Italian Stallion by Steven Henry

Author:Steven Henry
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Clickworks Press
Published: 2023-03-27T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Rolf hopped up into the back of the Mercedes and began putting nose-prints on the inside of the window. Carlyle, having held the door for Erin, went around to the shotgun seat. Erin slid in behind the driver’s seat, closed the door, buckled her seat belt, and put her hands over her face.

“Problem, sir?” Ian asked.

“Everything’s fine, lad,” Carlyle said. “But we’d best be on our way.”

“Roger that, sir,” Ian said, putting the car in gear.

“No,” Erin said. “Everything is not fine. Everything is pretty goddamn far from fine.”

The technical term for the way Ian’s post-traumatic stress manifested was “hypervigilance.” He didn’t know how to turn off his heightened awareness of his surroundings. No matter what else was going on, he was always looking for potential ambushes, enemies, firing positions, and escape routes. But Erin’s words put an even sharper edge on his razor-keen alertness. He scanned the street as he drove, his eyes jumping all over the place.

“What’s the situation, sir?” he asked. His voice was level and controlled, but then, it almost always was. It took a lot to rattle Ian Thompson.

“Nothing that directly concerns us, no fear,” Carlyle said.

“He didn’t know!” Erin burst out. “She was dealing behind his back and he didn’t know! And I told him!”

“I’d a notion it was something of the sort,” Carlyle said. “That’s why he wanted Miss Blackburn to stay behind.”

“What’s he going to do to her?” she demanded.

“I expect first he’s going to talk to her and find out exactly what she’s been up to.”

“Oh, is that all?” Vic would have been proud of the amount of sarcasm Erin managed to load into the question. “And what then, once they’re done ‘talking?’”

Carlyle sighed. “I imagine that’s why Pritchard is also hanging about.”

“Son of a bitch!” Erin swore. “They could be beating information out of her right now! Shit, she might even be dead! Why’d you pull me out of there? I could’ve stopped them!”

“And just how would you propose to do that?” Carlyle asked quietly.

“I’m a cop! I’ve got a shield and a gun and a K-9! I could’ve arrested everybody in that goddamn room! Veronica would be in a jail cell, but she’d be alive!”

“Darling, think,” Carlyle said. “Even supposing you could have dealt with everyone in Evan’s apartment, and that’s far from certain, there’d still be the guards outside, not to mention the rest of Evan’s lads. We’re not ready to make our final moves yet and you know it. Once we cross that line, there’s no going back.”

“There’s a life on the line here!”

“And you weren’t the one who put it there,” Carlyle said. “Veronica planted her own field and now she’s reaping the harvest she sowed. You’re not responsible for her.”

“Of course I am! I’m responsible for everybody in this damn city! That’s the Job!”

“All eight million? And just how are you intending to keep the rest of them safe if you’re lying dead in an overpriced Manhattan apartment? I’ve made some inquiries about Gordon Pritchard, darling, and you’d do well not to underestimate him.

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