Read Online Staked by Sandra Edwards - Free Book Online

Ava hadn’t been
since the eve of her thirteenth birthday—and had purposely avoided
since—was the one place Lucien had thought it a good idea to hide
Cole from her.
    Ava tightened the drawstring on her pouch,
stuffed it into her pocket and tried, but failed, to look past
Stone—a man far more dangerous to her than Lucien had ever been.
Something in his eyes softened, as if he was finally accepting what
was happening around him. At least she wouldn’t have to deal with
his doubt right now, and that was nice.
    She scrutinized their surroundings and
checked her MPD. They’d landed in the alley behind the pub across
the street from the very spot where Ava had been brought for the
ceremony on the eve of her thirteenth birthday. That day had ended
in disaster. This one could not.
    They made their way through the alley and up
the side street to the corner of Pittsburgh and Atlantic Avenues.
The street was deserted. Only one of the four streetlights at the
intersection was working and it was across the street,
kitty-cornered from them. It left their side of the street dark and
menacing-looking.
    “Let’s go check the pub,” she said, turning
the corner. “I doubt Mickey and Skeet are here yet, but let’s have
a look.”
    They went to the middle of the block and
peered in through the window. No sign of them. Ava shot off a
message to Mickey on her MPD. Seconds later a chime signaled his
reply. They were forty-five minutes away.
    Forty-five minutes ? Ava looked at
Stone. “How fast does your guy drive?”
    Stone shrugged. “Depends....”
    “On...?” She waved her hand impatiently.
    “His mood.”
    Ava shook her head. Being dependent upon
someone else’s mood had just landed at the top of Ava’s things-that-annoyed-her-most list. Sitting around waiting
for Skeet and Mickey to show up posed a potentially critical
error—Lucien could show up at any time and move her bounty.
    “I’m going to get Cole,” she said, and moved
back into the street.
    Stone followed her. “Where is he?”
    Ava pointed in the direction she was headed.
“In that motel.”
    Stone followed her into the motel’s courtyard
and around to the sidewalk lining the doors to the rooms. Ava
passed each room, reading each one looking for Cole’s imprint. She
found it at room number eight. Looking at Stone, she pointed toward
the door. “He’s in here,” she said, just above a whisper.
    “Should I kick the door down?”
    She glared at him. This was no time for
jokes. “Give the door a hearty rap,” she said. “When he asks who it
is...tell him pizza delivery.”
    “What do you think the chances are that he’s
ordered a pizza?”
    “Doesn’t matter. He’ll open the door.”
    “You sound so certain of that.”
    Ava sucked in a big gulp of air. “Just do it.
Okay?”
    Stone shrugged, reached up and gave the door
a backhanded triple-tapping with his knuckles. “Pizza,” he said in
a deep, strong voice.
    The door opened. “I didn’t order a pizza,
but...” Cole’s brown eyes lit on Stone first and then jumped to
Ava.
    He tried to close the door, but she already
had her foot in the way and was shoving it open. Within seconds and
just a couple of steps inside the room she had Cole’s wrists
handcuffed behind his back.
    Cole mumbled curses that weren’t flattering
to Ava. She ignored him, closed the door and turned to Stone. “Just
wait here for me. I’ll be back within fifteen minutes.” That’s the
most she could pinpoint her arrival to any destination.
    The task was simple enough. She’d take her
fugitive back, turn him in, get another batch of jewels for Stone
and bring them to him. Then she’d be free to end this
acquaintance.
    Ava had better stay on course. Otherwise, she
could become single-handedly responsible for making that old legend
a reality.
     
     
    ~~~~
     

Chapter Five
     
     
    Ava landed half a block east of the dimly lit
intersection that was just south of the motel where she’d left
Stone. Hurrying along the