1st Case - James Patterson Page 0,23

again, and he pressed his disgusting mouth into mine—for maybe half a second. That’s how long it took me to wrench my arm free. I flipped the cap with my thumb, pulled the can out of my pocket, and hit him in the eyes with a full shot of bear spray. I’d been carrying the stuff around for a long time and always hoped I’d never have to use it. Just like any insurance policy.

He screamed and staggered back two steps, but then lurched at me, swinging wildly. Before I could avoid it, the back of his hand caught me in the nose. I felt a warm gush of blood on my lip even as I pushed him away. This time, he fell onto his own shitty couch and went down hard, still roaring.

“Jesus! What did you just do to me?” he yelled. His eyes were squeezed shut and streaming tears, from the mix of pepper and whatever else was in there. The backs of his hands were running like windshield wipers, back and forth, over his face, like that was going to do anything. And was I enjoying his pain? Yeah, I was. Just a little.

Maybe more than a little.

“Is this how you do it?” I yelled back at him. “Preying on girls like some kind of animal? You’re done, asshole! Do you hear me? Done!”

“I’m going to make you so sorry,” he screamed, and even then, it sent a sharp tingle down my spine. All I could imagine was Gwen, and all I could feel was anger. Lots and lots of anger.

“You can’t even see me, you piece of shit!” I yelled. “Stay back unless you want more of the same.”

That stopped him, at least for the moment. He really couldn’t see anything, I realized. Which meant this was my chance to take a real look around. I should have run, but I turned back toward the desk instead. If I was lucky, I could at least take a quick look and check his hard drive. And I probably would have, too, if someone hadn’t come in just then. I heard the electric chime first, and then a voice calling out from the front.

A very familiar voice.

“Hello?” Billy Keats called out. “Anyone here?”

CHAPTER 24

IT WAS JUST as well that Billy came in when he did. If not, I probably would have broken at least a couple of laws: searching Pietro Angeletti’s laptop and phone without his permission.

Still, I wasn’t out of trouble yet. When Keats came into the studio to find me standing there with a bloody face and Angeletti moaning on the floor, his expression was as blank as I’d ever seen. He looked like he’d just walked into some kind of bizarre dream—which is about how I felt.

“Angela? What the hell? Are you okay?”

“I’m … um …”

I didn’t know what I was. I hadn’t seen myself yet, but I could see the blood on my shirt. My nose was throbbing and my heart hadn’t slowed down yet. I had to fight back the tears, too.

“What the hell is going on in here?” Angeletti spluttered out. He was still half blind, and the slits of his eyes were bloodred.

“Sir, calm down,” Keats said, holding both hands out in front of him. He glanced from Angeletti back to me again.

“Go ahead,” I said. “I’m okay.”

“Calm down?” Angeletti yelled back. “Who the hell are you people?”

“I’m Agent William Keats. I’m with the FBI—”

“Are you kidding me?” Angeletti kept yelling, even as he continued to try to wipe the pain out of his streaming eyes. It looked pretty bad. Almost enough to make me care, but not quite.

“What’s wrong with him?” Keats asked me.

I held up the can to show him. It was clear that Billy had about a hundred questions now, but all of that was going to have to wait. Just as well. I needed a little time to recover, not to mention figure out how I was going to explain myself for this one.

“We’ll get some water for your eyes,” Keats said, and shot me another look. I went into the bathroom and threw some water on my face, then soaked a handful of paper towels for Angeletti. I could hear him raving the whole time, not having any of it.

“I’m going to sue your asses so bad you aren’t going to have a pot to piss in. You hear me? This is federal now, and I intend to take it as far as I can!”

“One thing