Hot Pursuit by Lorie O'Clare Read Free Book Online

returned to his duffel. He pulled out the file he had placed at the bottom of the bag and opened it. All of the information he had gathered on the Mulligan Stew assassin was in there.
    “Assassin, or may I call you Micah?” he added wryly.
    Those little bugs were damned expensive if you wanted one where you could actually hear what was being said without it being all muffled and staticky. He’d hit the jackpot with this one, though. It hadn’t surprised Wolf that the information gained by planting the bug in the KFA office would come within minutes of planting it there. It’s what was said in those first moments of outrage over Wolf sauntering in and out of their office. Nor had it surprised him when the Kings found the bug and destroyed it.
    Wolf had taken everything he’d known about Greg and Haley King and had decided lying or pretending to be someone he wasn’t wouldn’t get him far with those two. Wolf respected King as a bounty hunter, and one who had paid his dues in the business. Therefore, Wolf had taken the direct approach. In order to learn anything, though, because he’d known before entering their office the Kings wouldn’t tell him a thing about the Mulligan Stew assassin regardless of what they might have known, Wolf had decided to put a bit of a punch in it.
    The Kings hadn’t gone after the assassin. They hadn’t been interviewed. They’d refused comment when asked if he’d been their employee, which had been the only reason speculation rose that he had worked for KFA. That told Wolf that the Kings had liked the Mulligan Stew assassin, maybe had even respected him. The guy might be the nicest person anyone would ever meet. With a million-dollar bounty on his head Wolf didn’t care if he were the son of God.
    It had taken about as long as Wolf had figured it would. He hadn’t been inside the KFA office more than five minutes. And he’d run to his car, barely able to get the earpiece in his ear, when he’d heard that precious first name.
    “Micah,” he whispered.
    First and last name would have been better. He wasn’t complaining, though. “What’s in Santa Clarita, Micah? Why run and stop an hour later?”
    After arriving in Santa Clarita, Wolf had driven around the city. It was nice, clean, with lots of new additions. He’d walked through a mall and their downtown, enjoying the drop in temperature after dark. He hadn’t expected to learn anything, but he enjoyed seeing different cities. Now, holed up in his motel room and not ready for bed, he paced and brainstormed.
    He had a running theory with no way to back it, but possibly there had been someone here in Santa Clarita. With Micah hiding out in L.A., which Wolf was sure he’d been doing, possibly anyone working with him might have been hiding nearby. A CIA agent was a much bigger kill than anything else the Mulligan Stew assassin had ever done. It was a shot straight through the heart, which fit his MO. But it made sense he would lay low afterward. So, Micah was in L.A., but who was in Santa Clarita? Did the Mulligan Stew assassin work alone? Or was there someone in the background taking his calls, doing his research?
    Wolf had no doubt Micah spent time learning about each man or woman he killed. None of them had nationwide attention at the time of their death. But all of them had been scum.
    Someone knocked on the door. Wolf glared at it.
    “Wrong door, buddy!” he called out, although not too loudly. He wasn’t at the cheapest place in town, but it was far from a four star hotel. Wolf didn’t waste his money. All he asked for were clean sheets and a pillow.
    Whoever it was knocked again, this time firmer and with more determination.
    Wolf sighed and put the file back together. He slid Maggie’s picture on top, then tucked the file underneath his clothes in his duffel. There were several more knocks, much louder.
    “Someone needs to teach you some manners,” he mumbled, zipping the bag, doing a quick glance around the motel