To the Limit Read Online Free Page A

for the helluv it, letting his cop's instincts lead the way.
     
    She turned stiffly toward him, her eyes sharp. "What have you got to do with Tiffany?"
     
    Well, hell-o. She was here because of Tiffany. The question was, why?
     
    "Well, darlin', I could tell you, but then I'd—"
     
    He never finished his sentence. The office door edged open a crack, then immediately slammed shut again.
     
    The room fell into silence but for the sound of a heavy object rolling across the floor. The distinct scent of kerosene registered in the darkness along with the red-orange glow of a lit fuse scuttling toward his feet, then rolling under the desk.
     
    "Holy fuck!" He flew across the room, snagged Eve's arm, and jerked her with him toward the window at a run.
     
    Grabbing her around the waist, he lifted her off her feet, shoved her through the open window, and bailed out right behind her.
     
    "Go. Go. Go!" he yelled when he found her in the alley on all fours. He didn't wait for her to get up. He bodily lifted her again just as an explosion shattered the night around them into an inferno of fire and earsplitting sound and flying glass.
     
    Eve's ears rang like a three-alarm fire. Her knees and elbows ached and burned from her crash to the ground. And thanks to McClain, her face was flattened into the filth of the pocked alley paving.
     
    He weighed a ton; his hot breath fanned her face in labored pants as he lay above her, his arms wrapped protectively over her head. All around them, she could hear the sound of glass shattering against pavement, the muffled concussion of brick and stucco pelting the street.
     
    Bomb. Someone had tossed a bomb into the office. And because of McClain, she was still alive to tell the tale.
     
    Great. The last person on earth she wanted to be in debt to was him.
     
    "Get. Off. Me," she grunted, and tried to squirm out from under him.
     
    He moved with a muffled groan and pushed himself to his feet. "Who have you pissed off lately?"
     
    She shoved the hair back from her face, took the hand he extended, and let him tug her to her feet. "You really want to talk about this now?"
     
    "Good point. Let's get the hell out of here." Neither one of them wanted to hang around for the second act. Not to mention, they didn't want to be here when the police arrived.
     
    With fire still rolling through the blown-out hole that had once been a window, she raced with him down the alley. In the background she could hear the serrated wail of sirens closing in fast.
     
    "Are you nuts?" He snagged her arm when she headed back toward the blown-out wall.
     
    "People could be hurt in there."
     
    "That's what they pay paramedics for! Besides, that little piece of work was meant to be contained to a space the size of the office. And it was far enough away from the dance floor that even if—and that's a big IF—there was some residual damage, it couldn't have made it any farther than the hallway."
     
    "Now, come on, cupcake. We don't have time to discuss logistics. Move it!"
     
    She wanted to argue but didn't have the strength. She'd been beaten around one too many times in the last twenty-four hours; she was short on sleep and was running on adrenaline fumes.
     
    Exercising wisdom instead of pride, she let him take control. He led her out of the alley, down two blocks, and into the cool, smoky darkness of a neighborhood bar. Once inside, she collapsed into a padded booth, leaned her head back, and closed her eyes. She didn't bother to open them when she heard a waitress approach. Didn't object when McClain ordered two whiskey shots.
     
    "Eve." His voice was soft with concern.
     
    She opened her eyes.
     
    "Drink it."
     
    He shoved a shot glass in front of her. She hadn't even heard the waitress return.
     
    "Come on. Chug it down. You look a little shocky."
     
    She pushed out a fatigued laugh—yet nothing felt funny. Surreal, yes. Insane, absolutely. But not funny.
     
    She focused on the shot. With shaking