His thoughts were interrupted as Libby stirred in her sleep. His breath caught tightly in his chest as she turned toward him and her hand flopped over to rest softly on his upper thigh. He immediately felt a coil of heat ignite in the pit of his stomach. Damn, he scoffed inwardly. It was going to be a torturously long drive to their destination.
* * *
Hawk pulled his sports car to a stop by the curb in front of Tony Pandolinni’s split-level house. Their contact in the Motor Vehicles department had finally gotten back to them with his address from the tag numbers Hawk had obtained.
“You can kill the P.I., but we need Libby Weatherby alive,” he said to the man in the passenger seat. “We must have her alive to tell us what she’s done with the necklace.”
“And after she tells us?” the albino asked.
Hawk shrugged. “Then she’s expendable.” He ignored the albino’s smile of anticipation. “Go check out the house and take care of business.”
Hawk watched as the pale man slipped out of the car and walked down the sidewalk to the front door. In the three-piece suit, the man looked like nothing more than an irksome door-to-door salesman. Tony Pandolinni would innocently open the door before he looked into the pale man’s eyes. And when he looked into those cold, colorless depths, he would see his own death there.
Hawk frowned as the albino knocked on the door for a third time. Finally, after looking back toward Hawk, the albino picked the lock and entered the house.
The minutes crept by as Hawk waited impatiently for the albino’s return to the car. He hoped nothing went wrong. He had waited so long for the moment when the necklace would be finally in his possession. The scientist had been foolish to think he could escape. His death had been unfortunate, but necessary.
Hawk allowed a small smile to lift his heavy features as he thought of finally possessing the necklace. With the necklace, he would be the most powerful man on earth. What a rush.
He tensed as the front door reopened, then relaxed as the pale man came out and walked confidently to the car. Apparently everything was well under control. “Did you get it?” he demanded as the man got back into the car.
The albino shook his head negatively. “Nobody was home, but the coffeepot was still warm.”
“Damn!” Hawk pulled his antacids out of his breast pocket and popped two in his mouth. “Where in the hell could they have gone?”
The albino broke into a full, ugly grin and held up a piece of paper. “They were kind enough to leave us directions.”
