Lucky Bang Read Online Free PDF

window—all the happy people below reoriented my day. Today would take more than that, so I didn't bother. Dane disappeared into the kitchenette in the back. Thankfully, as late as it was, the bird, our foul-mouthed office mascot, had been covered for the night—one less strident voice to grate on already raw nerves.
    I propped a hip on the corner of Miss P's desk. One glance at the huge pile of messages in my box left me on the verge of apoplexy. On the theory that actually picking them up conferred responsibility, I waved my finger at the stack. "Can you give me the high points?"
    "I'll take care of them."
    That took my breath. "Wow, really?"
    "That's what you pay me for." She raised an eyebrow—I couldn't tell whether it was a statement or a challenge.
    "And here I thought I paid you to give me a hard time." We grinned at each other. Why did all of my relationships use the dialect of obfuscation—a dance around saying what we really meant? Since I was the only common denominator, I guessed the path to the answer started in my backyard. However, I wasn't in the mood for playing in that sandbox, so I shelved it…until my next life.
    Miss P cleared her throat. "There is one thing." Her eyes didn't hold mine.
    "What? Something you can't handle? Oh goody."
    "Flash is in your office." This time, her gaze, open and pleading, held mine. "Short of calling security, I couldn't stop her. She breezed in here without a word. And I didn't think you'd want her thrown out."
    "Not today. Well, not yet anyway, but the jury's still out." I really did not need to deal with Flash right now, I thought as I teetered on the precipice of self-pity. Dane came to my rescue when he returned with a tumbler full of amber liquid. "Is that what I think it is?"
    My hand shook as I reached for the glass, which probably should have worried me. But my worry-plate was full, so I shelved that also.
    "A medicinal dose of Wild Turkey 101." Bowing slightly, he handed it to me.
    I would have kissed him but, given our checkered romantic history of thrust and parry, that would've been supremely stupid…even for me. Instead, I grabbed the glass and tossed back half of it in one gulp. The fact that it was a Flintstone jelly jar made me look like more of a lush than I am—at least that's what I told myself.
    The liquid burned a fiery path all the way to my stomach where it burst in an explosion of warmth. My pride having long since abandoned this sinking ship, I sighed. Thus fortified, I dared a glance into Dane's emerald eyes. "Thanks. I've got to get busy putting out fires."
    He took the hint, motioning to Jimmy. "Come on, I'll buy you dinner."
    Marshaling my thoughts, which was a lot like collecting fireflies on a still summer evening, I waited until the door had closed behind them before I divvied up the responsibility pie with Miss P. "I'll deal with Flash. You tell security to keep the rest of the riff-raff out. When the ATF guys show up, buzz me. But don't let them in until I'm ready, okay? Oh, and get the beautiful Jeremy Whitlock on the phone—here in person would be even better. How is he at finding the scent on a trail that's gone cold?"
    "The best." She grinned. Of course she'd say that. Fifteen years her junior, Jeremy had stolen her heart trading his in return, so her opinion was highly suspect.

    ***

    Flash sat at my desk, her feet propped on an open drawer, her phone tucked between her shoulder and her ear as she scribbled notes, nodding occasionally. One stylish pink stiletto dangled from her foot as she wiggled it. Her bright red curls were pulled back from her face and corralled with a neon orange scarf. In jeans and a t-shirt stretched over her ample chest well beyond the boundaries of good taste, she looked like a woman trolling for a fat wallet—which, of course, was a ploy. Behind the bimbo façade lurked a woman with more IQ points than an Ivy Leaguer. Giving me a quick glance, she raised a finger. As she wound up her call, I sunk into