Read Online Relentless Pursuit by Kathy Ivan - Free Book Online Page A

up a handful of dirt, and with a grimace smeared it all over the license plate.
    “Why'd you do that?”
    “Covers up the numbers from a distance.  Somebody would have to be up close and personal to read them clearly.  Just playing it safe.”  He wiped his hand down the side of his jeans before reaching for the backpack she had over her shoulder.  With a shrug she slid it off and handed it over.
    “You hungry?  There was a vending machine in the office.  It ain't much but…”
    “No, thanks.  I'm okay.  I just want to sleep.”  Jinx followed him into the room. She waited a second while he flipped on the light.  The rank smell of cigarettes, greasy fast food and stale sex permeated the room with their acrid stench.  A king size bed dominated the space, its worn faded comforter a dull floral pattern of browns, oranges and a decidedly puke green color.  A brown lamp with a lopsided, yellow shade sat in solitary splendor on the narrow nightstand to the left of the bed.  Not even an alarm clock decorated its worn and scratched surface.
    “Gee, you take me to the nicest places, Detective.”
    Remy grimaced and she felt bad about the verbal dig, but she was exhausted, worried about her brother and scared.  Dubshenko was the unknown element in everything.  The kind of monster you dreamt about in the darkest recesses of your nightmares, but happily faded into oblivion with the light of day.  Only he wasn't fading away.
    “Sorry.”  She sank down onto the corner of the bed, sitting on the verge edge, and absently picked at the bedspread.  How should she approach talking to him about their sleeping arrangements?  She got that they needed to stick together.   But didn't they have a room with two beds?  Then again, thinking about the kind of dump they were in, chances were good this was the penthouse suite.
    “I know you're tired, Jennifer.  Just know I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe.”  He tossed the pack onto the bed beside her and turned away. He walked toward the room's solitary window, its ugly green and yellow striped curtains doing nothing to disguise the cobwebs clinging to the curtain rod. They were clearly visible even with the light of only the single lamp in the room.
    “I'm going to call Captain Hilliard, see if there's any news about your brother.”
    She glanced at the cell phone he'd pulled out of his pocket.  “Is it safe to make any calls?  Can I use that when you're finished?”
    “Burner phone.”  He replied.
    “What's that?”
    “Prepaid cell phone with no way to trace it.  I'll only use it once, then get rid of it.  It's not safe to have direct communication.  Too easy for somebody with even minimal skills to hack into and track the GPS.”  He motioned toward the pack.  “Why don't you go ahead and get ready for bed.”
    She headed toward the bathroom and within minutes was back out again, dressed in just the T-shirt she'd borrowed.  It barely covered the edge of her panties.  She tugged on the hem, and Remy caught the movement out of the corner of his eye.  He turned back to the window, and she ignored him, instead staring at the bed.
    He finished the call with Hilliard, removed the battery and smart card from inside the phone, and ground the plastic phone casing beneath his boot heel before he tossed the remnants of the phone in the trash, along with the battery. He carried the smart card into the bathroom.  A quick flush took care of getting it out of the room and on its way to the local sanitation station.  Good luck tracking it now.
    # # # # #
    Remy sauntered back into the room.  Jennifer had already pulled back the bedspread and climbed beneath the covers, and pulled them up all the way to beneath her chin.  Big blue eyes watched his every move, a blend of exhaustion and a tiny glimmer of fear readable in her gaze.
    He hated this entire situation.  Although they'd only spent a few hours together, from the time she'd walked into the