in the kitchen. Blackie came in through the backdoor afterward, and we heard more shots fired. We knew we were in trouble then. I guess the rest of the guys were shooting at the agents. I swear we saw no sign of the agents when we entered the house.”
    Thurman growled. “You wouldn’t have. They’re not going to be standing out in the open, smoking and joking, you imbecile.”
    Sonny glared at Caruso.
    Thurman spread his feet and folded his arms. Then he took a deep breath and faced Caruso. “I want her back. Contact Angel. I want her located and brought to me at once.”
    Caruso nodded.
    Thurman looked back at Sonny. “And take