Cry Mercy by Toni Andrews

Author:Toni Andrews [Andrews, Toni]
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2009-06-08T04:00:00+00:00

“They agreed to the sit-down,” said Tino. “Tomorrow night. I gotta figure out what to do with Gus to keep him from following me.”

We were sitting on a concrete bench across from the beach near my office. It was still afternoon, and the sun was bright, but I was yawning. I’d made it to the office on time but was glad there hadn’t been too many clients. By the time Tino showed up, Gus in tow, I was on about my fifth cup of coffee.

“Maybe you could hypnotize him, then tell him he’s got to obey me. Like a regular customer.”

“Client,” I corrected. “And I already told you, I won’t work with anyone who doesn’t want to be hypnotized. I won’t even do it for underage kids when their parents ask me to, not without the child’s consent.”

Of course, I’d already pressed Gus, but that had been in the heat of the moment, and I could justify it as an emergency, at least if I told myself he might have hurt himself trying to escape Tino or jumping out of the car.

Gus was, at that moment, acting more like a normal teenager than I would have thought possible. Sukey had gone to her private investigation class, leaving Cupcake to spend the night with me. This time of year, dogs were allowed on the public beach only in the late afternoons and early mornings. We were pushing it at this hour, but it was cool out, the beach was mostly empty, and the police were inclined to look the other way. They’d loved Cupcake since he’s helped them capture some scumbags running a child pornography ring a couple of months back.

He’d gotten one of his favorite toys out of Sukey’s car before she left—a much-chewed coconut. Gus was busy tossing it into the waves for the dog to retrieve. Breakwaters positioned every few hundred yards helped the sand build up. Here, waves broke farther out and with less violence than at the Balboa Pier. Gus, who had taken off his basketball shoes and rolled up his jeans, appeared to be having almost as much fun as the dog. Laughter mingled with joyous barking as Gus held the coconut in the air, faked a throw in one direction, then hurled it in another in a perfect imitation of a spiral football pass.

“Has he made any attempt to leave?” I asked.

“Not yet. But I disconnected Hilda’s phone line before we went to bed, and locked up all the cell phones and car keys.”

“How long do you think you can keep that up?”

“Not long,” he admitted. “But once I get this business settled with the Hombres Locos, hecango back to Mami’s.”

“What makes you think he won’t go right back to Joaquin’s?”

“Because he’ll be out of the gang. I’m planning to make that a…condition of my withdrawal as jefe.”

“You think that’ll work?” I had a hard time imagining a bunch of gangbangers sitting around and going over a list of terms, never mind abiding by them afterward.

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