Naked Frame by Robert Burton Robinson Read Free Book Online Page A

still not
budged.
    "It's not going to work," mumbled Gabby. He
took the flashlight out of his mouth to cough. "Maybe we should
take our chances on the roof."
    "No. It has to work. We've got to hit it
harder."
    "I'll try." He put the flashlight back into
his mouth.
    "One, two three, four! Did you feel that,
Gabby?"
    "Yeah."
    "One, two, three, four! Hell, yeah,
Baby!"
    "We're gonna make it." Gabby coughed hard,
and the flashlight flew out of his mouth. He picked it up from the
floor and shined it toward Rebecca. He could barely see her through
the smoke, even though she was standing right in front of him.
    "Hang in there. One more time."
    They both knew this might be their last
chance—before collapsing into a smoky grave. They slung the barbell
with all their might. The door swung open a full foot. They lost
control of the barbell and it fell to the floor.
    Gabby took the flashlight out of his mouth.
"You okay?"
    "Yeah. Come on." She squeezed through the
opening.
    Gabby followed her. "We made it. I can't
believe we did it."
    Rebecca heard the sirens. "The fire trucks
are here. If the shooter is still out there, he's watching for us
on the roof. He has to know that if we don't come out soon, we're
dead from the smoke. So, let's hurry downstairs and slip out to the
alley."
    Gabby shined the flashlight back toward his
shop.
    "I'm sorry, Gabby."
    "I'm just glad I didn't let my insurance
coverage lapse."
    They watched the smoke billowing in through
the partially opened door.
    "Good thing this side is vacant," said
Gabby.
    She put her hand on Gabby's arm. "Why don't
we go find another motel and crash for the night?"
    "Why get a different one? We're still
checked in."
    "Did you use your real name? How did you
pay?"
    "I used my credit card. Oh."
    "Yeah. We need to go find an ATM and get
some cash. Then we can give a fake name at another motel. We don't
want to make it too easy for somebody to find us."
    "Right." Gabby shined the flashlight in
front of them to locate the stairs, and they went down to the first
floor.
    They slipped out into the alley, got into
Gabby's car, and drove away.
    Rebecca took out her phone.
    "Who are you calling at this hour?"
    "Carly. I need to tell her Big Bill is
dead."
    "Can't it wait until morning?"
    "She'd want to know now. She works until
midnight. Never goes to sleep before two."
    "Lousy schedule."
    "She's not answering."
    "Leave her a voice mail."
    Rebecca thought for a moment. "No. This is
not good. Something's wrong. I need to get over there."
     
     

CHAPTER 9 - Tuesday, 1:37 a.m.
     
    Mandibul slipped into the lab. As nimble as
a jaguar, the 6-foot-5 black man moved slowly along the wall toward
Phillipa's office. His firearm was holstered. With hands the size
of an NFL quarterback, he rarely needed a gun.
    Her office was empty.
    He spotted her, standing at a workbench—in a
state of high vulnerability. His timing could not have been better.
The steady hiss of her acetylene torch would mask any inadvertent
scuff of his boots on the tile floor. He stayed low to avoid any
reflection in her welding goggles.
    Within a foot of her back, he stood upright.
"Don't move."
    Phillipa flinched.
    "Kill the torch."
    She turned it off and set it down on the
workbench.
    "Feel that?"
    She gasped. "Yes." She took off her
goggles.
    "Hold still, or it might go off."
    "Have you no control over your weapon?"
    "Very little."
    Phillipa spun around. "What the hell took
you so long?"
    He grabbed her up in his rock-hard arms and
kissed her hard on the lips.
    She pulled away. "How much time do you
have?"
    "Fifteen minutes."
    "Let's make it count."
    He scooped her up as though she were a
feather pillow. Phillipa loved that. She was tall and fit, but at
175 lbs., very few men could make her feel weightless.
    Mandibul carried her to her office and set
her down on her feet.
    She threw off her lab coat and began to
unbutton his security guard shirt while he took off her blouse.
    Phillipa looked up into his eyes. "You could
get