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For Chris it was a toss-up beteeping with relief and shooting hiical father?"

"It was souy she met a couple months before me, when she went to the Riviera with her folks By the tiot to his feet "So, okay, you need anything? Money? A place to stay?"

"I need you to get away froht this uilty look "I’ed around the table and hurried through the back door

Chris sat there and stared at nothing in particular until she smelled the sour citrus blend of hand cleaner and Budweiser "You know about this, Bug?"

"He stayed with ht after he left Addie" He parked a fresh beer in front of her before he sat down "He’s not a bad guy, you know Only reason he stayed with youras he did was ’cause of you"

"Until he found out I wasn’t his kid," she tacked on "Then he couldn’t get out fast enough"

"Yeah, well, that was a real kick to the dick If it helps, he stayed plastered for close to a year after" He beckoned to Cody and Loot, who came in and took their seats "You deal, Christi" He shoved a new deck to her

"Another time" She pushed it back "Where is Stryker?"

Cody ue "That pussy has shark teeth, little girl"

"Do you need the cop to leave the roo choked on his beer, Cody’s bottle slid out of his hand, and Chris looked at Loot "Would youus a minute?"

"How do you know I’m a cop?" he countered

"There’s an unot a standard-issue thirty-two in that ankle holster you think I haven’t noticed Your haircut is regulation There’s no al in Florida, and occasionally you have to take a randoraph" Chris offered him a polite smile "And, of course, Loot isn’t your name because you’re loaded It’s biker shorthand for Lieutenant"

He smiled slowly "You do know cops"

"My best friend works ho "Stryker"

"He bounces around Sundown Estates on the east side of the island," Bug said "Worked out the deal with a Realtor who’s into whips and chains" He removed a slip of paper from his bib, wrote on it, and handed it to her "Entry code for the gate"

She slipped the note in her purse as she watched Loot’s face "You’re not interested in pursuing justice here, Officer?"

"I’m not KWPD" His smile was serene "I fly copters for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department Aviation Division, Undercover Operations"

"A black-ops chopper copper" She whistled a single descending note "Glad I’ occurred to her, and she turned her gaze on Bug "No wonder you’re so da hiave her a wary look "I don’t need that advertised, either"

"My lips are Superglued" She handed hi Gentle"

"Hey," Loot called after her "You never told us what the B-U-G , who squiruy"

Jah to sail by Paradise, the boat owner’s private island Photosensor lights illuminated one small pier that led from a cover into a dense thatch of palm and pine trees Nestled in the center he spotted the tin roof of a large structure; that was likely the house No vessels were moored to the pier, and the island appeared deserted If Christian had been with hi day there with hi in Key West

Would she be there waiting, or was it all a ruse?

Jaed the e syht at first she had been frightened, but then he detected the coe in her scent She felt fear, yes, but there was more to it than that He knew only too well how ust She had felt all those things, and winding through theret

Whoever this Stryker was, Christian despised him He could hear it in her voice each and every time she uttered his name