Carolina Rain Read Online Free Page B

saw only a shadow. Then the shadow laughed.
    “That’s your best shot , A gent? I can’t believe someone like you ever got into the Bureau, but I suppose they have female hiring quotas and all.”
    Then another laugh.
    The chill that ran down her spine as she recognized the voice paralyzed her. This encounter, this conversation, was impossible. Argyle was dead. Manny had blown his brains all over the deck of that boat.
    Before she could get her mind around what was happening, strong arms grabbed her from behind, squeezing so hard that she dropped her weapons and lost her breath .
    Her capturer whispered to her.
    “Where are all those folks that are supposed to be helping you get through this, Agent? Are they as chicken shit as you? It seems to me they want you to die on the vine, so to speak. I can help with that , and I’m more than willing.”
    Garity.
    Her mind reeled and seemed ready to explode , simultaneously . Argyle alive? Garity holding her fast when he should have been running for his life? And where was Jen? Had he already taken her out? How could all this be happening?
    Argyle stepped close, turning his head from side to side, taking in every line and curve of her face. Her fear turned to utter horror . The G ood D octor had been responsible for so much pain and for taking Manny away from her , but she knew he wanted more. Much more. He sought her soul. She could sense it.
    She kicked at him, but he was just out of reach. More insane laughter.
    “You’re dead. How can this be happening?” she managed.
    “Really? Did you think that I could truly die, Agent Lee? Men like me are eternal. Your partner knew that . However, you aren’t him, are you?”
    Argyle nodded to Garity. “Kill her . . . slowly.”
    A second later, large fingers closed around her throat. She reached up with the hand he’d freed but couldn’t loosen his grip. Nothing worked. She kicked his legs , tried to reach his groin, but the pressure around her throat increased and her connection with consciousness began to disintegrate. She was headed for the edge of darkness; the gate wide open to that undiscovered realm. She would leave this world with questions and a mammoth chip on her shoulder, but maybe Manny had been right. Maybe this life was only a test and God had a special home for her too .
    Wondering one last time where everyone else was — her help, her companions — she set her mind at embracing the future, whatever it held. As she was ready to slip away, she heard a voice calling her name, then the room burst into a dazzling light.
    Her eyes flew open. Garity no longer had a death grip on her throat. As she dropped to the musty floor, h er eyes darted to where Argyle should have been standing. He’d disappeared. The tears started to flow as her mind sought any kind of rational purchase. It failed.
    This was crazy. Hell, maybe she was crazy . Her friend, her partner, her mentor , the lover of her soul, stood in the entrance draped in a grin that was supposed to live only in her memory.
    “Hey Sophie. Good to see you, girl,” said Manny Williams, running his hand through his hair.

CHAPTER-6
     
     
    New Hanover County Detective Ginny Krantz stood with her hands on her hips, staring at the ceiling of the Morgan mansion. What the hell was wrong with people? All she wanted was a nice, gentle, peaceful three weeks before s he handed the Sheriff her badge and her gun, retrieved what was left of her sanity, then rode into the sunset as a retired cop after thirty-five years of service to the fine people of North Carolina.
    Was that too much to ask? She’d had it up to her arthritic neck with perverts, liars, men haters, women haters, rich bitches, poor pricks, and especially other cops who did what they did because someone “pissed them off.” Or worse, because they felt like they were smarter than the law they’d sworn to uphold— and tried to prove it.
    Rubbing her face with sixty- two- year-old hands, she winced when her