Free NOT DEAD YET: A Lucy Hart, DEATHDEALER Novel (Book Two) by Eva Sloan, Alice Bello Page A

police detective in an extravagantly rumpled suit that had been tacky as hell back in the decade it had originally been pressed out of polyester, rambled up to them and asked, “Miss Hart?  May I have a word alone with you?”
    Dante Enoch’s eyes flashed from worried to the predatory focus of a great white shark.  Lucy could have sworn he’d snarled under his breath as well, but the instant he turned the implacable lead council of Enoch Industries smiled ruthlessly, and the wrinkled detective took a short step back before regaining his composure. 
    “I am Dante Enoch, Miss Hart’s legal counsel.  And you are?”
    “Ah... Rooney, sir.  Detective Frank Rooney.”   Lucy got the impression that the veteran police officer didn’t call many people “sir.”  But there was just an air of utter authority about Dante; she didn’t blame anyone for affording him such a wide berth of civility.
    “It’s very good to make your acquaintance, Detective Rooney.”
    Dante elegantly steered the detective away from them, and toward the crime scene.  She heard him say something about extenuating circumstances, and that they wanted to get her to a hospital, to check her for injury and shock... yada, yada, yada...
    “Lucy... I was so worried about you.”  Gabriel crushed her to him, and she felt a welling of absolute bliss at his attentions.  She’d missed him terribly in the last few months.  She could only hope that once they were married and living together—hopefully somewhere separate from both her family and his—that they would make up for that lost time together.
    Boy, am I a pathetic love lemming, or what?
    “Excuse me,” a sweet voice interrupted, and Lucy wanted to seriously hurt whoever was horning in on her snuggle time.  But when she looked at the voice’s owner, Jenifer with one N smiled back at her.
    She just couldn’t be mad with a woman who had acted so quickly and decisively in her defense.
    “Hi,” Lucy said, smiling as she reached out and took the red-heads warm, soft hand. 
    “Hi,” Jenifer responded, smiling. Her freckles made her green eyes sparkle.  “Did I hear your name’s Lucy Hart?”
    Lucy felt a twinge of discomfort.  Either Jenifer with one N knew her somehow from her days of being a McDonald’s burger flipper, from her previous life as a spoiled, entitled B-I-T-C-H, or she knew about Lucy’s father’s rather nasty run in with the federal government—for which he was serving twenty years up state.
    Lucy receded even further just thinking of her father.  He still hadn’t spoken to her, even when her mother had told him she was getting married.  Not a word for nearly a year.  It hurt more than anything else had ever hurt.
    Gabriel’s arms tightened about her.  He must have felt her tension.
    Lucy shrugged it all off, and plastered the smile back on her face.  “That’s me.”
    Jenifer’s smile doubled in brightness, and she laughed a most infectious laugh. 
    “I’m Jenifer Rose Chesser,” she said as if that answered the sixty-four thousand dollar question.
    Lucy blinked at her and tried to keep the polite smile on her face.
    “My mom’s Shirley... Shirley Chesser.”
    Shirley... Shirley Chesser...
    Recognition snapped in Lucy’s mind and she suddenly saw the striking resemblance between her bus driving confidant and the tiny red-head standing before her.
    “Oh my god!” Lucy gushed, pulling out of Gabriel’s tight embrace and taking Jenifer with one N’s hand again.  “I love your mother.”
    Pink bloomed under the bitty red-head’s freckles.  “She adores you, too.  Always talking about you.  Was worried about you a couple months ago... ” Her expression faltered.  “I’m not going to tell her about you getting attacked and all.  She has high blood pressure."
    Lucy gulped.  That she hadn’t known.  “That’s a good idea.”
    Jenifer looked over to where her maintenance cart was parked, and the blood and axe still there.  Lucy could