Bayou Heat by Georgia Tribell Read Free Book Online Page A

with the FBI.”
    He flipped the lock, placed his free hand on the doorknob
and turned to her. “Get back over there with her and stay out of my way.”
    Another loud crash sounded from the hall and Eris wasted no
time getting in position next to the girl, who remained in the bed with the
sheet pulled up around her, crying uncontrollably.
    Eris tightened her grip on the gun as she gave Rob a slight
nod, indicating she was ready, and watched as he opened the door. Unthinkingly,
the man barged into the room, only to be greeted by Rob’s fist to his jaw. Eris
straightened as the man hit the floor and lay sprawled on his back.
    “You sonofabitch. I’m calling the cops,” the man growled as
he started to get up.
    Rob shoved him back to the floor with a foot. “Please do,
and when they arrive, you can explain to them why you’re here paying for sex
and whose drugs are scattered about the room.”
    Eris watched the man deflate as Rob’s words sunk in. She
couldn’t help but be impressed by his handling of the situation and was
fascinated by his controlled strength. She wondered exactly what the suit,
shirt and jacket disguised.
     
    Rob tossed the man’s possessions into the hall. “Be glad I’m
in a good mood today or I’d be pounding you into the ground. Now get the hell
out of here.”
    The man scrambled out of the room without a backward glance.
Rob closed and locked the door but stayed close in case the man decided to
cause more trouble. He looked across the room and watched as Eris put her gun
away before she turned to comfort the hysterical young woman.
    He couldn’t help but wonder exactly what LD had gotten them
into by taking this assignment. Glancing at his watch, he noted the time and
stifled a groan.
    Five more hours until Matt relieved him.
    He could do this.
    He was fast on his feet, strong and, most importantly—he was
packing.
    There was a commotion over by the bed and he looked up to
see Eris attempting to convince the young woman to get up. By the tone of Eris’
voice, it was obvious she had little patience.
    Speaking of others, he wondered where Eris’ kid was. Knowing
her, the boy was probably left home alone all day in that small apartment with
nothing more to do than watch TV and get into trouble. That thought caused his
already foul mood to plummet.
    He checked Eris’ progress and sighed. It was obvious he was
going to have to get the girl moving or they would be there all evening. As he
pushed off the wall, his cell phone rang. He retrieved the phone, checked the
caller ID and smiled. “I’m going to take this call out in the hall. Why don’t
you try to get her dressed?”
    Rob walked out the door as quickly as he could but not
before he heard, “What do you think I’m doing?”
    He chuckled as he closed the door. By her tone alone, he
knew she wasn’t having fun. Which was fine by him because he wasn’t having fun
either. He held the phone to his ear and forgot all about etiquette. “You owe
me, LD. Since I walked out of our nice, air-conditioned office, I’ve hiked
across the Quarter, gone to one strip joint and decked a naked man, which could
land me in jail if he presses charges. And all of this happened in the last two
and a half hours.”
    There was a pause on the other end of the phone before LD
responded. “Is Eris okay?”
    “I shouldn’t have to answer that,” Rob snapped. “You know as
long as she’s with me, she’s safe.”
    Rob heard raised voices coming from inside the apartment and
stepped away from the door. “Are you going to finally tell me what you didn’t
have time for this morning?”
    “Yeah, I explained all of this to Matt and figured it was
time I called you.”
    “If you told him before me, then you’re procrastinating.
Would you please spit it out?”
    “Remember this morning when I said the police weren’t paying
for our services?”
    Rob stiffened. “Yeah, I remember.”
    “Well, the good point here is that our client is paying full
rates,