Скачать книгу

he say?”

      She sipped black coffee. It was at least strong enough to keep her awake, if badly brewed. She made a face.

      “Listen, if you’d ever had coffee made over a campfire with the grounds still in it,” he began.

      She sighed. “Good point. At least it’s not that bad.” She lifted her eyes to his pale ones. “He said that he loved wolves, and that his boss was getting ready to poison a few snakes.”

      Hollister whistled softly. “Oh, boy.”

      “Like I said, it could have been the aftereffects of the anesthesia.”

      “Or it could be code for what’s really happening.” His eyes narrowed. “You know what’s going on. Your hospital got the last two victims...the dead kid who was in Los Serpientes, and the wounded Lobitos member who skipped out before police could question him.”

      She nodded. She was thinking of Tonio and the treatment he’d had at the hands of Rado and his friends. She worried for him.

      “There’s a gang war starting,” Cal told her. “I don’t want a gang war in San Antonio. I still remember the last one and it makes me sick at my stomach.”

      “I remember it, too.” It was the one that had resulted in her family’s death.

      “I’m going to set up a task force,” he said. “We have a Texas Ranger here with a good knowledge of gangs and gang activities. I’m going to ask him to join.”

      “Does he know about this latest shooting?”

      He smiled secretively and glanced past her. “Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

      She half turned in her chair, and there was John Ruiz, staring at the two of them with narrow black eyes. And he wasn’t smiling.

       FOUR

      “We were just talking about you,” Hollister chuckled.

      “Was it something printable?” John asked as he joined them at the table.

      “Mostly.” He held up a cup. “Want coffee?”

      “I have too much respect for the beverage to ever drink it out of that counterfeit machine,” John said haughtily.

      “It makes very nice hot chocolate,” Sunny said in its defense.

      “It also steals dollar bills,” John muttered. “Someone should give it an attitude adjustment.”

      “You wouldn’t ever have gone down to Palo Verde with a baseball bat?” Hollister asked hesitantly, and with a grin.

      John chuckled in spite of himself as he pulled up a chair and straddled it. “No, but I understand the officer who did is still paying off the damage on a monthly basis. The circuit judge put the fear of God into him.”

      “What am I missing?” Sunny asked, her eyes glancing off John’s. A faint blush colored her high cheekbones and he seemed to relax, all of a sudden.

      She didn’t realize that he’d seen her with Hollister and that he was suddenly jealous. The other man drew women like flowers drew bees. Her flush delighted him, because it was proof that she was more attracted to him than the good-looking blond man sitting with her. He hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind since he’d seen her in the cathedral. Crazy, to feel possessive about a woman he hardly knew!

      “There was a soft drink machine in the police department in Palo Verde,” John told her, bringing his attention back to the incident Hollister had alluded to. “It ate dollar bills and refused to give either change or soft drinks. One of the officers accidentally hit it with a baseball bat several times and it had to be replaced. So the story goes.”

      She burst out laughing. “How in the world can you accidentally hit a soft drink machine with a baseball bat several times?!”

      “Funny, the judge asked the same question,” John replied, his black eyes twinkling.

      “And what was the officer’s excuse?” she asked.

      “Muscle spasms,” he said with a grin.

