Consumed by J.R. Ward

Author:J.R. Ward
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Gallery Books

* * *

As Danny parallel-parked in front of the bar, he knew who he wanted to live for. Too bad Anne wasn’t looking for a pedestal to stand on for the rest of their lives.

He glanced over as he killed the engine. “I had no idea that things got so rough for you. I mean, beyond the . . . you know.”

“You had your own things to worry about.” She turned to get out of the truck. “So when did Emilio and Josefina start seeing each other?”

He reached out and put his hand on her arm. When he felt something hard and cylindrical, he pulled his palm back.

“It won’t bite.” She put her prosthesis up. “I promise you.”

“I’m sorry.”

Anne shook her head sharply, the conversational equivalent of shutting a door. “Come on, let’s find Josefina.”

She left him with no choice but to hurry his ass and catch up to her, and as they entered Timeout, they shook the rain off like a pair of dogs. The bar was not all that crowded, and Josefina was an easy spot across the field of tables. She was taking orders from a six-top of police officers, and as they nodded in Danny’s direction, she glanced over her shoulder.

And froze. As her face paled, she said something to the cops and came over.

“What is it?”

They always knew, Danny thought. The loved ones always knew when there was bad news.

“Emilio’s in the hospital,” Danny said in a low voice. “He was taken in about an hour ago.”

“How bad is he hurt?” The woman put a hand to her mouth. “Is he . . .”

“He asked us to come find you. He’s going to pull through.”

Josefina spoke some quick Spanish and made the sign of the cross over the front of her black-and-white pseudo-referee uniform. “Thank the Lord. I tell him to be careful on that job—too many hurt. Too many!”

Danny stayed quiet on the whys of everything, and felt so badly for Emilio. This was going to be a hard road. “He wants to see you.”

“Let me ask someone to cover for me,” the woman said. “My manager, she understands. She is married to an ambulance. EMT, I mean.”

“Do you need a ride over?” Anne asked.

“Yes, I take the bus here.”

Danny swung his keys in his hand. “We’ll wait for you.”

As Josefina headed for the back, he stared at Anne. She was looking around the place as if she’d never seen it before, and he wondered whether that was a good or a bad thing for her. She seemed to want to leave everything behind. Him included.

Then she faced him. “Moose told me your fight here the other night was with some yachtsmen because they insulted her.”

“They were being disrespectful. They got less than what they deserved.”

“You always were protective.”

He pictured someone doing Anne a wrong. “I still am.”

There was a pause. “I really don’t think I should go to Moose’s dinner on Saturday.”

“There will be other people there.” Or at least, there would be when he told the guy he better damn well invite half of town.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.