Hot Pursuit by Christina Skye Read Free Book Online Page A

prepping for a subzero dive in nightmare waters beneath a North Sea oil rig. Standing watch as part of a top-secret Navy operation involving experimental biological weapons and a missing Navy scientist meant you went by the book more than ever.
    Jack scanned the store again. Through the big front window he caught a glimpse of Rains, standing near a stocky man in a denim jacket. A third man had moved to the front counter, where he appeared to be buying cigarettes.
    A bus passed in a cloud of exhaust fumes, and a man in black spandex raced past on in-line skates. A few feet away a very pregnant woman crossed the sidewalk, pushing a collapsible shopping cart. Taylor O’Toole was still at the checkout counter, talking to the elderly clerk, and she looked up when the pregnant woman walked inside.
    As the door opened, the big man in the sweatshirt turned and angled his elbow across the front counter, studying the two women intently.
    Jack frowned, speaking quietly into the wireless mike at his collar. “Izzy, do you read me?”
    His hidden earphone crackled. “Loud and clear. What have you got?”
    â€œStandard surveillance so far. Taylor O’Toole seemed to be in pursuit of Harris Rains when he entered the Great Asia Convenience Store approximately two minutes ago. Over the last few minutes three males have entered, along with a pregnant female. The clerk, an elderly Asian male, is wearing a dark gray uniform. But something feels wrong.”
    â€œSay again?”
    â€œSomething’s wrong, Izzy. Suddenly no one’s moving in there.” Jack watched the door, feeling another warning jab between his shoulders. “Check with the cops and see if a silent alarm has been reported at this location.”
    Jack rattled off the address impatiently, and his partner on this operation wasted no time on questions. Fast and thorough, Ishmael Teague was a man whose services didn’t come cheap, but so far they’d been worth every cent.
    Static hissed briefly. “No alarms called in.”
    â€œI still don’t like it, Izzy. Everyone looks too tense.”
    â€œWhat about Rains?”
    â€œHe’s standing near the front of the store now, but he’s not moving. Neither are the two women.” Jack shifted carefully, looking for a better line of sight. “Wait a minute.” He stiffened as someone flipped the front door sign. “They just closed up.”
    â€œBarely two o’clock,” his partner said grimly.
    â€œSo I noticed.” The SEAL looked around at the busy street. “Where are the Feds? They’re supposed to be baby-sitting Rains.”
    â€œLast I heard, they were in a Brown Taurus across the street.”
    Jack took a quick look. “No Brown Taurus. No sign of any Feds either.”
    â€œI’ll request an update on their status, but it may take some time.”
    â€œSomething tells me we don’t have a lot of time.”
    Inside the store, the stocky man moved closer to Rains. Jack stripped off his nylon jacket, reached under his shirt, and eased the safety off his Beretta. “I’m going in, Izzy.”
    â€œCopy.”
    Jack was crossing the street when his tiny earphone crackled again. “Broussard, S.F.P.D. just received a silent alarm from your location. Robbery in progress—I repeat, robbery in progress. The Feds appear to have left the scene, so you are clear to move. I repeat, you are clear to move. Keep your head down and your powder dry, buddy. That’s an order.”
    Â 
    Taylor stiffened as rubber soles squeaked behind her. She looked up to find the stranger in the torn sweatshirt moving closer.
    â€œLeave?” He leaned across the counter, frowning. His sweatshirt was stained and his eyes burned with angry energy. “Why would this beautiful lady wish to leave so soon, old man?”
    Taylor cleared her throat. “Because he doesn’t have what I asked for.” She tried to sound