Night Shift Read Online Free PDF

and protect, right?”
    “You got it. Now get in before I arrest you for loitering.”
    Because her knees felt like jelly, she gave in. She wanted to be asleep, alone in some small, quiet room. She wanted to scream. Worse, she wanted to cry. Instead, she rounded on Boyd the second he settled in the driver’s seat.
    “You know what I hate even more than cops?”
    He turned the key in the ignition. “I figure you’re going to tell me.”
    “Men who order women around just because they’re men. I don’t figure that as a cultural hang-up, just stupidity. The way I look at it, that’s two counts against you, Detective.”
    He leaned over, deliberately crowding her back in her seat. He got a moment’s intense satisfaction out of seeing her eyes widen in surprise, her lips part on a strangled protest. The satisfaction would have been greater, he knew, if he had gone on impulse and covered that stubborn, sassy mouth with his own. He was certain she would taste exactly as she sounded—hot, sexy and dangerous.
    Instead, he yanked her seat belt around her and fastened it.
    Her breath came out in a whoosh when he took the wheel again. It had been a rough night, Cilla reminded herself. A tense, disturbing and unsettling night. Otherwise she would never have sat like a fool and allowed herself to be intimidated by some modern-day cowboy.
    Her hands were shaking again. The reason didn’t seem to matter, only the weakness.
    “I don’t think I like your style, Slick.”
    “You don’t have to.” She was getting under his skin, Boyd realized as he turned out of the lot. That was always a mistake. “Do what you’re told and we’ll get along fine.”
    “I don’t do what I’m told,” she snapped. “And I don’t need a second-rate cop with a John Wayne complex to give me orders. Mark’s the one who called you in, not me. I don’t need you and I don’t want you.”
    He braked at a light. “Tough.”
    “If you think I’m going to fall apart because some creep calls me names and makes threats, you’re wrong.”
    “I don’t think you’re going to fall apart, O’Roarke, any more than you think I’m going to pick up the pieces if you do.”
    “Good. Great. I can handle him all by myself, and if you get your kicks out of listening to that kind of garbage—” She broke off, appalled with herself. Lifting her hands, she pressed them to her face and took three deep breaths.
    “I’m sorry.”
    “For?”
    “For taking it out on you.” She dropped her hands into her lap and stared at them. “Could you pull over for a minute?”
    Without a word, he guided the car to the curb and stopped.
    “I want to calm down before I get home.” In a deliberate effort to relax, she let her head fall back and her eyes close. “I don’t want to upset my sister.”
    It was hard to hold on to rage and resentment when the woman sitting next to him had turned from barbed wire to fragile glass. But if his instincts about Cilla were on target, too much sympathy would set her off again.
    “Want some coffee?”
    “No, thanks.” The corners of her mouth turned up for the briefest instant. “I’ve poured in enough to fuel an SST.” She let out a long, cleansing breath. The giddiness was gone, and with it that floating sense of unreality. “I am sorry, Slick. You’re only doing your job.”
    “You got that right. Why do you call me Slick?”
    She opened her eyes, made a brief but comprehensive study of his face. “Because you are.” Turning away, she dug in her bag for a cigarette. “I’m scared.” She hated the fact that the admission was shaky, that her hand was unsteady as she struck a match.
    “You’re entitled.”
    “No, I’m really scared.” She let out smoke slowly, watching a late-model sedan breeze down the road and into the night. “He wants to kill me. I didn’t really believe that until tonight.” She shuddered. “Is there any heat in this thing?”
    He turned the fan on full. “It’s better if you’re