BREAKING THE RULES by Ruth Wind

Author:Ruth Wind
Language: por
Format: mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

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Chapter 9

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Brian Murphy shed his coat with a furious gesture. "She can't just disappear like this!"

Vince, peeking out the curtains of their motel room in Albuquerque, said, "We'll find her, Bri. Just a matter of time."

"We don't have much time," Brian retorted, shoving his fingers through his red hair until it stood on end. "I've got work to do. If I don't get that bitch out of my way, the cops will get me first. Without her, there's no case."

"I don't know why you didn't let me and one of the other guys take care of her. You could be home right now, drinking bourbon."

Brian narrowed his eyes. "This is personal."

"Yeah, well, I wish you'd mellow out. You're making me nervous." Vince flicked the curtain in place and picked up the phone. "I'm going to order something from room service. You want anything?"

Brian shook his head no, then thought better of it. "Bottle of bourbon."

He paced as Vince placed the call, unable to quell the restless energy that was his trademark. In an effort to curb the rage threatening to engulf him, he breathed in slowly, then out, trying to find his center.

For a minute, it helped. Then he thought of Mattie again and the murderous fury returned. He'd outsmarted business partners, manipulated the law and the police and outmaneuvered some of the most powerful drug lords in the country – one naive woman would not be his undoing.

It did not improve his mood to acknowledge the mistake was largely his own. He'd made the unforgivable error of underestimating Mattie O'Neal, seeing only a sweet, alluring secretary with a headful of simple dreams. He'd accepted her intelligence as his due, a necessary component in a wife, but his focus had always been on the nurturing end of her personality. What he'd seen in Mattie was an uncomplicated woman who'd make him an undemanding wife, and take care of their children. He'd never intended for her to find out that his fortune was built on shipping black-market guns and pharmaceuticals to profitable and illegal markets.

Breathe in, breathe out. Who would have guessed Mattie could steal a car? Disappear for weeks on end? His stomach burned with a sick, furious churning as he thought of the wild-looking champion who'd whisked her away. She hadn't even given Brian a chance to explain – she'd shacked up with the first available man to come her way. It had taken him almost a year to get her into his bed. A lousy year.

"Bourbon's here," Vince said, paying the waiter.

Brian poured three fingers straight and tipped it back. The heat burned clear to his belly and performed its miracle of clearing his brain. "What'd you get on this Zeke Shephard?"

Vince, sitting down to a sandwich and a beer, tugged a notepad from his suit coat. "Ran a horse-breeding operation west of her till two years ago when the business went bust. Not much else on him."

"Partners? Family? Anything?"

Vince nodded. "Had a partner by the name of John Reese.

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