Read Online Wilde for Her (A Wilde Security Novel) (Entangled Brazen) by Tonya Burrows - Free Book Online Page B

that time she got so excited at a Redskins game she accidentally dumped her beer over his head. Or the first time she kicked his ass in a sparring match, then spent the rest of the day gloating about it. Her watery smile after that asshole Preston stood her up when she had tickets to a Blake Shelton concert, and Cam had arrived decked out in a cowboy hat and boots to take her, even though he hated country music. Or all the late nights at work, when they were so exhausted they were running on caffeine and fumes, and they’d burst into hysterical laughter over something as juvenile as the squeak of a chair sounding like a fart. Each of those moments had chipped away at his heart, bit by tiny bit, until she held the whole damn thing in her hands.
    He’d spent the past five years being so careful not to jeopardize their relationship, but now he’d gone and fucked everything up for one drunken night of sex. He’d be lucky if she ever talked to him again.
    Cursing under his breath, Cam studied the street again, desperate for a distraction from his current train of thought. Still empty. Where was Soup? After all the panicked messages the guy had left him while he was gone, you’d think he’d be on time.
    Five more minutes, Cam decided, then he was out. He had better things to do than stand here, stiffening up in the wind.
    The five minutes came and went.
    “And that’s a wrap.” He turned to trudge back to his 4Runner and that’s when he finally spotted Soup peeking around the corner of the nearest building.
    “About fucking time,” Cam said.
    “Bad, bad news,” Soup replied. He had a persistent twitch, a simultaneous jerk of his oily head and fast blink, and it got worse when he was upset or in withdrawal. Since he had a very fresh set of tracks up both of his bare arms, Cam assumed the twitch was from nerves.
    “What bad news?”
    “S-S-Someone…” Teeth chattering, he wrapped his arms around himself, which was going to do a whole helluva lot of nothing to fend off the chill since he wore only a ratty T-shirt.
    Cam sighed, slipped off his coat, and draped it over his informant’s shoulders. “Take this.”
    Soup huddled into it gratefully. “I-I-I always like you, Detective. G-g-good man. Good friend.”
    There was that friend word again. “Yeah, so I’ve been told.” He straightened the collar, then zipped it up around the guy’s skinny frame. “Keep this one this time, okay? No trading it for dope. I’m running out of jackets.”
    Soup nodded, twitched, and snuggled deeper into the flannel lining. After a moment, his shivers subsided.
    “All right,” Cam said, ignoring the wind that had gone from brutal to flaying without the protection of his coat. “Give me the bad news.”
    “Someone’s asking around about you, man.”
    “Who?”
    Soup lifted his shoulders in shrug. “Some white dude. Mean. Nice clothes.”
    Okay, then. That narrowed it down. He tried a new tactic. “What’s the guy asking?”
    “He asked me to kill ya for money.”
    Cam backed up a step, unsnapped the strap holding his gun in his shoulder holster, and drew the weapon in a smooth, practiced move. “Back the fuck up. Now.”
    Outrage rippled over Soup’s weathered face, but he held up his hands and backed up until he stood against the brick wall of a warehouse. “You think I’d do you like that, man?”
    “I think you’ll do just about anything for your next hit.”
    “Not that.” Genuine hurt flickered through his glazed eyes. “I ain’t no killer, man. You’re my friend. That’s why I tell you.”
    “All right,” Cam said, but wasn’t ready to lower his weapon just yet. “If you’re a friend, you’ll get me more info if he shows again, right? A name would be useful. A description of what he looks like and what he drives. How much he’s asking.”
    “I can answer that!” Soup said and twitched in excitement. “A thousand big ones.”
    That’s it? Wasn’t his life worth a bit more than—
    Cam gave