Falcon's Angel by Danita Minnis Read Free Book Online Page A

she felt warmth pooling inside of her, coating her stomach like honey.
    Angelina reached behind him to get antibacterial cream out of the cabinet and Tony’s lips brushed her ear. She was hoping those lips would follow the quiver of sensation running down her neck. They didn’t, and she concentrated on applying the cream to his knuckles.
    She leaned against a muscular thigh, and though the circumstances warranting this closeness were not ideal, there were no words to describe her satisfaction of being near him like this. Even while she shook from her ordeal with the silent man, she had wanted to jump onto Tony’s lap and never leave it.
    “Angel, did he speak to you?” His breath feathered her cheek. Her busy hands slowed. Not trusting herself to speak, Angelina shook her head.
    “Have you ever seen him around before that first attack? Maybe at the Conservatory?”
    Angelina kept her eyes on the bandage she wrapped around his knuckles. “No, but he has a tattoo of a dragon on his neck. I can identify him now. Can we go to the polizia tomorrow?”
    “Of course, we’ll go in the morning.” Tony lifted her chin. “Hey, don’t be afraid. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
    The lump in her throat made her mute once again so she nodded.
    He kissed her lips, a feather-light touch. “Let’s go make dinner.”
    * * * *
    “He’s not local,” Falcon said later that night in his apartment.
    “Yeah, I don’t see the families operating this way,” Granger said.
    “No, if they really wanted her, they could have had her.” He shook his head, leafing through a book on Saint Mercurialis. “It’s not the Mafia.”
    “Did she have the violin with her?”
    “No, just me.”
    “And they didn’t even try to break into her apartment for it? Think they know who you are?”
    “I think they’re trying to figure out who I am,” he said, “and today was some kind of warning. Maybe a test.”
    “Just for the heck of it, I’m going to check this description you gave me and see what I come up with,” Granger said. “Oh, Darien’s got a report on Montreal. It was the Jeweler. She exited a window on the 40th floor of the clearing house, leaving a fine piece of Florentine art behind.”
    “Are you talking dragons and rubies?”
    “And blood, or something like it, in a ring,” Granger said.
    “First the mute’s earring, and now a ring,” Falcon murmured. “What’s the Jeweler got to do with it?”
    “Falcon, the blood…it’s not human blood.”
    “So it’s animal blood.”
    “Well, technically, I don’t know if blood is the right term.”
    “Grange, what are you talking about?”
    “It’s not blood from any animal we can identify.”
    Falcon stared at a page in the book. It was a depiction of a dragon with blood red eyes. “We need to sit down on this, re-think our strategy.”
    “Darien’s coming in tomorrow.”
    “I’ll see you then.”
    “Falcon, bring the ring.”
    * * * *
    On a beautiful Saturday morning, they sat in the Naples police department, looking through mug shots.
    “He was bald and a bit stocky. There is a dragon tattooed on the side of his neck.” Angelina pursed her lips so tightly that she bit her lip.
    Nothing would make her forget the man’s determined expression, and being dragged away from Tony. She did not want to think about where the man would have taken her.
    “What about his voice?” the officer asked.
    She shook her head. “I think he’s mute.”
    The officer turned to Tony. “We’ll make some inquiries, but there isn’t much we can do with that description. The dragon tattoo might help. We’ll call you.”
    They left the police station.
    Angelina looked around the avenue.
    Though it was almost September summer hung on with a determination Naples had not experienced in years.
    Goose bumps rose on her arms. Is the silent man watching now? “They won’t do anything, will they?”
    Tony was holding the car door open for her. “There isn’t much they can