Maggie Lee (Book 10): The Hitwoman's Act of Contrition (18 page)

“The dumb dog
can
learn new tricks,” God mocked.

When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I found my favorite redhead petting Piss while sitting on the sofa, watching me.

“Hey, Mags.”

“Thanks for the olives.” I walked over to the couch and looked down at him.

He grinned. “See? I’m good for something.”

“I think you’re good for more than that.” I pushed his legs apart with my knee.

His grin faded as he stared up at me with a burning intensity that I felt in my core as he brought his knees together, trapping my leg between his.

Reaching out, he grabbed my hand and tugged me down toward him. I went willingly, tumbling into his lap and kissing him.

Our tongues danced, our hands roamed, and our clothes started to come off, but suddenly, he pulled away.

I made a sound of protest, but he covered my mouth with a finger before I could get a word out.

“As great as this is, and as much as I want it, it isn’t why I’m here,” he said grudgingly.

I groaned my frustration and tried to kiss him again, but he turned his head.

“It’s important, Mags.”

“Fine,” I sulked. “What’s so important?”

“Darlene.”

I tensed, all thoughts about wanting to rip his clothes off evaporating. That’s when I realized both DeeDee and Piss were licking my shoes like they were a salt lick in the middle of a forest.

“Stop,” I muttered.

Patrick looked down at the animals.  “You must taste good.” He pretended to bite my shoulder.

“I spilled olive brine,” I confessed, pushing him away. “Now tell me about Darlene.”

“Does the name Kevin Belgard mean anything to you?” Patrick asked gently.

I shook my head, but something niggled at the back of my mind.

“You’re sure?”

“I think so,” I said slowly, but even as the words left my mouth, I knew they weren’t the truth. I shook my head.

Patrick smoothed my hair off my cheek. “What?”

“I feel like I should know the name,” I admitted. “Like I’ve heard it before.”

He nodded encouragingly. “It’ll come to you.”

“Why is he important?”

“Because I think he’s the one responsible for erasing all the records of Darlene’s disappearance and death.”

I frowned. Where had I heard that name before?

“It’s not much to go on,” Patrick continued. “But it’s a start.”

I nodded.

“You really don’t remember?” God piped up from his enclosure.

Patrick glanced in the direction of the squeaking sound. “Little guy has something to say.”

“He always does, bless his heart,” Piss drawled sarcastically.

“No reason to attack,” God chided.

And it came back to me as fractured pieces of a memory piling on top of one another.

Surprise.

Sticky sweet.

Painful.

Gasping, I covered my cheek with my hand.

Patrick looked at me worriedly. “What’s wrong?”

“My mom,” I confided shakily. “I thought she was saying
bell guard,
but what if she really said
Belgard
? What does that mean?”

“I think,” Patrick said slowly. “It means you need to talk to her about what happened to your sister.”

The End

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I hope you enjoyed
THE HITWOMAN’S ACT OF CONTRITION

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The Neurotic Hitwoman Series

Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman

Further Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman

The Hitwoman Gets Lucky

The Hitwoman and the Family Jewels

The Hitwoman and the Neurotic Witness

The Hitwoman Hunts a Ghost

The Hitwoman and the 7 Cops

The Hitwoman and the Poisoned Apple

The Hitwoman’s Downward Dog

The Matchmaker Mysteries

The Mutt and the Matchmaker

A Match Made in Mystery

Dark Romantic Suspense

The First Victim

A Jersey Girl transplanted to the Sunshine State, JB (you can call her Jen) writes laugh-out-loud suspense and mysteries with a dash of romance, but she’s been known to dabble in the occasional goosebump-raising thriller.

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All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2015 by Jennifer Baum

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• Chapter 1
  
• Chapter 2
  
• Chapter 3
  
• Chapter 4
  
• Chapter 5
  
• Chapter 6
  
• Chapter 7
  
• Chapter 8
  
• Chapter 9
  
• Chapter 10
  
• Chapter 11
  
• Chapter 12
  
• Chapter 13
  
• Chapter 14
  
• Chapter 15
  
• Chapter 16
  
• Chapter 17
  
• Chapter 18
  
• Chapter 19
  
• Chapter 20
  
• Chapter 21
  
• Chapter 22
  
• Chapter 23
  
• Chapter 24
  
• Chapter 25
  
• Chapter 26
  
• Chapter 27
  
• A note from JB:
  
• LINKS TO OTHER BOOKS BY JB LYNN
  
• ABOUT JB LYNN