Free Murder Stalks by Sara York Page A

in Rex’s face just
before the door was pushed open from the other side.
    “ Hey, Tony,” Michael said,
sticking his head into the room. Rex pushed past him, leaving Tony
to catch up later.
    “ Michael, what can I do
for you?”
    “ Did you set a time for us
to meet back here?”
    “ It’ll be around four or
four-thirty. I’ll get in touch with you later,” Tony said hastily,
wishing Michael hadn’t returned and interrupted his conversation
with Rex. There was no time to search out his strange acting
friend. The conference call with Jackson Spade, the FBI’s super
genius guy, was due to start any minute.

Chapter 8
     
    The car next to Tony’s rumbled and bounced
with loud rap music. The headache he’d been fighting all week
threatened to take on a life of its own. When would the stupid
light change? The call with Jackson went well. His team had gotten
much of the profile correct, but Jackson had brought up a theory
the others wouldn’t like. The amount of submission the victims had
been put through led Jackson to believe their suspect was in an
authority position, but a low position, one where he didn’t have a
great deal of power.
    The traffic stalled again. Tony let his eyes
drift over the pedestrians. There were still a few tourists hanging
out, but the foot traffic consisted mostly of residents going to
lunch. A shop door opened and a young woman walked out. Shock
washed over Tony. His breath caught in his chest. It was Kelsey,
but in his mind he knew it couldn’t be her. He blinked furiously.
The wind blew and her hair moved around her face. The illusion was
gone. He could see clearly that it wasn’t her.
    A horn blasted behind him and Tony switched
his foot from the brake to the accelerator and took off. He gripped
the steering wheel and eased off the gas. A nice long lunch with
his wife would take the edge off.
    Marissa sat at a table outside of Manny’s.
He spied her long brown hair before he even pulled into the parking
lot. His fingers itched to pull the clip from her silky locks and
let the control she tried to maintain slip away.
    Her mouth was drawn into an unforgiving
line. Tony drew in a deep breath, calming himself before facing her
wrath. He climbed out of the car and sent a prayer up to God,
asking for favor. Maybe his hard work on this case would make up
for his sins, letting Marissa would smile when she saw his
face.
    Uneasy and fear gnawed at his gut as he
moved through the parking lot. He loved the food at Manny’s, but he
wondered if he could swallow even one bite.
    Kelsey. He shouldn’t have waited to tell
Marissa.
    The oppressive heat clung to Tony as he
moved across the street. It was too hot to sit outside, but Marissa
looked cool as she fanned herself. She deserved better than he’d
given her. His work always came first. Now, he was paying the
price.
    Maybe waiting to tell Marissa about Kelsey
was the way to go. Putting off the news might make his lunch more
pleasant, but if he didn’t tell her now, she would hold it against
him. Determined to do right, Tony took a fortifying breath, calming
his nerves.
    Marissa hadn’t seen him yet. His eyes roved
over her body, studying every detail. Her golden skin shone in the
sun. Tony wanted to caress her arms, to run his fingers across her
skin and feel it’s silky texture. She was still as beautiful as she
had been the day they met. The fear of losing her forever brought
pain to his chest. Regret over his past mistakes snaked through his
mind. How had he ever been so stupid?
    “ Tony.” Marissa waved as
she turned towards him.
    Smiling, he moved through the tables and
chairs. Seizing the moment, he lowered his head to kiss her before
she had a chance to turn away. Her shoulders stiffened when his
lips brushed hers, but he wouldn’t apologize. He would never
apologize for kissing her.
    “ Marissa, you look
great.”
    “ You look--”
    “ I know I look like hell.
We’ve been working a tough case,” Tony said as he lowered his