Thief of Hearts (14 page)

CLANG!

what the hell that noise was, but too focused

CLANG!

on the task at hand to give it her full attention. She wrenched the man’s gun away so hard she heard his wrist snap,

CLANG!

then buried her foot in his balls and, when he bent forward in agony, brought her knee up into his nose, breaking it and putting him out.

CLANG!

She popped the clip and ejected the shell out of the chamber, then slipped the rounds out and tossed the now-empty clip over her shoulder. She turned and what she saw so astounded her, she could only stare, the gun falling from her nerveless fingers.

Jared, her gentle healer lover, was attacking the other goon with grim ferocity. With the pail. The man had both arms up to protect his face; his gun had fallen to the floor. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the movies and it was taking several blows to knock the man out and the poor guy kept yelping and trying to fend off Jared.

She was about to lend an apparently much-needed hand when Jared stepped forward and swung the pail in a powerful uppercut that caught the man on the chin and threw him back against the wall. He bounced off and hit the floor, flopping over like a fish and then not moving.

Jared dropped the pail,

CLANG!

and rushed to the man who had been sent to kill him. His skilled fingers found a pulse, then checked the man’s pupils and felt the back of his head. “I don’t think I fractured anything,” he said, unable to keep the relief out of his voice. “But he’ll have one hell of a headache when he wakes up.” Then, as if fearing he sounded too much like a citizen, he added coolly, “Teach these guys to mess with us. Where’s the other one? You want me to take care of him, too?”

“No, Jared,” Kara said gravely. “I managed on my own. Nice work.”

She should have…but couldn’t. Absolutely did
not
have the heart to tell him that he’d just bashed an undercover cop into sludgy semi-consciousness.

As a child, Kara hadn’t just studied the bad guys to survive. Her other opponents—less deadly, but better organized—were the police and Kara had learned to spot a rookie before he or she spotted her.

There were so many giveaways, Kara wondered why the cops themselves didn’t catch on.

The haircut, for one—trimmed exactly three-quarters of an inch around the collar and perfectly straight.

Even when they suffered their hair to grow long and forewent bathing in order to look like street people, cops had trouble pulling it off. How many street people had perfect teeth? How many of the female homeless had waxed legs and shaved armpits?

Their nice, even, 36-inch police academy strides were another tip-off. She’d heard the man coming down the hall and had known at once that Carlotti’s gang had been infiltrated. And had rejoiced.

That was before Jared had assaulted the man, of course. Now he wasn’t just Carlotti’s intended victim…he was accomplice to the Avenging Angel and had just committed assault and battery against an undercover cop.

Kara realized it was time for a new plan. There was only one problem. Jared was absolutely going to hate it.

The real irony
, she thought, still listening for the sounds of approach,
is that I’m going to be busted for
assaulting a police officer, when I never touched one in my life
.

She almost laughed.

Suddenly, weirdly, Kara was in no great rush to leave the warehouse. Jared couldn’t figure it out. He was pretty sure she wouldn’t mind if he checked the guy she’d taken down—not that he gave a good damn if she
did
object—and aside from a broken nose, the guy would be okay. But she wasn’t moving with the same silent urgency she had been before. She was almost…strolling. It was like they were an ordinary couple, exploring an abandoned warehouse for fun. Since there was no longer an apparent rush, he was half-tempted to ask her if she’d duck into an empty room for another quickie.

Oh boy. He tried to wrench his mind away from the mental image, but in an instant he was back in the closet, feeling her squirm beneath his hands, listening to her soft whimpers as she strained against him, reached for him, held him to her with all her strength. It had been astonishing, outstanding, hideously dangerous, incredibly dumb in retrospect…and worth every sweaty second. He’d brave the danger of discovery another hundred times, if only to feel Kara come alive beneath his hands. Her control was a constant irritant and, worse, made him feel like an utter shit, like she didn’t trust him enough to be honest about her feelings.

He reminded himself that teaching Kara to trust would take more than a week and a week was about as long as they’d known each other.
So reign it in, big boy
, he growled at himself,
it’s going to take time
to get past twenty years of negative reinforcement. Jeez! That’s some ego you’ve got on you, pal.

