The Protector of Ambra (Mercenaries of Fortune, #5) Read Online Free PDF Page A

good—”
    “Lauds?”
    “Morning prayers. These guys are up from three in the morning, all the way until nine at night. It’s only the one guy I need to meet anyway. He’s meeting me at the hostelry a bit off grounds. Go back to sleep, okay? It might take me about forty minutes to finish up.”
    “I don’t even want to know how you know that.” Her eyes scrunched in confusion, but she nodded against the headrest and her lids swooped back down. In the cool light of day and with a clear head, no way would she have bought the full load of shit he’d just thrown at her. But her exhaustion was on his side. As long as he was back here safe and sound and they were off to handle her business before sunrise, she’d never have to know the truth.

Chapter Five
    M elody spun a coin on the dashboard for the millionth time. It looked quartery-ish. Only it was gold colored with silver around the outer edges. Whatever it was, it didn’t cure her boredom. 
    She tried listening to the radio. Static.
    She slurped the last of her pozol. Hard.
    She even briefly considered calling her mom to fill her in on the crazy details of the last few hours. And it had been hours. She’d fallen asleep under the skies of a midnight moon. Melody swiped her forehead against her once white and dry sleeve. It had to be a billion thirty-seven degrees out here. She felt each one of them, and the sun still hadn’t come up yet.
    Another check of the rearview mirror didn’t show much. Just the edges of the road and more leaves. She’d tiptoed to the road every half hour or so, but there was nothing around her except gravel and trees.
    And the gun.
    The not-quarter she’d spun had crashed into it more than once. A gun wasn’t the sort of thing a person accidently left behind. Which meant he wanted her to have it.
    Which probably also meant that he had another one on him.
    Which then begged the question, why?
    Okay, this part of the country had strange creatures in the jungle. Fewer of the kind that might kill people, but a fair share that could hurt people if scared.
    But come on.
    Leaving her a gun? He might as well have left her the nuclear launch sequence code. Even with basic instructions, she’d never be able to get a shot off.
    Her eyes kept going back to it. The thing twinkled in the moonlight. Whenever the coin got too close to the barrel, she’d shiver and nudge it away with her pinkie.
    She’d known for a while that she could trust the agent. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have come out here with him in the first place. But him leaving her a weapon that she could turn around and kill him with, sealed it. He was a good guy.
    Why the hell couldn’t she have met him back home?
    She dropped her chin on the dashboard with a snort. Because, she wouldn’t have paid attention to him back there. Somewhere along the way, time had gone on without her. She’d been so focused on preventing professional failure, that she’d somehow prevented having a personal life. She was hitting THAT age. Her mom hadn’t pressured her, thank God. Still, he was the kind of man she’d had dreams about.
    She and Angela had gone through a few frogs. No princes in their pasts. After a while, it was easier to focus on work. Sweet Happiness Chocolate Haus had saved them all. She’d gotten along fine without princes, until now.
    Here was a prince who had saved her and then promised to save her business. She’d never believed in fate. Kismet was the stuff of old movies. And yet, here she was with an honest to God hero who also happened to have an MD after his last name. Whatever that was.
    She popped up, flipped down the visor and snapped her finger at the not-totally-visible woman in the reflection. “No. You will not mentally MapQuest your way from the shop to Massachusetts. Even if it is just over the border. No!”
    Daydreaming hadn’t gotten her this far in life. Worrying about tomorrow wouldn’t do her any good if she didn’t get her shit straight today.
    She