Read Online Return to Poughkeepsie by Debra Anastasia - Free Book Online Page A

call dialed. She could trust that his name and picture would pop up on her screen.
    He answered his phone: “Baby, I love you.” Not Hello? Not What’s up? He got her.
    “Please, Cole. Please.” She bit her fist, unable to tell him she needed his weight on top of her to hold her steady, to keep her from floating away.
    “I’m coming home. Keep the phone by your ear.”
    She heard the rustling noises of Cole rearranging his schedule, talking softly to his colleagues so he could attend to her needs. Every few minutes he would check, “You still with me?”
    She answered from her forever. “Always.”
    His car started, and she listened as he turned off his radio. The engine grew louder or softer depending on where he was in traffic. All the way he kept the line open, finally appearing in their bedroom door, handsome and worried.
    He still had the phone to his ear. “I’m here.”
    She wrinkled her nose and said, “Thank you,” into her phone. They ended the call at the same moment. And like all hell breaking loose, her words flew at him.
    “What if it’s because I’m a whore? What if it’s because I used up all the good I ever had? What if I wasted it all on bastards for a quick high? What if I broke everything? You shouldn’t have to have me. This. I can’t even make a baby for you.”
    Cole was in front of her in two quick steps. He knelt before her, holding the tops of her arms. “No one calls you a whore. Not even you. Ever . You got that?”
    She nodded, the motion causing tears to trail down her cheeks. He released her arms to wipe her face dry.
    “I’m wasted. I’m wasted, Cole.” She began choking on his name as she slid from the bed. Kyle balled herself on the floor, sobbing. It was primal, guttural, and pure desperation. She felt him cover her with his body, like he was protecting her from gunfire. They stayed until her anguish subsided into gentle whimpering. Then he gathered her body in his arms, his own face wet and red.
    “If I could fix this, I’d do anything, Kyle. I’d do anything.”

6
    Shark
    E VE C OULD S EE N EW Y ORK C ITY past her reflection. There was a love song on the radio, and she could almost hear it without thinking about him. Beckett had been gone for five years. He’s dead . She looked down at her shoes. The patent leather heels showed her what she looked like in their smooth surface. That’s what she was now—just an image of her real self. People could see what she looked like, but no one knew who she was. Waiting for him was over. It had to be. She fussed with her low ponytail, and her office door opened.
    “January, the fiscal results are in. You wanted them?” Eve nodded toward her desk but didn’t acknowledge her coworker. This import-export company was huge. Even when you’d climbed the corporate ladder as fast as she had, you were still one of thousands of employees. It was a great place to hide.
    She picked up the file after he’d left, but didn’t have the energy to compare the figures. It was crazy how similar the work she’d done for Beckett was to the work she now did for Silver Force Systems. She had to make sure products got delivered and people paid their bills—although she hadn’t killed anyone in years.
    Eve turned off her computer and locked up her files. She slipped on her trench coat and left the plush office without a backward glance. Normally she took the elevator down to street level and walked to her apartment building, but today she hailed a cab to a different destination.
    When she was feeling particularly numb, she would train. More specifically, she would train others. Through her remaining connections, she knew a few people looking to hone their deadly skills. She slipped cash to the cabbie and got out in front of a warehouse. After punching in the code, she entered a space dedicated to the fighting techniques that kept evil people alive and rich.
    A quick change in the makeshift locker room and Eve was ready. It was quiet