Read Online The Omega Team: Assisting Aimee by Susan Stoker - Free Book Online Page A

the back of his neck, but she could see some strands of hair hanging loose around his face. He looked like an avenging angel. Her avenging angel.
    But it was Tony’s eyes that fascinated her the most. He was standing about nine feet away from them at this point, but she didn’t think she was imagining the emotion she saw in his glittering brown eyes.
    When he was looking at Bill, she could see determination and frustration in his eyes, but when he turned his gaze to her, she could see affection and reassurance in them. It was crazy, she’d tell anyone who tried to explain they could see emotions in someone’s eyes that they were being silly, but at that moment she would’ve bet everything she owned that she was right.
    It gave her hope.
    It gave her confidence.
    It gave her the ability to stay calm, even as Bill’s arm tightened around her neck painfully.
    She wanted that kiss from Tony. She wanted more than that, but she’d start with a kiss. Aimee knew she just had to be patient.
    She wasn’t dumb. At any time, Bill could decide he was done with the back and forth and shoot her and Tony before any help could get to them, but she wasn’t going to call it quits quite yet. She wasn’t a quitter. She was going to fight for her life, and Tony’s, and the lives of the thirty-six children hiding across the room.
    “Actually, Jones is my name.” the disembodied voice returned. “And yeah, I’ve been made fun of my entire life because of it. Having a last name as my first has been a pain in my ass, but my mama gave it to me, and I love that woman with everything in me. She was a single parent and raised me in Compton. You’ve heard of Compton, right, Bill? Every day I walked home from school past drug dealers and prostitutes. I knew how to inject meth and snort cocaine by the time I was nine. So yeah, I have some idea of what it’s like to struggle to get by.”
    “But here you are, on the right side of the law. Aren’t you just the poster child for getting out of your poor poor situation?” Bill retorted, not willing to give an inch.
    “I was arrested three times before I was eighteen,” Jones continued, as if Bill wasn’t insulting him with every breath, his voice echoing throughout the vast room. “The last time I did a stint in juvie because I hit a cop. I was forced to join the Army after that, and it was the best thing I ever did. I hated the drill sergeants yelling at me all the time, but I learned that sometimes it’s better to work as a team, to be quiet and act with professionalism. Life is a struggle, Bill. Every single damn day. I’m not married, but if I was, I wouldn’t stay with a woman who opened her legs for my neighbor or best friend. I deserve more than that. You do too. You deserve a woman who loves you for who you are, not for how much money you have or what you do for a living.”
    Aimee noticed two things at the same time. Something this Jones guy had said resonated with Tony. He suddenly lost some of his focus on her and Bill and his eyes started to subtly wander the room, as if he was looking for something. Secondly, Jones’s words seemed to be having an effect on Bill as well. His arm loosened a fraction, not enough for her to move away from him, or even break away, but enough that it took the pressure off her windpipe, allowing her to breathe a little easier.
    She took deep breaths, filling her lungs with fresh air, readying herself for when he’d tighten against her again.
    “I won’t lie to you, Bill,” Jones’s disembodied voice went on. “You’re in trouble here. We both know that, and I’m not gonna feed you a line about giving up and walking out of there a free man. But what’s happened doesn’t mean the end of your life. Yeah, you’ll do some time, but it won’t be forever. You’re young…what…twenty-three?”
    “Two,” Bill answered absently.
    “Twenty-two then. I don’t know what happened today to make you think this was the best solution,