CHAPTER 1
Andrews—DrewLaSalle smashed her skip’s head against the wall one more time. “I told you to stop fucking around. You’re coming with me, conscious or not. Makes no difference.”
The heavy-set man raised his free hand in submission. “Okay, okay. Jeez, you’re brutal.”
“I’m a bounty hunter, what the fuck did you think I’d be like? Oh please, sir, can you get into my car so I can take you back to jail to get re-bonded?”
The man moved his hand toward his face.
“Easy,” Drew snarled.
“I just want to wipe the blood out of my eyes,” he lamented.
Drew hesitated but then gave a curt nod.
“Can I sit for a minute? I don’t feel so good.”
He wasn’t looking so good either. Drew nodded again. “But don’t try anything; I will use my stun gun. Got it?”
“Got it,” Jasper Dunlop leaned against the wall next to the sink and slid to the floor. Drew glanced around and decided Dunlop really had to be feeling like shit if he was willing to sit down in this bathroom. The place reeked of urine and body odor. There was a broken syringe in the corner, and by thelook of things, the floors hadn’t been cleaned since the Obama Administration.
Drew studied Dunlop. His skin was slightly gray, and his breathing was shallow. She reached down and grabbed his wrist.
“Hey,” he yelped, but didn’t fight her.
His pulse was racing. Too fast. “Don’t you dare have a heart attack on me.”
Dunlop let out a bark of laughter. “Yeah, I’ll do my best.” He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.
Drew stared at him. If he died, it was really going to complicate her life. She didn’t need this shit. Dunlop had jumped bail. He was up on an armed robbery charge. There was a weapon involved, but Drew just didn’t see it. Dunlop was just a shade over five feet ten. He had dark, shaggy hair and permanently sunburned skin, the type she only ever saw in Florida. He was overweight and moved like he was always in pain, slow and tentatively. There was no hustle in this man whatsoever. And the way he jumped every time she moved, even just slightly?
She knew a frightened man when she saw one. And he was scared shitless.
“How the hell did you pull off an armed robbery?”
“I didn’t. I got caught.”
She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”
He gave her a weak smile. “You mean, how does someone like me get involved in an armed robbery? Someone who’s overweight, clumsy, and not the sharpest tool in the shed?”
“Yeah, we’ll go with that,” she affirmed.
“It wasn’t really an armed robbery.” Dunlop started
Drew narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I mean the guy who says I tried to rob him—he’s my best buddy.”
“Dude, if you’ve got friends like that…”
“I know, right?” Dunlop replied. “Here’s what happened. Frank—the guy I supposedly robbed? Yeah, he’s in a financial hole. I mean, he owes big bucks to the wrong people. So, he asked me to help him fake a robbery.
“He’s got a decent house because he works construction, and he has a few things—good TVs, a nice stereo—but he just bought his girlfriend this huge diamond ring, which is part of what got him into trouble. He promised she was going to be out, and that if I helped him make it look like someone broke in, he’d give me some of the insurance money. He’d put the ring on the insurance policy.”
“Okay,” Drew said slowly. “Insurance fraud. Never a good idea.”
“Yeah, well, I know that now.” Dunlop sighed. “So, what happened was… His girlfriend was out with her friends. Frank’s neighborhood is full of old folks, so he said if we did it between eleven and midnight, no one would see us. His girlfriend was at some show that wouldn’t get out before midnight, so we were safe.
