Trained To Kill by Emily Duncan

in
the air.
    “ Your past, how you threw
Axworthy around, how you hacked into my information.” He stopped
and she hesitated.
    “ Are you asking as a cop,
or as a man?”
    “ I’m both.”
    “ You know what I
mean.”
    He turned his head away and looked out
the window.
    “ I want to know because
you interest me. Personally.” He said the word like it hurt shaking
his head. He looked back over at her and she could barely see his
face in the shadows.
    She had no idea what to say. He left
her speechless. He interested her too. But for God’s sake, a
cop?
    She couldn’t do that to herself or to
him. Drag him into her shit with what she had planned? He wouldn’t
understand or accept. Never. And she didn’t blame him. He was a
good man and good cop. She could feel it instinctively.
    “ I should…go.” She
finished lamely.
    He sat back with resignation. “I’ll
see you tomorrow.”
    She nodded again and left
quickly.
     

Chapter 11
     
    Isa walked into her apartment, all her
thoughts still on Alex so she wasn’t as prepared as she normally
would have been when arms grabbed her around the waist and neck and
hauled her up off her feet.
    She didn’t scream, she was too well
trained for that nonsense. Kicking back with her boot heel, she
felt it connect with her assailant’s knee cap. His grip loosened
slightly around her neck when he grunted and she used the
opportunity to move her head forward. She whipped it back fast and
hard into his nose. She heard the cartilage crunch. He let out a
howl and dropped her.
    Rolling fast to the left, she stood
slowly, putting the couch between her and the three men in her
house. She sized them up. They were waiting for her to move,
cautious now. This wouldn’t be the cake walk they had
assumed.
    “ Come on guys, it’s late.
Let’s not stand around staring at each other all night.”
    The skinny one on the right spoke.
“Mr. Santinez would like to see you.”
    “ I don’t know Mr. Santinez
from Adam. Tell him to call me and we’ll set up a meeting like
civilized people.” She was talking to Skinny but she kept her eye
on all three. The one with the broken nose reached into his jacket
pocket and Isa prepared to dodge a bullet, but he pulled out a
handkerchief and held it gingerly under his nose to staunch the
flow of blood.
    Skinny was still watching her and she
decided to put an end to it. Reaching behind the end table, she
pulled out her Browning 1911-22 Compact. Aiming it at Skinny’s
prized package she made the decision easier for them. Skinny jerked
his head and they filed out the door. Isa’s gun never
wavered.
    Running over she hurried and locked
the door, arming the security. She hadn’t armed it on her way over
to Alex’s. Walking back over, she saw several drops of blood on the
tile floor. At least it wasn’t carpet. She went into the kitchen in
search of cleaning supplies.
    Most people would start shaking by now
from the drainage of adrenaline in the blood, but Isa felt nothing
other than a sore spot on the back of her head as she gathered up a
bucket, bleach, rags and gloves.
    She headed upstairs straight to her
office when she was finished and booted up the computer. She had
already emailed Alex her pick of the most likely inside man from
The Inferno, deliberately leaving Ben out. Now, she needed to do a
search for Santinez.
    Setting it to run automatically, Isa
headed for the shower. She couldn’t sleep with that goon’s blood in
her hair. Stepping under the multiple heads Isa thought about Alex,
the goons from downstairs forgotten.
    He was interested in her. Huh. What a
kick in the ass, she thought. Was the Universe playing with her?
She meets someone she feels something for (not sure what, but
something) for the first time in her life and he’s a cop. A cop for
God’s sake.
    She shook her head and rinsed out her
conditioner. It wasn’t just his looks. She was attracted to him,
sure, but it was that look in his eyes. They held power and
kindness,