Out of the Blue by Joann Ross

Author:Joann Ross [Ross, JoAnn]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Romance, General, Contemporary
ISBN: 9780743489140
Google: fPdVKAP0KcwC
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2004-03-01T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

The moon was a thin silver sickle as the shooter lay prone on the roof of the huilding, the familiar weight of a Remington rifle pressed hard against the hollow of his shoulder, his cheek resting against the wooden stock.

The target was pacing back and forth in front of the window. A head shot into the cerebellum could instantly short-circuit the central nervous system. A body shot took longer to do the job, perhaps twenty seconds from the time the bullet ripped through the heart to clinical death, but it was a better money shot—especially with the guy dancing around all over the damn place like he was and time running out.

Lucas's finger caressed the trigger as he placed the crosshairs on his targets chest.

One shot. One kill.

The gunshot shattered the heavy night like a crack of lightning. It was followed by a blast of thunder.

The Hood was everywhere, spattering the walls, soaking into the rug, pouring out of a wound the size of a man's fist. A teenage girl lay in the midst of all that crimson blood, as limp and boneless as a rag doll.

* * *

Lucas was on the floor, Lark on her knees beside him, her eyes wide and frightened. "Lucas?"

"Do you smell it?" God, why couldn't he get it out of his head?

"Smell what?"

"The goddamn blood. The death."

"There's no blood, Lucas." Her palms were on either side of his face. "No one's died. You were having a nightmare."

Her voice was a distant chime of reason in the chaotic fog of his mind. He shook his head to clear it. He wasn't back in that room of death. He was here in Audubon Place. With Lark.

"Lark." He breathed her name like a prayer. "Lark." Like a mantra.

"You had a nightmare." She drew him closer, her hand stroking the back of his head. "You must have thrown yourself out of bed."

Although it hadn't been easy, since Lucas was still unwilling to risk an unwanted pregnancy, after their long talk they'd gone to bed in separate rooms again.

"Christ." The woman's in a world of hurt, if she's depending on a nutcase like you to protect her from anyone. You can't even take care of yourself.

He pressed the heel of his hand between his eyes and leaned his head, which felt as if it were splitting in two, against the box springs. "I thought I'd gotten rid of these goddamn headaches when I quit drinking."

"Apparently not." She stood up and went into the bathroom. He heard the tap turn on, off, then she returned with a glass of water and two white tablets. "Here's some aspirin."

They'd probably work as well as a peashooter against a grizzly, but he nevertheless took the pills to make her happy.

"Sorry about waking you up." He pushed himself to his feet and bit back a curse as the room began to spin.

"You're not the only one with ghosts," she reminded him as she put a slender arm around his waist, encouraging him to lean on her.

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