Exception to the Rule by Doranna Durgin

Author:Doranna Durgin
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2004-07-16T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Kimmer called 911 on her cell phone as she headed down the walk to the dark parking area, confident in the secure nature of the Hunter-enhanced phone. As the sirens from the station on the other end of town rang their alarm, she pulled out onto the aptly named Maple Street and headed for her motel at a sedate pace. No one was likely to miss her in the hustle, and though she’d have to deal with the local law eventually, by the time they came for her she planned to be packed and gone.

But first things first.

At the motel, Kimmer ran into her first snag…cleaning day. The maid had knocked her backup phone battery askew in the charger, and there was no telling when she’d get another chance to juice it up. Communication was apparently not meant to be taken for granted, as usual. She settled the battery into the charger to grab what minutes she could from it, and swiftly went through the familiar process of downloading the camera to the PDA and hooking the PDA up to the phone to send Hunter the goonboy photos. In the moments it took them to upload, she scooped her toiletries from the bathroom, gave her face a quick scrub and jammed her newly laundered clothes into the suitcase. Like Carolyne, she was paid up for the week; like Rio, she deliberately kept her departure quiet. Within moments she’d thrown her gear in the Taurus and headed out of town.

Not until she reached the seedy little gas station by the side of the road did she pull over. The place looked dark enough—only a feeble light by the gas pumps, only a dim light inside the garage office itself—and this time she took advantage of the wide shoulder just beyond the station rather than the actual station lot. She cracked the window in spite of the cold evening air—keeping track of the sounds around her—cut all her lights and pulled out her cell phone.

“I expected to hear from you before now,” Owen said by way of greeting.

“Busy,” Kimmer told him. “Get the photos?”

“Mmm.” His thoughtful response made her think he was looking at them as they spoke. “I note the presence of blood. Not to mention bad attitude.”

“Bulky. Yeah. Not Mr. Manners. You think you can ID them?”

“Eventually.” Owen’s fingers drummed against his desktop. “I’m not sure it’s crucial. We’ve already got indications that the area is compromised—there are at least two organizations, both freelance power players, gearing up to descend on the area. That’s on top of the two we know about.”

“I figured we’d hit that point when I ran into these two tonight. If Rio hadn’t taken Carolyne elsewhere, things would have been a lot messier than those photos indicate.” Secure phone or not, Kimmer had limits to what she’d say.

“They look quite messy enough,” Owen said. “I think it’s safe to say you’ve left your mark on Mill Springs.”

Turnabout seems like fair play. Although of course it

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