He realized suddenly that they hadn’t used protection either time. Both times had definitely been in the heat of the moment, but that was no excuse for his carelessness. He knew he was disease-free…oh, hell, of course Kara was, too. She was scrupulously careful about everything she ever did; she definitely wasn’t going to get caught—literally—with her pants down.

That left a possible pregnancy as their only concern. And God help him, he fervently hoped she
was
pregnant. He wanted lots of children with Kara. He wanted a built-in entrance to her life, forever. If she wouldn’t marry him—and she would, eventually, dammit—being the mother of his child was a good start toward lifelong intimacy.

He noticed Kara was looking at him curiously and, he noticed, didn’t even glance around the corner before taking them down the hallway. “What are you thinking about? You’re uncharacteristically silent.”

“I was hoping I’d gotten you pregnant.”

She blushed and he almost laughed. She had the oddest—and most refreshing—reactions sometimes. “I don’t think so. I’m not—I never—I mean, I haven’t had sex in years, so I don’t use anything long-term, like the Pill. But it’s not the right time of the month for me.” A short pause, then she blurted, “Why do you want me to be pregnant?”

He reached out and took her hand. “I think about the kids we’ll have all the time,” he said simply. “And if you had my baby, that would keep you in my life forever.”

Her eyes were huge. “Wouldn’t you be afraid of—of how I’d raise him? Or her?”

He almost laughed, but saw her expression—she was deadly serious—and choked it back. “Uh, yeah, let’s think about the despicable habits you could pass on: honor, integrity, self-defense, championing the weak…yeah, poor little tyke would be a real scumbag with those handicaps.”

She didn’t say anything, just kept staring at him. Finally she muttered, “You’re too good to be true. This has to end before I realize it.” Before he could reply—and what a reply it would have been—she added,

“In case you were wondering, I’m not—I mean, I don’t have any—I’m all—uh—”

“Disease free? Me, too,” he said cheerfully. Then, hopefully, “Are you absolutely positive you can’t be pregnant right now?” She rolled her eyes at him and he sighed. “Then I guess I’d better pick up some condoms on the way home.”

“That won’t be necessary,” she said quietly.

“What, won’t be necessary?” He tightened his grip on her hand. “I’m not letting you run away from me again and that’s final. I’m in your life, blondie and that’s it. If we were in high school I’d give you my class ring. Hell, if you’d let me, I’d pick up an engagement ring on the way home. Or you could break in and steal one…”

Then he heard the sirens. And saw Kara wasn’t surprised, was actually leading them back to the main area of the warehouse.

She didn’t answer any of his questions, just determinedly tugged him along behind her as she unerringly found her way back to the room where they’d nearly been killed. It would have taken Jared about a week to find that room again, but Kara had them there in five minutes.

And he absolutely could
not
figure out how she knew the cops were on the way. It explained her sudden relaxation, how she shifted from urgently wanting to leave to urgently wanting to hang around. But it didn’t explain why she was bringing them entirely too close to the cops.

“Are you going to make sure they arrest Carlotti?” he whispered, then realized he could have spoken in a normal tone of voice, because she threw open the door and marched right up to the knot of cops clustered around the handcuffed bad guys. “What are you doing?”

“Good evening, officers,” she said politely. “Mr. Carlotti has put a contract on Dr. Dean’s life…this is Dr. Dean,” she added, prying Jared’s fingers away from her hand one by one. “I myself can testify to several attempted assault and attempted murder.”

“What are you
doing
?” Jared practically shrieked.

“Oh-ho,” one of the cops said, grinning at Kara.

“What are
you
looking at, flatfoot?” Jared growled.

“Also,” Kara continued loudly, “I need to be charged with assaulting a police officer. Your undercover cop is up on the third floor outside the accounting offices. He’s mildly concussed. You’ll know him because there’s a pail right next to him,” she added helpfully.

“Undercover…” Jared trailed off in horror. The bad guy he’d bashed was a
cop
? Kara had known?

And was going to take the heat for it? “But I was the one who-oooof!” He hadn’t been fast enough to avoid her elbow to his solar plexus, which effectively robbed him off enough air to speak for the better part of a minute. He bent forward, gasping.

