Forged in Ash by Trish McCallan Read Free Book Online

was ninety degrees out there—and settled on a thin, haggard face.
    Which he instantly recognized.
    He choked, and soda went down the wrong pipe, burning all the way to his lungs. A seizure of coughing gripped him.
    Holy freaking shit.
    Through streaming eyes, Robert watched the woman he’d shot twice and dumped into the icy depths of Lake Katcheca almost step in front of an oncoming car—and wouldn’t that have been sweet? Itwould have saved him from this sudden, immense headache. Except she caught herself at the last minute and jumped back.
    The damn woman had more lives than an alley cat.
    What the hell was Jillian Michaels doing in Coronado? More importantly, why was she meeting Marcus Simcosky?
    The old man was going to freak over this, and guess who’d feel the full force of all that rage?
    Robert broke into another rabid round of coughing, his heart pounding so hard he felt it in his head. He’d come close to joining Branson in the grave when Jillian had given them the slip at the hospital. The only thing that had saved his ass was Phillip stepping up to corroborate Robert’s insistence that he’d checked the woman’s pulse.
    Which she hadn’t had when he’d buckled her into the van, because she’d been dead. He knew dead when he saw it. She’d been dead. Just like her kids.
    He dragged in a couple of breaths and smothered the coughing. By the time he swiped the tears from his eyes, Jillian was walking down the sidewalk, away from Simcosky.
    Robert turned to watch her. Had she noticed him and abandoned the meeting? He checked the pickup again. Simcosky was watching her with confusion too.
    The fact she was in Coronado and interacting with one of the SEALs the bosses were so obsessed with was going to bring the hornets of fury down on his head.
    And running was useless. How the hell was he supposed to hide when his entire body was one gigantic tracking device? Nothing could keep him from joining Russ in the grave this time.
    Unless…he watched Jillian grow smaller and smaller. If he could grab her before his men caught sight of her, before the bosses were any the wiser…
    He grabbed his cell phone. For this to work, Phillip needed to stay across town.
    “Hey,” he said as soon as the call was picked up. “Looks like Simcosky’s headed home. Why don’t you head over to Orange Avenue and catch him at Tenth?”
    “Sure,” Phillip said. “Give me a heads-up if he changes course.”
    “That’s what I’m here for,” Robert said and ended the call.
    Dropping the cell onto the passenger seat, he checked on Simcosky again. His original target was climbing back into his truck.
    Swearing, he turned to glare after Jillian. He could hardly grab the woman here. Not with half the city in the parking lot, and a Goddamn SEAL watching.
    A few minutes later, Simcosky took off, but in the opposite direction of Jillian.
    What the hell was going on?
    Jillian was his priority, so he let Simcosky go. Settling back he waited. As soon as the chance presented itself, he’d grab her.
    And make sure he used up every one of those lives of hers.

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    Chapter Three
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C OSKY DOUBLED BACK to Kait’s apartment complex. The building was surrounded by parks. Across the street from the main entrance was a grassy, tree-studded swath of ground complete with baseball diamond, metal bleachers, and a set of pillared, open buildings with picnic benches and barbeque pits. Nestled against the building’s back was another grassy area, this one housing tennis and basketball courts and a bike trail.
    The apartment complex itself was huge; it swallowed the entire block, a seven-story tower of steel and glass. It looked expensive as hell, which probably meant it had an elevator. An amenity that wouldn’t have concerned him four months ago, but since she lived on the sixth floor that elevator was a major concern at the moment.
    He parked in the visitor slot next to the sidewalk. How the hell could she afford a place like this? Coronado