Watch Your Back Read Online Free Page B

today. She’d settle for a little peace.
    Saturday, March 15, 2.02 P.M.
    Well, shit . Passing the restaurant, Henderson turned right at the end of the block, watching Stevie Mazzetti in the rearview mirror, seeing her just as she entered the building.
    The only things Robinette had gotten right were the day and the restaurant. All of the boss’s other information was dead wrong.
    Mazzetti wasn’t supposed to arrive until three, but there she was, a full hour early. Had she arrived at three, she would be dead. Because I would have been set up on the roof of the building across the street, waiting to pick her off as she’d climbed the stairs .
    Had Mazzetti been on time, killing her would have been the easiest job ever assigned in the history of mankind. The cop had taken the better part of a minute to climb the stairs. She’d been a damn fish in a barrel.
    But no. She was early. A fucking hour early.
    Henderson still might have been on time to set up on the roof before her arrival, but double-checking the whereabouts of her daughter had taken longer than it should have, as well. Because little Cordelia wasn’t at ballet class as Robinette had promised. She and her aunt had ended up at a destination a good twenty minutes farther away.
    So technically I’m still early, but I’m still too late . Blaming failure on Robinette’s bad information was an exercise in futility. Henderson had learned that lesson the hard way, the memory a sour one. Dammit . The car swerved a little. Henderson glanced at the steering wheel in surprise. My hands are shaking . This assignment had become more stressful than anticipated. A drink would settle the shakes.
    Not until you’re finished. Celebrate when you’re finished. Plan now. Celebrate later .
    Henderson parked the white rental Camry behind the building across from the restaurant. A morning scouting trip had identified this building as providing the best angle. And should anyone see me, they’ll tell the cops they saw a white Camry – the same make and model that yesterday’s would-be assassin escaped in after taking a shot at Mazzetti . Yesterday’s assassin would be blamed, diverting any suspicion from Robinette. Or from me, of course .
    Anticipation was a palpable presence in the air. It was time to get to work. Time to avenge the murder of Levi Robinette. It was time to give Robbie some long-overdue peace.

Chapter Two
    Hunt Valley, Maryland, Saturday, March 15, 2.05 P.M.
    D affodils . The sight of them lining the drive up to the farm made Clay Maynard think of soldiers at attention. He didn’t care much for flowers himself, but he had to appreciate the hardiness of the little yellow blooms. It was still so cold he could see his breath, but the daffodils didn’t seem bothered.
    His mother had always loved her daffodils. The memory of her tending her flowers was one of his favorites, one that he summoned when things got too dark. Today was one of those days.
    March 15. The day Stevie Mazzetti’s husband and son had been murdered. The day her life had been ripped apart by the event that, to this day, left her too damaged to love anyone.
    To love anyone? Or just you?
    He drew a quiet breath, pushing the thoughts from his mind. Pushing Stevie from his mind. Or at least to the corner. He’d tried to push her all the way out, many times. He’d given up. She didn’t want him, but, damn his soul, he still wanted her. He had since he’d laid eyes on her the first time, a dedicated cop on the trail of a killer. A fierce mother protecting her little girl.
    He’d seen her heartbroken and resolved. He’d seen her aroused . . . by me  . . . and damn unhappy about it. He wanted her happy about it, wanted to be the man to make her forget the husband she’d lost. Wanted to be the man she started over with.
    He wanted her to be the one he started over with.
    A man doesn’t always get what he wants . Clay had lost track of the number of times his father had uttered those words.