Above Protection (Imperfect Heroes Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

could barely fit in the damn clown car. Another
one of the government’s confiscated drug dealer cars, I was forced
to take whatever they had to give me. After all, it’s not like I
could go driving my vic around in a plain white sedan with
government plates.
    The small gas station’s door chimed as
I entered. The smell of coffee and something sweet hit my nose.
Deciding I could use some coffee, I filled a paper cup with the
black nectar and secured a small white lid on top. Taking the cup
to the counter, the young girl working behind it smiled at me shyly
as I approached.
    “I’ll take a can of Copenhagen Snuff,”
I said to her, pointing at the display of chew cans behind
her.
    After retrieving the small round black
can from the display, she plunked it on the counter and slid it
toward me. “That’s six-nineteen,” she said with a cute Southern
drawl.
    I pulled some bills from the front
pocket of my jeans and passed them to her.
    She gave me my change and I said,
“Hey, do you happen to know where Lakewood Street is? My GPS is
jacked.”
    Her light eyebrows furrowed together
in concentration, and then as if a lightbulb had gone off in her
head, she pierced me with knowing blue eyes. Snapping her fingers,
she said, “Oh! Lakewood is downtown.”
    I nodded. “Okay, well how far is that
from here?”
    She smiled. “Oh, you’re out in the
country, sweetheart. You keep going another mile or so west and
you’re gonna be hittin’ dirt roads that lead to the state
park.”
    Shit. Not right at all.
    Seeing my stress, she continued. “Take
Gerald Highway all the way to Four Mile Road, then take the 275
East to the downtown exit. Hopefully your phone GPS thing can help
ya from there.” She nodded toward the phone attached to my
belt.
    That, I could do. “Thanks, gorgeous,”
I drawled, lifting my coffee cup up to her as I headed for the
door.
    She slid some blonde hair behind her
ear and her cheeks turned pink. “Anytime, Hugh.”
    I stopped in my tracks and turned
around and looked at her. “Hugh?”
    “Yes,” she giggled, “you look like
Hugh Jackman.”
    I chuckled as I opened the Snuff can
and shoved some dip into my bottom lip and then pushed my way out
of the store. Wasn’t the first time I’d heard that.
     

     
    The cutie in at the gas station hadn’t
been wrong. Once I reached the interstate, the vic’s address had
been easier to find with my phone’s navigation thing. Who knew a
city as big as St. Petersburg had so many unknown back
roads?
    I sucked in a breath as my car reached
the edge of town where the waters of the Gulf of Mexico flanked the
city. To my left, a huge bridge spanned over a breathtaking body of
water, the late afternoon sun glinting off of the choppy waters of
the bay. I continued on the interstate until I reached my exit. I
followed directions on the navigation system until I reached a
swanky new set of condos built on the edge of the water. I parked
in the guest parking and got out, my hand hovering over the 9mm
piece I carried under the light jacket I wore. I scanned the
parking lot for anything suspicious but didn’t see anything. I then
spied the unmarked sedan with government plates parked in the lot.
I made my way slowly toward it.
    The windows were tinted so dark, I
couldn’t make out how many were inside, let alone the occupants. I
rapped on the window once with my knuckle, and the window slowly
lowered. My arm still unconsciously hovered over my right hip where
my service pistol sat flush against my hip.
    I showed the two guys sitting in the
front seat my badge and credentials. One guy was white and one
black, both equally as boring in their white shirts, loosely fitted
ties, and short haircuts. They both looked up at me.
    The driver didn’t look older than 25
as he said, “Knight in shining armor?”
    I nodded. “Yep. Vic’s
inside?”
    He swung his chin toward the building.
“First floor.”
    I watched as the agent in the
passenger looked down and began texting