Page 6 of Cruel Ice

“Oh, God.” She seemed to get a renewed burst of energy.

They made it to a VW Beetle. A convertible with the top up. She opened the passenger side and pushed him in before she slammed the door. Then she rushed around the car. Jumped inside and had the motor flaring to life. “Next stop, the police station.”

His hand flew out and curled around her wrist even as the car hurtled forward. “No.”

“No? Oh, you want to go to a hospital first?—”

“Do you know who I am?”

The little car’s engine snarled and sputtered because she was really hauling ass. “No,” the PI confessed. “I don’t. What’s your name?”

He squinted at her. “You saved me, and you didn’t know me?”

“I saw a guy get shoved into the back of a van. And I just sawa torture cabinet.Shouldn’t you question me less and thank me more?”

Maybe. “Damn dangerous.” A rumble. He was so freaking tired. “Don’t ever do that shit again.” He stroked along the insideof her wrist. No clue why. He just did it. Then Declan let her go. His eyes closed as he fell back against the passenger seat. “I’m Declan Flynn.”

Silence.

The kind of shocked silence that told him the name had just rang a bell for her.

Then, voice squeaking a little, she asked, “TheDeclan Flynn? As in Declan Flynn, theking of the mob?”

Hardly. “Don’t believe the hype.” Even if some of the hype happened to be true. “Cops and I…don’t mix.”

“But I already called them! You were kidnapped! They’re on the way, and we’re probably going to run into?—”

As if on cue, bright, blue lights filled the road ahead. The scream of sirens pierced the night.

“Them,” she finished. “The cavalry is here.”

Fabulous. “Whatever you do…” Okay, he wasn’t gonna stay conscious much longer. He got that. The darkness pulled at him. “Don’t let them throw me in a cell.”

“Why on earth would they do that? You’re the victim!”

Oh, but his PI was too precious. He just wanted to wrap her up…and keep her.He forced his eyes open so that he could see her one more time.

The sirens were louder. The blue lights brighter.

“Thanks for coming back for me,” Declan murmured. She’d kept her promise.

“Declan, why would the cops want to put you in a cell? You’re a victim!”

She’d just used the V-word twice. But she was wrong. “I’m a killer.” Something he would never admit, not under typical circumstances. More like, this was one of the secrets he’d normally take to his grave. But this wasn’t a normal time and whatever drugs he’d been given had made his tongue way tooloose. “A killer straight to the core. It’s in the blood, you know. Always in the blood.”

She slammed on the brakes.

He fell into the darkness.

Chapter Two

Declan Flynnslowly opened his eyes.

Marley Jones perched nervously on the edge of his bed. Biting her lip, she waited for him to take in his surroundings. The bright, white walls. The low hum of voices coming from outside. The antiseptic smell.

His gaze focused on her.

She tried to smile and actually felt like she was mostly successful. Sure, the smile wouldn’t reach her eyes. Her stomach was in too many knots for the smile to be real. But she didn’t want to panic the man so…

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