Read Online Cavanaugh’s Woman by Marie Ferrarella - Free Book Online Page B

of work.
    Later, looking back, she didn’t recall thinking, only reacting. Years of being her father’s daughter, ready for anything, had honed her reflexes to a razor-fine point.
    She threw the car into drive and aimed it directly for the man Shaw and Reese were pursuing.
    Running at top speed, Shaw’s eyes widened as he saw the car whizzing by him. The fact that it was his registered a moment later.
    Pumping hard behind him, Reese’s mouth dropped opened. “Hey, isn’t that—?”
    “Damn it. What the hell does she think she’s doing?” By the time the question was out, he had his answer.
    Driving over the curb, Moira had brought the cream-colored Crown Victoria up on the sidewalk. For a second, it looked as if she were going to run the man down, but she brought the vehicle to a halt, effectively pinning the terrified quarry up against the wall.
    “Hey, nicely done!” Reese called out to her as he and Shaw rushed to catch up.
    Shaw saw no reason to praise her. What she did was reckless and dangerous. If the shop owner had had a gun, she could have gotten herself killed.
    “What do you—? How did you—?” He couldn’t even frame a question. They went spilling into each other, shoved forward by indignation, surprise and anger.
    Excited, Moira didn’t even hear Shaw at first. She leaped out of the car to take a closer look at the man she’d caught. Her heart was pounding. It had been a long time since she’d felt this alive. In a way, she supposed she missed the life she’d once led with her father and sister.
    “She’s crazy!” the store owner screamed. “Why don’t you arrest her?”
    “We’re too busy with you,” Reese told him, taking out his cuffs.
    His hand on her shoulder, Shaw spun Moira around to face him. The look on her face was sheer exhilaration and for a second, his indignation faded. But it was back the next moment.
    “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he demanded.
    “Helping.”
    Shaw looked accusingly at Reese. The latter had turned the store owner toward the wall and was snapping the handcuffs shut. “Did you leave the keys in the car?”
    Reese shook his head. “Hey, man, you drove, remember?”
    Shaw felt his pocket. The keys were still there. Then how did she—?
    Moira read the question in his eyes. “I hot-wired it. It was hot,” she explained. “I didn’t know how long you’d be and I was trying to get the windows down before I wound up roasting to death.” She shrugged innocently. “I figured you wouldn’t want me getting out of the car.”
    It took a lot of willpower to keep his temper under control. “I didn’t want you racing the car, either.”
    Why was he so annoyed? She’d helped, not hindered. “I saw you running after someone. He was getting away.”
    “I would have caught him.”
    She smiled up at him, satisfied with herself. “My way was faster.”
    He was going to get rid of her if it was the last thing he did. “Your way was damn dangerous.”
    Handcuffed, the suspect was craning his neck as Reese tried to get him into the back seat. Outrage and fear had temporarily been replaced by curiosity. The man looked at Reese. “Hey, is that—?”
    “Moira McCormick,” Moira said. Despite the circumstances, she added, “Nice to meet you.”
    Shaw roughly took hold of her arm, escorting Moira back into the car. “You can sign autographs later,” he growled.

    “This isn’t going to work,” he said to her several minutes later. She was in the front seat with him. Reese was in the back with the suspect, who hadn’t stopped talking to her since he realized who she was.
    Moira turned back around and looked at Shaw. She’d obeyed him and remained in the car, and still managed to help out. What more did he want? “I thought it worked out just fine.”
    “You thought wrong. I told you to stay in the car.”
    “At no time did my body leave the car,” she protested. “Not until after you were on the scene.”
    He knew it was useless to