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Joey had gotten to his knees, only to topple over as Jared dealt him a vicious kick to the kidneys

Kara broke a chair over another one, kicking his gun across the floor where it skittered beneath a table

She looked around, grinning and unable to stop Chaos reigned In less than thirty seconds, the situation had radically changed Noas no longer a question of "gee, I hope I can kill Carlotti before he kills me" Now there was no doubt She would kill his: save herself, or do what should have been done years ago

No contest

She started toward Carlotti, as trying to help two of his et her, shoot her, fuckin’ get her, dammit!" too much a coward to take her on alone He wasn’t ar to beat her to death--and she was still grinning, could feel the expression on her face and kneasn’t a nice smile, but oh, she wanted his death so badly, wanted Jared safe forever and noas going to be done, it finally--

So taken down by a diesel truck She got her arm up on front of her face before her nose connected with the cement floor, then felt herself lifted quickly and hustled toward the door at the back of the rooot a whiff of Jared’s aftershave and in arealized what he had done And what he had prevented her froo by, I can’t run away fro!"

"Wrong, blondie," he said and the tricky bastard didn’t even sound out of breath He had one ar her so firmly and quickly, it was all she could do to keep her feet

They left the chaos of the main room behind them and, to the stunned mobsters, it must have seemed that they disappeared into the shadows

CHAPTER TEN

"You idiot!" she hissed as he yanked her into a slimpse of a short counter, some mops and a few pails before he closed the door She stood perfectly still, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dark, while he stu to block the door

"You--you ht have been killed!" Never had she felt so iddiness, fear "I left you in bed for a reason, you know I--"

He shushed her scolding with a long kiss, then lifted her and placed her on the counter She wondered how he could see a thing in the dark and was a little annoyed, frankly She was the fly-by-night cat burglar, for heaven’s sake…it was ridiculous that she had been cursed with lousy night vision

She pulled away froret--and opened her s and brother, they were legion, when he pinched her on the underside of her right breast, hard

"Ow!"

"Quiet You don’t get to yell at er forand it was doubtless Carlotti and Co were hed, a depressing sound in the dark She wished she could see his expression "Look, Kara, I guess I’m a--a closet chauvinist"

"Closet imbecile, you mean"

"I know you can take care of yourself nored the interruption "But I can’t help co to your rescue And admit it! This tiuys, you’d--"

She didn’t want to think of that Her stupidity How she had been led to the warehouse like a child of five "You should have stayed ho If you ever leave o off and confront a killer--if you ever try to take on fivein her ear,all the hairs on her left ar her out of relief or if he was really furious "I’ll take you to the DA ain…and…and…" Then he kissed her again, hard enough to , possessive kiss and she could feel her unwitting response to it, feel the wanting flare up in her like newspaper catching fire