“That’s enough of that,” another cop said sternly. Kara obediently stepped away from Jared, her hands in the air. “You’re saying you have knowledge of a contracted murder? And felonies? And you admit to assaulting—”

“Yes, yes, can we get going, please?” she said impatiently. “Dr. Dean’s not going to be out of breath much longer. Oh! I almost forgot. My given name is Kara Jayne Jones, aka Robbing Hood, aka the Avenging Angel. Just the other night, I hacked into the Freibur Mansion. I can tell you exactly how I did it. Maybe,” she continued politely as another police officer deftly cuffed her hands behind her back, “you want to give the D.A. a call when we get to the station house?”

“We’ll straighten all that out later, ma’am. I’m going to read you your rights now, okay?”

“It’s really not necessary. I have the right to remain silent,” she recited obediently, “and if I give up that right, anything I say may be used against me in a court of law. Which is unlikely to ever happen, because the D.A. is so overworked, he’ll go for a plea bargain. Also, I have the right to an attorney. If I don’t have the funds for one—and I don’t, by the way, I give most of my money to charities—the court will appoint one for me. He or she will also be woefully overworked and will push for a plea. Which suits me fine. It’s really for the best, Jared, stop looking at me like that,” she added sharply. “I’ve been selfish to avoid testifying, just because I didn’t want to go to jail. You’re right, I am a coward. But if I quit trying to hide my past, I can keep you safe, put Carlotti away forever and stop running.” She shrugged and smiled.

“It’s a no-brainer, really.”

He sucked in a breath and straightened painfully. His lower abdomen was throbbing dully. What had she poked him with, a stick of dynamite? “…can’t…” he wheezed. “Can’t let you…do this…for me.”

“Be reasonable,” she advised as a cop, who’d been listening intently while trying not to show it, started to lead her away. “What’s a little jail time—okay, a lot of jail time—if it means you’re safe?” she continued over one shoulder. “I can do time standing on my head, Jared. It’s a lot easier than being out in the real world. Think about it. My rent will never go up!” She shouted that last as the door slammed and he could hear her laughing—laughing!—as she was led to a police car.

“No!” he screamed, lunging after her, only to be caught by the shoulder and hauled back. He turned furiously and threw a punch before he could stop himself. The police officer jerked his head to the side; Jared’s fist whistled harmlessly past the cop’s ear. The other one pulled a nightstick and smacked Jared in the shoulder with it. Not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to get his attention.

“Bad idea, my friend,” the cop advised softly. “You don’t strike us as the average street punk, but even uptown guys know better than to try to clock a cop.”

Not this uptown guy, Jared thought furiously, I’ve already bashed one cop around tonight, boys, don’t push your luck. Then he shouted, “But it’s me! It’s my fault! I’m the one who—” He struggled to go after Kara again, but both cops locked their arms around him and held him back, with some difficulty.

“We gotta take your statement anyway, sir,” the other one said. “You can come down and straighten everything out.” His voice was brisk and oddly soothing, a voice trained to calm individuals and control crowds. “And you want to do that, right?”

“I can’t let them keep her, put her in a cage…”

“Then we better get going, huh? Now, we can arrest you for assault and haul you in that way, or you gonna be a good boy and follow us in your car…you do have a car here, right? Okay. What’s it going to be?”

“Trouble,” he said shortly. “That’s what it’s going to be.” He shrugged free of their restraining arms and started for the door. “I’ll see you boys there.”

“You will, of course, obey all city traffic ordinances on the way,” the cop said and his partner laughed.

She couldn’t even wave goodbye, he thought darkly, pulling into the police station parking lot, thanks to the goddamned handcuffs.

For that matter, he hadn’t even known her last name until she’d announced it to the cops.
Announced
it!

God!

She must have been planning this all along, he thought, stomping up the steps. She knew, somehow, that one of the bad guys was a cop. Let him bash the guy around. Planned to take the heat for it, turn herself in, testify against Carlotti. And his contribution to this plan was to blithely announce he needed to buy condoms. He almost groaned thinking about it.