The Barbed-Wire Kiss by Wallace Stroby Read Free Book Online Page A

“Keep talking.”
    “Bobby’s sorry things worked out the way they did. It was beyond his control.”
    “So what’s that got to do with you?”
    “I’m doing him a favor. He doesn’t know I’m here.”
    “You a cop?”
    “No.”
    “You look like one.”
    “I used to be with the state police. I’m not anymore.”
    Fallon looked at him. “Trooper?”
    “For a while. Then I was with the Major Crimes Unit.”
    “That why he sent you? Because you used to be with the state police? That supposed to have some sort of effect on me?”
    “He didn’t send me. I came on my own.”
    “Why’d you quit, young guy like you?”
    “Does that matter?”
    “I’m curious. I like to know something about the people I’m dealing with, their motivations.”
    “Like I said, we’re friends. I’m just trying to help him out.”
    “That’s noble.”
    “He owes you something. He accepts that. He’s going to pay it back, he just needs more time.”
    “Don’t we all. So you here to vouch for this guy, pay his debts?”
    “Not at all. He’s putting something together for you right now, but he needs a little time. You put more pressure on him or send your friend Wiley”—he nodded back toward the porch—“back to his house and you’re in a blood-from-a-stone proposition. There’s no need for it. Serves no purpose.”
    Fallon turned away again.
    “So, you say you’re a go-between. So far I haven’t heard many specifics.”
    “He’ll have some money for you within the week. It won’t be a lot, but it’ll be something.”
    “You wired?”
    “What?”
    “Are you getting all of this? Should I speak closer to the microphone?”
    “There’s no wire.”
    “Whether there is or not, here’s the deal: If you have something for me, something owed to me, then fine. Give it to me. If not, then don’t waste my time.”
    “Is that what you think I’m doing?”
    Fallon turned to face him. “Let’s not make a mistake here. Like you said, you’re not a cop anymore. You’re not anything. You came out here, I liked the way you looked, I liked the way you acted. Maybe we can work something out. But if you think you can threaten me or bullshit me, then you’re just another stupid person who thought he was smart.”
    “Nobody’s bullshitting you. Or threatening you.”
    “Good.” He turned away. “Now, my wife’s waiting for me. So if you’ve got anything else to say, say it.”
    “Just a time and a place. Let us know where to bring it and we’ll get this started.”
    A golf cart with a canvas roof trundled out of the open barn, whirred slowly up the dirt path toward the tennis court area.
    “There she is,” Fallon said. “Call the restaurant. Leave a message. They’ll get in touch with me. If we have some business to conduct at that time, we’ll do it.”
    “You’ll hear from me this week.”
    He took the automatic out, offered it to him butt first.
    “Leave it on the table when you go,” Fallon said.
    Harry stuck it back in his pocket.
    “I’ll be in touch.”
    He put his hand out. Fallon looked at it.
    “You know something, Rane?” There was a half smile on his face.
    “What?”
    “You’re out of your league. It’s all over your face. Go on, get out of here. Call me when you’re ready to talk business.”
    Fallon turned back to the rail, and Harry felt the flush in his cheeks. He stood there for a moment, looking at the back of Fallon’s head, then turned and started toward the porch. When he reached the steps, he dropped the gun into one of the ponds. The clip went into the other.
    As he went up the steps, he heard the golf cart shut off, then boot heels on flagstones. The woman was coming up the path behind him. He turned, curious.
    For an instant, he felt a strange sensation in his feet, as if the floor of the porch had shifted slightly. He blinked, frozen. She reached the middle step, looked up at him.
    The hair was brighter, the color of freshly sheared copper, shorter now. The face