Positively Criminal Read Online Free PDF Page B

word. “Good. Thank you.”
    The woman gave her a look just short of you-must-be-crazy , and then left to help a nearby table.
    Dara giggled. “This is gonna be fun.”
    “What?”
    “Watching the two of you try to outdo each other.”
    “I hate to spoil it for you.” Dara spun the locket on her bracelet to see the clock’s face. “Our paths have no reason to cross. I’ve gotta go. I’ve got a session at nine o’clock.”
    “At the club?”
    Bri nodded.
    “Why didn’t you tell Jake what you really do there?”
    Bri slapped her guilt unconscious. “Let him think what he wants. I’m bound by law to protect my information.” She slid from the booth while Dara followed and they headed out the door.
    “Well, at least call me from the slammer this time.”
    Bri released a genuine laugh. “Okay, promise.”
     
    ***
     
    Twenty paces from his cruiser, Jake frowned as his pager screamed yet again against his hip. “Hang the hell on,” he mumbled while he and Mace piled into the car.
    “Somebody’s impatient.” Mace unclipped his own pager from his belt, now squealing right along with Jake’s.
    “What’s your number?” Jake grabbed his cell phone from his pocket.
    Mace rattled off the same series of numbers Jake now punched into his phone.
    “Rawlings.”
    “Majors here. I’ve called a briefing. Ten minutes, Riverside Pub.”
    “We’re there.”
    Jake disconnected and turned the key to bring the engine to life. “Majors has decided to share.”
    “Finally.” Mace flipped several switches on the radio, checked in with dispatch, and then clipped the microphone back into place. “I think Dara knows something.”
    “Really? Or are you looking for an excuse to interrogate the lovely Dara Hamilton, best selling romance novelist?”
    “Screw you.” Mace grinned. “I think Dara knows a lot more about Bri’s presence at the Velvet Glove .”
    “Intel reveals they were college roommates.”
    “So Dara probably possesses an arsenal of information.”
    “Suit yourself, Turner. As long as you come up with something useful, knock yourself out.”
    “Where are we headed?”
    “Riverside Pub.”
    “A perfect place for cops,” Mace grumbled under his breath.
    Jake silently agreed with his partner’s sarcasm. The place reeked of criminals, current and retired. No one stepped inside without protection of some sort.
    As soon as they parked and entered the building, Jake took in the surroundings, somewhat amused that the FBI would choose such a seedy place to rendezvous. Somehow he wasn’t convinced the men in blue dirtied their hands in places like this. Eerie silence blanketed the atmosphere, thick with thoughts of criminal activity and Jake knew from experience one false move would land them all in hot water.
    “See anyone familiar?” he mumbled under his breath.
    “No.” Mace’s speech was equally muted.
    Jake drew a silent, deep breath and moved his gaze around the dark interior until he spotted Majors seated at a corner table in the blackest part of the room. He resisted the urge to shake his head in disbelief. Dressed in blue jeans and an obviously-starched white shirt sans jacket, the agent still flashed cop .
    “You’re lucky I’m such a cheap date,” he told Majors as he approached the table and straddled a chair.
    The agent chuckled, out of nervousness, Jake figured. “It’s hard to lay low in this town. Everyone seems to know everyone else and we stick out like a sore thumb. In fact, the recommendation came from a friend. She swears this is the perfect hiding place.”
    Jake paused, stuck on three particular words in Majors’ last sentence – She. Hiding. Place . He knew only one woman who was the queen of hide-and-seek.
    Majors gestured to the three glasses on the table. “The alcohol’s just for looks.” He pushed his aside. “Did you find an informant?”
    Jake gave Mace a keep-your-mouth-shut glare. “Still working on it.”
    “If we have half a chance at finding these