Tracking Shadows (Shadows of Justice 4) Read Online Free PDF Page B

fought down her natural impatience and the memories of a life snuffed too early.
    Everything had changed the day Joel died, taking her heart with him to the grave. Her fragile plans had gone up in flames along with his car and suddenly the world felt harsh and abrasive without her best friend and the emotional shelter he'd provided.
    Just as her mind started cartwheeling through the heat and devastating blast, the kitchen door opened again. Thank God for distractions!
    This time the pastry chef was speaking to a young woman dressed as a hotel maid. The girl extracted a small package from her oversized coat and the pastry chef's smile bloomed.
    Micky was very slick indeed, if his standard protocol meant planting mules in ideal places for repeat business.
    Trina stayed hidden as the girl passed by, held steady a beat longer before following her onto the street. There, she became just another worn out employee as she trailed April toward the el station.
    Keeping up with her on the train, without raising suspicion, was trickier, but she managed until Crayland, one of Montalbano's goons materialized in front of her seat. She ignored him. He couldn't know who she was. With dark contacts and inserts to modify her cheekbones and jaw line, she couldn't possibly match any photo he might have. She used her illusion skills or physical disguises for business transactions as a matter of professional pride and security.
    Crayland shuffled, checked something in his hand and turned to her again.
    Oh, crap. It had to be a GPS tracker. Trina was furious Montalbano had managed to tag her, but temper had to wait. She pulsed out a hallucination, but Crayland just blinked and shook his head.
    "Huh." He looked from his device to her. "You? Huh. Well, you're not much, but you've been a bad girl," he said with a snarl that revealed a gold plated prosthetic incisor.
    She tried to look away, but it was impossible. Did he think it was appealing?
    "Boss wants to see you." He reached and grabbed her by the coat, hauling her up against his broad chest. "Now."
    Any other day, any other moment she would've kicked his ass just for looking at her. To do it here would only make her stand out – and worse, it would spook April.
    Her temper simmered and she let a smidge show in the glare she shot him. He braced, but when she didn't move, he gave her a jarring shake. It was humiliating to let this guy think he'd won, to let the whole damn train car think she was bully bait, but she stuck to her bigger plan.
    Suddenly Crayland was howling in pain. As he dropped to the floor, she saw April.
    The girl reached over Crayland's crumpled form and tugged Trina's sleeve. "Come on. Come with me."
    Surprised, and more than a little amused, Trina obeyed. She cracked the compromised cell phone in half as they rushed through a few sparsely populated cars until they found enough of a crowd to buy them a few moments of breathing room.
    The phone was the only way Montalbano could have tagged her, though she'd checked it thoroughly when it had arrived with the first payment and found no standard GPS tags. He must've put a code in the programming to go off when he sent a specific message. Clever. In other circumstances she'd keep it for closer examination and possible reverse engineering, but for now she settled for scattering the pieces as the crowd jostled along with the shifting of the train.
    "I can help you," April said when they stopped again. "At least temporarily. If you want."
    "How?" Trina made a show of watching for Crayland. "What did you do to him?"
    "Just a little self defense move I learned. I could show you."
    Trina thought it might be a good idea. "Yes, please."
    "Well, not here," she said, blushing a little. Then she smiled. "I'm April."
    "Nice to meet you. And thanks again." They stood facing each other, hands on the safety pole while they chatted about nothing in particular, each of them keeping an eye out, scanning the shifting crowds behind the other. It was a