a Touch of TNT (An Everly Gray Adventure) Read Online Free

my car, or maybe I should just start screaming, uh-huh, that would work.”
    “Stay right where you are and give me the address. Do not move, not a muscle.”
    I was almost to the end of the hall. Still no dead body.
    “Okay.” I rattled off the address. “Pierce?”
    “Yeah, I’m here.”
    And there he was. Jacobson.
    Sitting in his chair, his shirt soaked with blood.
    A scream rumbled in my chest. I slapped my free hand over my mouth and bit down hard.
    “Hhhah. Dead. Jacobson. T-Throat slit. B-blood.”
    My knees gave out.
    “What the fuck, El?”
    I grabbed at the wall, barely stopping before my fingertips touched the surface, and slowly backed down the hall.
    “Okay. I’m o-okay.” My voice shook, badly enough to create a minor earthquake in my muscles. I bit my cheek. Do not faint, El. You’ll leave trace evidence. Or whatever.
    “Okay. Backing away n-now.”
    “Don’t move.” He was pissed. I could tell by the sharp edges jabbing through his Irish brogue. “In the car. Ten minutes out. Fill me in while I’m driving.”
    I backed myself all the way into the reception area while I told him the whole sordid story. The chief’s request that I consult for the department, working with Adam, and how I managed to be standing in the reception area of an office with a dead body down the hall. I was still babbling when I smelled him, hot and spicy, behind me. He took the phone out of my hand, pulled me into his arms, and planted a kiss on the top of my head. “Stay here.”
    Fat chance.
    My feet moved and didn’t stop until I was so close behind Pierce I could feel the heat from his body. He turned, his hands landing heavy on my shoulders, dark blue eyes probing my soul. I planted my palm on his chest, pushed, and the image of Jacobson’s body tore through me. Death scenes apparently leave an image like double-edged razor blades. This one cut right through my already bruised mind and left shards of pain behind. Pierce gave me a shake then spun me around. “Go back to the reception area. Now.”
    I backed off a few steps, keeping my fingers curled into tight fists so I wouldn’t inadvertently touch anything else, and I counted breaths until he came out of Jacobson’s corner office.
    Twenty-three.
    He was talking, cell phone to his ear, describing what we’d found. He pointed at me. “Anyone see you come in here?”
    “No.” It came out as a croak. I cleared my throat. “I circled the building twice before I came in. Someone may have noticed, but no one looked up when I passed the other offices, no one followed me down here.”
    Pierce relayed my answer to whomever he was talking to, then turned to me. “Go back to your car and stay there. Annie should have cleared the perimeter by now so you’ll be safe. Lock yourself in and wait for me.”
    I gave him a shaky nod and hustled outside. I slid behind the steering wheel and hung on. Hot. Car. Good thing I’d parked in the shade, or it’d have been like sitting in a blast-furnace while I waited for Pierce—especially if he planned to look for clues.
    Annie’s truck was parked next to my Bug, but I didn’t spot her wandering around. After draining a bottle of warm water, I tried to call her but by the time the phone kicked into ring mode, she was standing next to my car. “You okay?” she mouthed before I could open the window.
    I unlocked the door, pushed it open. “Yeah, I’m okay. I called Pierce after I left the message for you. He’s upstairs now. Where were you?”
    Her eyes flashed. “Bathroom break. Gotta ask. Why’d you call Pierce and not Adam or the Chief?”
    “ESP fingers don’t belong in a dispatcher’s report. I’m trying to stay on the down low, keep my private life private. Pierce is so far removed from official that calling him felt…safe.”
    “I would never put my former partner and safe in the same sentence, but I see your point. If you’re okay, I’m going in to talk to him.”
    I managed to nod but I was a long