Free Bounty Hunters: 03 Stay Hungry by Lorie O'Clare Page A

hard conclusions.
    "He's an evil bastard." She shivered and hugged herself, wrinkling her nose as she shook her head. "I've never been this close to someone so evil, so heartless, and so sure of themselves that they are doing the right thing. He has no conscience."
    "He couldn't to be part of the game."
    "Point taken," she said easily, shaking her finger at Jake. "I have successfully bugged the back of his limousine."
    Jake was impressed. When she studied his face for a moment, then grinned, her expression lit up. "I've already got track running upstairs in my room," she offered, looking really proud of herself.
    "You've got the ball rolling beautifully, darling," he praised her. "I'm seriously impressed."
    Angela must have realized she'd relaxed too much, was actually enjoying having a conversation with him, and apparently decided she wasn't ready to let her guard down with him yet. That warm look disappeared and she pressed her lips together.
    Angela stared at Jake, not saying a word. She took him in from head to toe. He was acutely aware of wherever she looked. When she lifted her attention to his face he swore he witnessed her mind switch gears.
    "I'm going to head upstairs to talk to my dad," she announced, starting toward the door. "Mario is supposed to send his car for me early this evening. I'll be in contact with you before I leave and let you know what we've decided at that time."
    "You aren't leaving yet." Jake was right behind her, reaching for her and dragging his fingers down her smooth, thick hair before she spun around, yanking the strands from his fingers.
    "Rule number one is this is my case. You answer to me, not the other way around. I give the orders." She held her index finger up toward his face and straightened to her full height, which was probably somewhere around five and a half feet tall. "That is, if I decide we can work together. For now, I'm going to my room to call my father." When she took a step backward her hands were facing Jake, palms out, as if she were warding off some dangerous animal. "You aren't going to stop me and you aren't going to touch me."
    "I'm not the bad guy here, Angela," he said, holding his own hands out in a gesture of surrender. He had no problem with Angela running the show. If she remained this skittish, though, he would have to work even harder to protect her.
    When she let out a loud breath her body deflated. "You're right. I'm sorry. This case means a lot to me. I've come so far on it. And I'm really curious why Dad doesn't want to do backup and asked you instead," she mumbled, pushing hair behind her shoulder.
    "Because of his missing-person case."
    "I'm curious to find out what case could be more important than this."
    "How often do you two discuss each other's cases?" Jake didn't know Huxtable and his daughter's relationship well enough to know whether he'd tell her everything or not. Angela's tone suggested she believed she knew about every case he had, though.
    Angela tugged at her sleeveless sweater, stretching the knitted material over her breasts, then crossed her arms, showing off her cleavage as she leaned against the door instead of opening it.
    "Lately all we've talked about is this case." She dropped her attention to her hands, unfolding her arms and staring at her fingernails, which were nicely filed and painted a bright pink. "I guess he could be working other cases right now without me knowing it." She didn't look up when she tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'm used to knowing everything he does, though," she added, sighing and shaking her head.
    Jake sensed her sincerity. Angela was proud of her father, loved him, and more than likely believed she took care of him. Huxtable might be a hard-ass, but he wouldn't weigh her shoulders down with anything else while she worked this case. That meant he loved his daughter as much as she loved him. Maybe it was that tight bond that had sent him flying out to California, stuffing his pride the best he could