Free All the Way by Kimberley White Page A

informant said Grazicky had a man beaten to a pulp because he whistled at her.”
    â€œIt can’t be true.” Picturing Grazicky’s hands on Payton turned his stomach. “Payton is scared to death of Grazicky.” He returned to the counter, paid his bill, and left the restaurant.
    â€œYou have to see her, Jake. She’s gorgeous. There’s no way she’s messing around with Grazicky.”
    â€œAsk her,” Jake said.
    â€œI will. The minute I get back to the motel.”
    â€œYou left her alone at the motel? Alone? ” Jake blew into the phone. “She won’t be there when you get back.”
    â€œShe will.” He didn’t know how, but he was certain she wouldn’t break their agreement. She needed him.
    Wisely, Jake avoided that argument. “The FBI agent saw you last night, and now he’s disappeared.”
    â€œI know.” His energy was focused on Payton’s safety. He welcomed the opportunity to tangle with Grazicky, but he couldn’t protect Payton if he was dead.
    â€œWatch your back.”
    â€œI will.”
    â€œFind out everything Payton knows.”
    He climbed into the Land Cruiser. “Do you doubt my investigative skills, my brother? I’m usually the one slinging the camera or fighting off the goons to save your butt, but I do remember how it’s done.”
    â€œThis isn’t about your wounded ego, Adriano. Grazicky is desperate. You have to stay sharp.”
    Jake hadn’t been there to see the fear in Payton’s big brown eyes as they eluded the speeding car chasing them into the night. He hadn’t witnessed her grit when she took the crooked FBI agent down. Jake hadn’t slept at the foot of the bed with Payton relying on him for security. All night long she muttered, twisting restlessly in her sleep. She tossed left and right, kicking the blanket off the side of the bed. It was all he could do not to climb into bed and take her in his arms.
    â€œStay focused,” Jake warned as if he could read Adriano’s private thoughts.
    â€œMy battery is dying. I’ll call when I know the plan.”
    Adriano hoped Payton was as innocent as her eyes portrayed. Jake had meant to jolt him back into reality, to keep him from getting wrapped up in a pretty face and perfect body. As Adriano climbed into the SUV and started down the road, he tried to remember the last time he’d been this attracted to a woman.
    Working stories with Jake, he spent most of his time with the unsavory elements of society—not much potential for a mate there. When he and Jake cracked a big story and the accolades came, so did the fame-hunting women. With Jake being a faithfully married man, Adriano had more than his share of offers. And he took up quite a few. But the attraction was always fleeting, ending as soon as the woman allowed him penetration of her body. None of those women made him feel hopelessly—and helplessly—under their spell. In the midst of danger, his mind remained focused but never lingered too far from the sexual tension mounting between him and Payton.
    He turned off the dirt road when he saw the one-pump gas station. The tires spat gravel as he rounded the building to the small motel. He loved Chicago, but the beautiful weather year-round in the South was a definite perk of his visit.
    His trained eye didn’t miss noticing the cars parked at the motel. Where there had been only one beat-up pickup truck the night before, there were two new cars; both black with an extra antenna. Unmarked cop cars? Had Payton called the FBI while he was gone? Would they send two cars to pick her up? He estimated Payton to be five-five—five-six at the most—about six inches shorter than himself—and no more than one hundred and twenty pounds. Four cops were not needed to bring her in. And wouldn’t they want to be discreet? Especially after the fiasco at the Adam’s Mark?
    â€œIf