      She chuckled. John loved the way she laughed. It made her look very pretty, with her face animated and those dark eyes bright with humor.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4Se5RXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUAAAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAA agEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAeAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAkIdpAAQAAAABAAAApAAAANAALcbA AAAnEAAtxsAAACcQQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTNS4xIFdpbmRvd3MAMjAxODowNToyMiAxMDoy NDoyNAAAA6ABAAMAAAABAAEAAKACAAQAAAABAAACFKADAAQAAAABAAADUgAAAAAAAAAGAQMAAwAA AAEABgAAARoABQAAAAEAAAEeARsABQAAAAEAAAEmASgAAwAAAAEAAgAAAgEABAAAAAEAAAEuAgIA BAAAAAEAACaDAAAAAAAAAEgAAAABAAAASAAAAAH/2P/iDFhJQ0NfUFJPRklMRQABAQAADEhMaW5v AhAAAG1udHJSR0IgWFlaIAfOAAIACQAGADEAAGFjc3BNU0ZUAAAAAElFQyBzUkdCAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAD21gABAAAAANMtSFAgIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAEWNwcnQAAAFQAAAAM2Rlc2MAAAGEAAAAbHd0cHQAAAHwAAAAFGJrcHQAAAIEAAAA FHJYWVoAAAIYAAAAFGdYWVoAAAIsAAAAFGJYWVoAAAJAAAAAFGRtbmQAAAJUAAAAcGRtZGQAAALE AAAAiHZ1ZWQAAANMAAAAhnZpZXcAAAPUAAAAJGx1bWkAAAP4AAAAFG1lYXMAAAQMAAAAJHRlY2gA AAQwAAAADHJUUkMAAAQ8AAAIDGdUUkMAAAQ8AAAIDGJUUkMAAAQ8AAAIDHRleHQAAAAAQ29weXJp Z2h0IChjKSAxOTk4IEhld2xldHQtUGFja2FyZCBDb21wYW55AABkZXNjAAAAAAAAABJzUkdCIElF QzYxOTY2LTIuMQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEnNSR0IgSUVDNjE5NjYtMi4xAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABYWVogAAAAAAAA81EAAQAAAAEWzFhZWiAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWFlaIAAAAAAAAG+iAAA49QAAA5BYWVogAAAAAAAAYpkAALeFAAAY2lhZ WiAAAAAAAAAkoAAAD4QAALbPZGVzYwAAAAAAAAAWSUVDIGh0dHA6Ly93d3cuaWVjLmNoAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAWSUVDIGh0dHA6Ly93d3cuaWVjLmNoAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGRlc2MAAAAAAAAALklFQyA2MTk2Ni0yLjEgRGVmYXVsdCBSR0IgY29s b3VyIHNwYWNlIC0gc1JHQgAAAAAAAAAAAAAALklFQyA2MTk2Ni0yLjEgRGVmYXVsdCBSR0IgY29s b3VyIHNwYWNlIC0gc1JHQgAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABkZXNjAAAAAAAAACxSZWZlcmVu Y2UgVmlld2luZyBDb25kaXRpb24gaW4gSUVDNjE5NjYtMi4xAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAsUmVmZXJlbmNl IFZpZXdpbmcgQ29uZGl0aW9uIGluIElFQzYxOTY2LTIuMQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAdmlldwAAAAAAE6T+ABRfLgAQzxQAA+3MAAQTCwADXJ4AAAABWFlaIAAAAAAATAlWAFAAAABX H+dtZWFzAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACjwAAAAJzaWcgAAAAAENSVCBjdXJ2AAAA AAAABAAAAAAFAAoADwAUABkAHgAjACgALQAyADcAOwBAAEUASgBPAFQAWQBeAGMAaABtAHIAdwB8 AIEAhgCLAJAAlQCaAJ8ApACpAK4AsgC3ALwAwQDGAMsA0ADVANsA4ADlAOsA8AD2APsBAQEHAQ0B EwEZAR8BJQErATIBOAE+AUUBTAFSAVkBYAFnAW4BdQF8AYMBiwGSAZoBoQGpAbEBuQHBAckB0QHZ AeEB6QHyAfoCAwIMAhQCHQImAi8COAJBAksCVAJdAmcCcQJ6AoQCjgKYAqICrAK2AsECywLVAuAC 6wL1AwADCwMWAyEDLQM4A0MDTwNaA2YDcgN+A4oDlgOiA64DugPHA9MD4APsA/kEBgQTBCAELQQ7 BEgEVQRjBHEEfgSMBJoEqAS2BMQE0wThBPAE/gUNBRwFKwU6BUkFWAVnBXcFhgWWBaYFtQXFBdUF 5QX2BgYGFgYnBjcGSAZZBmoGewaMBp0GrwbABtEG4wb1BwcHGQcrBz0HTwdhB3QHhgeZB6wHvwfS B+UH+AgLCB8IMghGCFoIbgiCCJYIqgi+CNII5wj7CRAJJQk6CU8JZAl5CY8JpAm6Cc8J5Qn7ChEK Jwo9ClQKagqBCpgKrgrFCtwK8wsLCyILOQtRC2kLgAuYC7ALyAvhC/kMEgwqDEMMXAx1DI4MpwzA DNkM8w0NDSYNQA1aDXQNjg2pDcMN3g34DhMOLg5JDmQOfw6bDrYO0g7uDwkPJQ9BD14Peg+WD7MP zw/sEAkQJhBDEGEQfhCbELkQ1xD1ERMRMRFPEW0RjBGqEckR6BIHEiYSRRJkEoQSoxLDEuMTAxMj E0MTYxODE6QTxRPlFAYUJxRJFGoUixStFM4U8BUSFTQVVhV4FZsVvRXgFgMWJhZJFmwWjxayFtYW +hcdF0EXZReJF64X0hf3GBsYQBhlGIoYrxjVGPoZIBlFGWsZkRm3Gd0aBBoqGlEadxqeGsUa7BsU GzsbYxuKG7Ib2hwCHCocUhx7HKMczBz1HR4dRx1wHZkdwx3sHhYeQB5qHpQevh7pHxMfPh9pH5Qf vx/qIBUgQSBs

Скачать книгу