Whispers in the Dawn Read Online Free Page B

overwhelmed him. Forcibly, he drove his thoughts away from the beckoning temptation. She was Baylon’s woman. He had no doubt of that. He had to find out where the drug dealer had gone. Only she had that information. Besides, the bastard owed him.
    He raked a hand through his hair. Revenge. That was all he could think of with his wife dead. Nothing else mattered but bringing Baylon to justice—not the type of lax justice the Galaxy Administration meted out. No, the kind only Dakoda Harley would hand out. Revenge had eaten away at his insides until there was nothing but raw hatred left. Along with crazy loneliness for the wife who had tragically died on assignment after being betrayed by someone she had trusted. 
    He watched the fantastic blue baubles that were the woman’s eyes narrow. Her shoulders tensed. She blinked several times. A split second later, he came to the conclusion there was something he probably wouldn’t like directly behind him.

Chapter Three
     
     
     
    If he stepped aside and whoever had it in for him had a weapon, Odessa would be in the direct line of fire, and there would go his last chance to get the information he so desperately wanted, intelligence he had waited much too long for. The next few seconds would be crucial. With timing to the nanosecond, he launched himself towards Odessa, tackling her to the floor and out of the immediate danger of being shot full of bullet holes. She landed heavily on the man he had disabled earlier. Harley heard the air from her lungs whoosh out at the impact. He waited for the sound of bullets to scream by.
    Nothing except the repetitive, mindless chatter the space station was constantly filled with. A quick glance over his shoulder demonstrated that nothing seemed out of place. The hitman wasn’t making his presence obvious. But then, why should he? On Romaydia, dirty secrets threaded with lies, deceit and death abounded.
    Odessa screamed, the noise scarcely registered above the decibel level surrounding them. She scrabbled her nails towards his cheeks as she attempted to break free of him. Her eyes were filled with terror, but he had no time for hysterics. He seized her wrists and, using his body as a shield, pushed her forward, heading towards the nearest concourse, where they might be able to take cover. She smelt wonderfully of gardenias and freshly washed skin.
    One muffled curse after another assailed his hearing. He smiled inwardly. The station didn’t afford many places in which to hide an assassin. Secretive locations would disrupt Murrach Pardua‘s plans to take over the galaxy.
    Odessa launched herself at his face again. “Don’t you get it? I’m not interested in your games.”
    “It’s not my game, you little fool. Stop fighting me. Who did you see behind me?”
    She sucked in an unsteady breath. “He’s shooting at you . Whoever he is, he has no reason to shoot at me.”
    “That’s where you’re wrong. We’ve got to get to the next concourse. If we don’t, we’ll die here.”
    “Get up off me and I’ll show him a thing or two.”
    “I’m not impressed. Words, no matter how lethal we intend them to be, can never match the deadliness of a bullet or two.”
    “Come off it,” she protested, lifting her head to look over his shoulder. “Is this some kind of charade?”
    He debated whether to tuck her head under his arm to keep her down in a headlock. She would fight him with more enthusiasm than a cat with outstretched claws tied in a burlap bag. “Only if the bullets aren’t real. But I have a sneaking suspicion they are.”
    “Call the cops,” she insisted. “What do they get paid for? Eating day-old donuts?”
    He snorted derisively at the stereotype of Terran police. On Romaydia, the law was different. The law was ‘every man unto himself unless Murrach Pardua deemed it wise to interfere’. “The law is of little use here. Everyone does as they please until they die or they get off this blasted piece of metal