Deadly Charade - By Virna Depaul Page 0,2

by his cravings. Plenty of times he felt a hair’s breath away from saying to hell with it and giving in.

That was yet another reason to stay away from Linda. Even if physical danger from others wasn’t a factor, she’d already made her decision about him. In the end, it hadn’t mattered that he’d helped send Guapo to prison. Hell, it probably wouldn’t even matter that he’d joined the police academy soon after he and Linda had broken up. Why would it? Just months away from graduating, he’d been too weak to protect Linda or his sister. Guapo’s men had beat Linda into a coma and his sister had almost died. Tony had failed everyone he loved.

Again.

Once an addict, always an addict.

And for Linda Delaney, an addict wasn’t good enough.

Tony again scanned the street.

His pulse accelerated as he finally spotted her, exiting the courthouse’s main entrance. Automatically he stiffened and pain zipped across his back and down his leg. He barely felt it past the mixed joy and longing that squeezed his heart.

As he watched, Linda sat on a bench outside the courthouse and ate a sandwich, watching the antics of a pair of squirrels warring over someone’s littered potato chips. It reminded him of the days they’d spent at the local pet store, playfully arguing about what kind of animal they’d adopt someday. He’d wanted a dog. She’d wanted a cat. She’d argued a cat would be less work. They’d ended up getting neither, and it hadn’t occurred to Tony until after they’d broken up why Linda would want an animal that was less work to care for—because Tony had been too much work for her as it was.

But that wasn’t fair, he thought, willing away the slight taste of bitterness in his mouth. Linda was a busy woman. A successful woman. Just because she hadn’t wanted to be tied down to an addict for the rest of her life didn’t mean she hadn’t given their relationship a fair shot. She had. She’d made him happy. And for a time he’d made her happy, too.

With him out of her life, she appeared to be happy again. Healthy. Safe.

She looked good. More like she had when he’d first met her. By the end their relationship had taken a toll on her. She’d lost weight, the light in her beautiful green eyes had dimmed, and worry lines had etched themselves into her skin. That seemed far behind her now. Her blond hair was long and silky. Her body curvy beneath her crisp tailored suit. Her features relaxed and so sweetly familiar that he could almost forget the pain and the years that separated them...

Then a polished, dark-haired man in a suit approached her, causing Linda to smile and Tony to frown. The guy was obviously an attorney, too, dressed in a finely tailored suit with a damned vest and shined shoes. He sat down next to her and handed her something. Their interaction was perfectly respectable, but Tony could tell the man’s interest in Linda was far more than professional.

Sweat beaded Tony’s forehead and he held his breath. He’d been hoping to see her and he’d been expecting to long for her, but he hadn’t expected to see her with another man.

Then another man, this time a blond, stopped to talk to her. He, too, was probably a lawyer given how he was dressed. This man, however, Linda didn’t seem to like. Even from across the street Tony saw her smile stiffen and wane. Before it could disappear completely, the blond guy pointed his finger like a gun, cocked it at Linda, then left. Linda immediately shook her head. In response, her dark-haired friend bent his head close to hers, placed his hand on her thigh, and said something that made her laugh.

Jealousy overwhelmed him, making him tremble. A faint buzzing sound filled the car and he vaguely wondered if he was losing it. But then he realized his cell phone was vibrating. With a shaky hand he forced his gaze away from Linda, pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw the number on the screen.

It was Justine, the woman helping him make connections inside Guapo’s organization. She’d once dated Guapo’s defense attorney, Grant Falcon; Guapo’s men had killed him after Guapo had been convicted. Now she was dating another key man in Guapo’s organization, Nicco Santos. The man was likely a key component to taking over Guapo’s enterprise. He knew things he hadn’t told Justine or Tony yet,