Dating for Keeps by Rachel Hogan Read Free Book Online Page A

Get rid of me and they'll just have someone else on your trail."
    "Not likely," Michael mused. "I've been doing this a long time and I've never met an agent quite as smart as you, I'll hand you that. I have men on the inside, and it's been made quite clear to me that you are the top investigator on the case. If something happens to you, we'll be free to continue our operations as we intend. No, you're the only one who's been able to slow us down, and I fully intend to make sure you never slow us down again."
    By this time Tessa had successfully snuck across the entire showroom floor until she was positioned right behind Michael. As he continued to talk she glanced around and spotted a large porcelain vase standing a few feet away. She grimaced a little as her mind thought of the worth of the object, but she immediately determined that that was nothing compared to the worth of their lives.
    Getting up into a crouch she snuck over and picked up the vase. It was extremely heavy and normally would have been difficult for her to carry even in a standing position, but the adrenaline she felt gave her the strength to carry the item in her hunched position.
    Realizing that she had only one shot and that time was of the essence, Tessa determined to act swiftly. In one swoop, she stood quickly upright and lurching forward, swung the vase as hard as she could, smacking Michael directly in the back of the head. At the same moment Lucas ducked down in case Michael's gun went off accidentally. The move was unnecessary, because Tessa was successful in her attempt. With a unnerving grunt, he fell over and his body smacked the cold concrete floor. He lay motionless, completely unconscious from the effect of Tessa's blow.
    As soon as he saw this, Lucas ran over to Michael and quickly slapped some handcuffs on him.
    "Are you okay?" he asked, rushing to Tessa.
    Still shaking from the effect of everything that had taken place, all Tessa could manage was a nod of the head.
    "I'm so, so sorry Lucas. This is all my fault," she finally managed.
    "No," he said, "It's not, and I don't want you to think that. All that matters now is that you are safe, and I have apprehended Michael. Do you have the violin?"
    "Yes, I do, but I saw him take the diamond out of it. He put it in his pocket."
    Lucas ran over to Michael with alarm and began checking his pockets. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief when he pulled out the small pouch containing the diamond.
    "Looks like he got a little too eager, and it cost him in the end."
    "Lucas, I have a lot of questions," Tessa said.
    "I know sweetheart, I know. We'll talk about everything and I explain, I promise. Right now we just need to get out of here." He went over and kissed her on the forehead, and then pulled out his cell phone.
    "What's going to happen with Michael?" she asked him.
    "I'm calling a colleague about that right now. They'll come down here and have him arrested."
    "Is he going to be ok?" Tessa asked.
    Lucas went over and took Michael's pulse.
    "Yes, he's fine. Just a concussion. They'll probably bring him down to the hospital to get checked out."
    The pair waited for about several minutes for the authorities to come, and then Lucas led Tessa out of the building.
    "Want to get a bite to eat?" he asked her.
    "Will you explain to me what just happened?" she asked with a laugh.
    "Yes, I promise." He led her to a red sedan parked a little ways down the road.
    "Who's car is this?" she asked when he stopped in front of it.
    "Mine. It's a rental." he said.
    "And your driver...?"
    "Like I said," he said smiling as he opened the door for her. "I've got a lot of explaining to do."
     
     
     
    Chapter 11
     
     
     
    "Well," Lucas began, looking down at the hamburger on his plate as if it could help him. "I know you've probably got a lot of questions and you certainly deserve a lot of answers, but before I go any further I first need to tell you that I'm sorry. I had no idea that you were in that building