My Biker Bodyguard by J.R. Turner Read Free Book Online Page B

see."
Jack turned to Jess. "Where's your Magnum?"
"In the car." How she wished they had a few more
minutes. Who were the Kramers and what did they have to do
with her? Was that her mother's name now? All her life she'd
secretly dreamed of having a mother who loved her, protected
her, and didn't leave. But the truth was, she didn't even know
her mother's last name. Of course it wouldn't be Owen
anymore, not after the divorce, not after all these years. Not if
she had remarried.
Jack forced Mitch against the hood of the cruiser, palms
flat against the glaring, white metal. "What's your name? You
got any I.D. on you?"
"Mitch Conner. Wallet's in my back pocket."
"Don't move." Jack pulled the wallet out, but didn't open
it. "Stay here. I mean it. Don't move."
"No problem." Mitch said. "There's no reason for me to
run."
Jack got her pistol and locked all three weapons in the
trunk of his cruiser. Mitch twisted to gaze at her, his
expression unfathomable.
What did he expect her to do? Come to his rescue? Talk
Jack out of arresting him? She shook her head, a big mistake.
The pounding there intensified. The sun burned, her skin
prickled. Her father's strong arm anchored her to reality and
kept her from floating into insanity. God, how had all this
happened?
"Okay folks. This is how it's goin' down." Jack returned,
the radio on his hip squawking incoherently. "I gotta take him
downtown. Jess, you gotta come too. I've got a female officer
on the way to transport you."
Her father's stare turned hard. "She'll do whatever she can
to help, Jack."
Jess's spine tightened. Here it was, the end of her life, and
she'd never really started living. In one day she'd faced death,
and now she faced prison. A completely different future than
she'd imagined for herself this morning, and certainly, its own
kind of death.
"It's not going to be as easy as that, Dan." Jack said.
Mitch glanced over his shoulder at them. "This isn't
necessary."
He grasped Mitch's elbow. "Turn around."
Mitch did, silently, his face rigid with anger.
Does he believe me now? People like us are guilty until
proven innocent, even by Jack . She had no doubt she'd be face
down on the hood of his cruiser if they hadn't dated. I warned
him. Does Mitch really believe any cop will buy his story? She
couldn't fully bring herself to believe him.
Jesus, what if he's played all of us? What if this is all some
con job?
Jack grabbed Mitch's wrist with one hand and pulled the
cuffs from his belt with the other. This was it, the moment of
truth. Jess held her breath. If Mitch tried to fight, if he ran,
then she would know they had been fooled. The men on the
street were drug dealers, or wise guys. They'd come after her
next, and there would be no future for anyone in her
hodgepodge family.
"You have the right to remain silent." Jack hooked the
cuffs over Mitch's wrist, then grabbed the remaining hand.
"Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.
You have the right to have an attorney present now and during
any future questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one
will be appointed for you." He finished cuffing Mitch and spun
him around. "Do you understand these rights?"
Mitch nodded, his gaze hard. Those familiar words, and
Jack's flat tone, killed any lingering hope Jess had held. No
miracle would be granted. They couldn't begin the day over. It
was done. Jack opened the cruiser's back door and Mitch slid
inside without a fight. Jess exhaled. At least it wasn't a con
and maybe she didn't have hope, but she had relief.
Yet the truth was so crazy.
All these years she'd pictured her mother living in cheap
motels, riding on the back of different Harleys into different
sunsets, a biker groupie with tracks running down her needlesore arms. It just didn't jive with the idea of California, of a
fortune, or even an entire family that she didn't know about.
No birds sang, no dogs barked, no traffic rumbled by on
the main street. The quiet got under her