Deadly Charade - By Virna Depaul Page 0,48

thighs. She moved to pull the covering up, over his chest, and he shifted.

“God, it hurts,” Tony moaned.

Of course he hurt. He’d been beaten by Guapo and then Larry Moser when he’d stuck up for that kid in lockup. Then he’d had the wind knocked out of him when he’d saved her from the drive-by shooting, been attacked at her house and was now feeling the effects of a raging infection. How much pain could one man stand?

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, holding his hand in hers. “I know it hurts. I wish I could take your pain away. But you’re strong, Tony. You’ll get through this.” Then she remembered the codeine she’d picked up. Since Pam had administered the first dose at the hospital, Tony wasn’t due more antibiotics yet, but she could give him some codeine for the pain. “Let me get your pills, Tony.”

He shook his head almost frantically. “Don’t go. God, Linda, don’t go. I don’t need pills. I never did. All I need is you.”

A tight knot formed in her belly and pressed upward, under her ribs. He was delirious. Didn’t know what he was saying. But yet she knew he was finally speaking the truth to her. At least the truth as he believed it to be at the moment.

He didn’t want her to leave him. And that was a really good thing.

Because she wasn’t going anywhere.

Her hands shook as she stroked his face with light fingertips. “I won’t go, Tony,” she whispered. “I’m here. Right here.”

Tony moaned, and settled. Linda waited, stroking his head as if reassuring a small child. One more shift in position, then his breathing grew slow and steady. His facial muscles relaxed as he finally fell into a deep sleep. The knot pressing against her heart untied itself.

It was nearly noon when Linda began to feel faint from hunger. After visiting Tony at his house on Tortuga Boulevard, she’d been too upset to eat. And eating had certainly been the last thing on her mind while nursing Tony. Now, however, she needed to take advantage of the fact Tony was sleeping peacefully.

Going to the kitchen, she scrounged in the pantry for something to eat. Instant noodles or pasta with marinara sauce seemed one of the few options. Not exactly what she preferred to eat for breakfast, but she’d have to make do. She put a pot of water on to boil, and then grabbed her gym bag out of the trunk of her car. The clothes in it were old and stale from the last time she’d worked out, but they’d have to do. She hadn’t exactly taken time to pack after Tony had warned her a dirty cop was trying to hurt her.

Quickly she showered, threw her dirty clothes into the washer, then went into the kitchen to prepare a meal of rigatoni and marina sauce, with canned marinated artichoke hearts on the side. As she ate, she played the messages that had built up on her cell phone over the morning, taking notes with a pen filled with fake gold flakes—Welcome to the Gold Country!—on a pad of yellowed paper she found in one of the kitchen drawers.

Her boss, District Attorney Norman Peterson, had called twice. A deputy from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department had called. And Neil had called five times.

Lord, what was she going to tell them? Court had already begun and her secretary had likely already scrambled to find another attorney to sub for her. A flood of guilt filled her for her irresponsibility. Oh, give yourself a break, Linda.

She’d almost been gunned down yesterday. Seemed like a good excuse to take some time off.

She called Norm and left a message on his work phone, letting him know she needed some down time before returning to work. Then she returned Neil’s calls.

He answered on the second ring. “Linda. Where the hell have you been?”

Was that concern or censure she heard in his tone? “I just got your messages, Neil. I’m sorry I didn’t call earlier. Something important came up.”

“Something more important than getting shot at or your cases that are set for hearing this morning? Damn it, I thought you were dead. That whoever it was that shot at you had tried again.”

Okay, so that was definitely both concern and censure she was hearing. She bit her lip and mentally formulated her words before speaking again. She didn’t want Neil to know that she’d gone to see Tony, let alone that they were together. She