Read Online Worth Dying For by Beverly Barton - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Beverly Barton
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closed window blinds. At first he thought the room was empty, then he heard a muffled whimper. He felt along the wall for the switch, flicked it on and flooded the room with light. A naked middle-aged man jumped to his feet, his eyes wide with fear. Lying on the bed, naked and obviously drugged, lay a young girl. A young girl who was the spitting image of Amy Smith.
“Hey, it’s okay. She’s my girlfriend,” the naked man said as he started to reach for his pants on the floor.
Dante pulled his Smith & Wesson from his hip holster and aimed it directly at the man’s exposed privates. “You make one move and I’ll blow your balls off. You understand me?”
The guy’s erection went limp. He nodded. “I’m telling you, she’s my girlfriend. Candy. Her name’s Candy.”
“Dom!” Dante shouted. Had they arrived in time to save Leslie Anne from being raped? He sure as hell hoped so.
Dom Shea flew into the room, then skidded to a halt behind Dante. “What have we here?”
“Take care of this pervert, will you?” Dante’s trigger finger itched. God, how he wanted to castrate this slimy bastard. “If he tries anything…”
Dom glanced at the girl lying helplessly on the bed. “Damn!” He walked over to the trembling naked man, jerked his hands behind him and marched him out of the room. “Come on. The police are dying to meet you.”
Dante walked across the room to the bed. He reached down and pulled the sheet over the girl lying there. She looked up at him, her eyes wide with terror. She opened her mouth. “Help me.” Her words were a shaky, pitiful plea.
Wrapping the sheet securely around her, Dante lifted her up and into his arms. “It’s okay, honey. You’re safe. Nobody’s going to hurt you. I’m working with the local police. My name is Dante Moran. I’m with the FBI.” He told a little white lie to soothe the young woman’s fears.
“That man…he—he tried…he was going to…”
“Hush, honey. Don’t try to talk. I’m going to take you to a hospital.”
“I want my mama.” Tears filled the girl’s dark brown eyes.
“Sure thing, Leslie Anne. We’ll get your mama here just as quick as we can.”
CHAPTER FIVE
T ESSA RACED into the emergency room, Lucie Evans at her side. On the flight from Fairport to Tuscaloosa, she’d heard Dante’s words repeating again and again inside her mind and heart. She’s all right. Do you hear me, Tessa? Leslie Anne is okay.
The Dundee agency had arranged for Tessa and Lucie to be transported by helicopter, and it had been all Tessa could do to persuade her father to let her go alone. She’d convinced him that at a time such as this Leslie Anne wanted and needed only her mother. That was true, of course, but she was also worried about her father’s health. At sixty-eight, with high blood pressure and high cholesterol, plus a Type A personality, he was a prime candidate for a heart attack or a stroke. Leslie Anne’s disappearance had put her father in a major tailspin.
“You take care of things here,” she’d told G.W. “Get her room ready and see if you can’t clear everyone else out before I bring her home. She doesn’t need a houseful of family and friends. At least not for a while.”
As they entered the E.R., Lucie lifted her hand and waved at a tall, broad-shouldered man with overly long black hair that curled around his collar. “There’s Dom.” Lucie practically dragged Tessa toward the Dundee agent. “He’ll know where Leslie Anne is.”
The man Lucie had called Dom made his way through the crowded waiting room and came straight toward them. “You made it in record time,” he said.
“Dante told me to get here as quickly as possible,” Lucie replied.
“Where’s Leslie Anne?” Tessa asked.
“Oh, I should have introduced you two,” Lucie said. “Tessa, this is Domingo Shea. Dom, this is our client, Ms. Tessa Westbrook.”
“Ma’am.” He nodded.
She offered him a fragile smile. “Please tell me where my
“Hey, it’s okay. She’s my girlfriend,” the naked man said as he started to reach for his pants on the floor.
Dante pulled his Smith & Wesson from his hip holster and aimed it directly at the man’s exposed privates. “You make one move and I’ll blow your balls off. You understand me?”
The guy’s erection went limp. He nodded. “I’m telling you, she’s my girlfriend. Candy. Her name’s Candy.”
“Dom!” Dante shouted. Had they arrived in time to save Leslie Anne from being raped? He sure as hell hoped so.
Dom Shea flew into the room, then skidded to a halt behind Dante. “What have we here?”
“Take care of this pervert, will you?” Dante’s trigger finger itched. God, how he wanted to castrate this slimy bastard. “If he tries anything…”
Dom glanced at the girl lying helplessly on the bed. “Damn!” He walked over to the trembling naked man, jerked his hands behind him and marched him out of the room. “Come on. The police are dying to meet you.”
Dante walked across the room to the bed. He reached down and pulled the sheet over the girl lying there. She looked up at him, her eyes wide with terror. She opened her mouth. “Help me.” Her words were a shaky, pitiful plea.
Wrapping the sheet securely around her, Dante lifted her up and into his arms. “It’s okay, honey. You’re safe. Nobody’s going to hurt you. I’m working with the local police. My name is Dante Moran. I’m with the FBI.” He told a little white lie to soothe the young woman’s fears.
“That man…he—he tried…he was going to…”
“Hush, honey. Don’t try to talk. I’m going to take you to a hospital.”
“I want my mama.” Tears filled the girl’s dark brown eyes.
“Sure thing, Leslie Anne. We’ll get your mama here just as quick as we can.”
CHAPTER FIVE
T ESSA RACED into the emergency room, Lucie Evans at her side. On the flight from Fairport to Tuscaloosa, she’d heard Dante’s words repeating again and again inside her mind and heart. She’s all right. Do you hear me, Tessa? Leslie Anne is okay.
The Dundee agency had arranged for Tessa and Lucie to be transported by helicopter, and it had been all Tessa could do to persuade her father to let her go alone. She’d convinced him that at a time such as this Leslie Anne wanted and needed only her mother. That was true, of course, but she was also worried about her father’s health. At sixty-eight, with high blood pressure and high cholesterol, plus a Type A personality, he was a prime candidate for a heart attack or a stroke. Leslie Anne’s disappearance had put her father in a major tailspin.
“You take care of things here,” she’d told G.W. “Get her room ready and see if you can’t clear everyone else out before I bring her home. She doesn’t need a houseful of family and friends. At least not for a while.”
As they entered the E.R., Lucie lifted her hand and waved at a tall, broad-shouldered man with overly long black hair that curled around his collar. “There’s Dom.” Lucie practically dragged Tessa toward the Dundee agent. “He’ll know where Leslie Anne is.”
The man Lucie had called Dom made his way through the crowded waiting room and came straight toward them. “You made it in record time,” he said.
“Dante told me to get here as quickly as possible,” Lucie replied.
“Where’s Leslie Anne?” Tessa asked.
“Oh, I should have introduced you two,” Lucie said. “Tessa, this is Domingo Shea. Dom, this is our client, Ms. Tessa Westbrook.”
“Ma’am.” He nodded.
She offered him a fragile smile. “Please tell me where my
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