Read Kill Zone: A Lucy Guardino FBI Thriller Online
Authors: Cj Lyons
Kill Zone: A Lucy Guardino FBI Thriller (38 page)
He’d told Jenna things he never thought he’d tell anyone, not even the Doc. She’d listened and told him about her childhood, about her grandfather, the judge. A letter bomb had left him in a coma. Jenna had helped to take care of him, even though she was only twelve, had been there when he'd finally died.
She hadn’t talked about Zapata yet. But they had plenty of time. He hoped.
“Are you sure about this?” He turned to face her. She was beautiful. What could she ever see in him?
She met his gaze and nodded. “What do you say, Marine? Ready to go the distance?”
He wasn’t sure. Well, he was. But… his nerve fled him and he resorted to his age-old defense: warped humor.
“So yeah, we can be like fire and ice, ice baby.” He did a rap tattoo in the air with his hands.
She stared at him. Andre was sure he’d lost her for good. Part of his brain chided himself, the rest of him felt relieved. So much less pain this way. After all, her burns were minor, they would heal, and her hair would grow back and she’d be gorgeous once again. Why would she want to hang out with a freak like him?
Then she grinned, patting the air around her head as if her hair was still there. “You making fun of my naturally curly red hair?”
The nurses had trimmed all the hair she'd had left so it wouldn't interfere with the burn ointment and bandages. She'd been lucky, just first and second degree burns; once the blisters healed, she'd be fine.
“I don’t see any red hair. All I see is glistening white.”
“So then you’re calling me frigid?” Beneath her scowl a smile flitted in and out of view. “Cold as ice? Is that it?”
“Aw jeez. It’s ironic. Humor. If I have to explain it to you, it’s not funny.”
Now the smile fully emerged. “Oh. Ironic. Like a black guy who’s mostly not black anymore? More like a jelly bean, one of those pink and black speckled ones.”
Wow. She got his warped humor and it didn’t bother her. Small miracle right there. But that was just the first barrier. There were plenty more standing in their way. Like what lay beneath his clothing. Up close and personal, actual touching—no one, not a doctor or nurse, had been able to do that without a flinch or a shudder.
“Maybe we could be jelly belly and spice?” She sidled up to him. Close. Real close. “I’m spice. Obviously.” As she spoke, she unbuttoned his shirt. Exposed the new stitches zigzagging across his belly alongside the old scars. “And you’re jelly belly.”
Jenna stopped and looked for a long moment. He sucked in his breath and couldn’t let it out again for fear of scaring her away.
“I got plenty of spice myself,” he finally joked, giving her a chance to escape without either of them being hurt. Not too bad, at least. “And don’t you be dissing my six pack—well, five and a half pack. Ain’t no jelly there.”
She didn’t flinch or shudder or faint. Instead she slid her hands along the scars covering his belly. He almost ran but was too damned stunned by her touch to do anything.
He was the one who shuddered. Not because it hurt. No. Because it felt so damn good, he was afraid he might cry.
Pull it together, Marine.
Then she tilted her chin and kissed him, full on, not trying to avoid the scar that made one corner of his mouth bulge and dug a crater into his chin. It was the muscle flap that had rebuilt his lips. The surgeons did it so he could feed himself, but now he was so damn glad they had.
Finally he had to breathe. He pulled away a little, giving her space, still half-expecting her to bolt. She didn’t move, her gaze locked onto his.
She trailed her lips across his, following the scar that ran down to his collarbone. The skin was sensitive. It tingled at her touch. Felt good.
Her smile grew wicked. “How about those old fashioned pink and white candies that had black licorice on the inside? What were they called? Good ’n plenty?”
It took him a moment before he could answer.
“Good ’n plenty? Yeah, I can do that.” He tried to keep a straight face, play into the humor that had saved him so many times in the past, but ended up looking at the ceiling, blinking back tears.
“Shut up,” she told him as her mouth returned to his.
A good Marine always obeys orders. And Andre was a damn fine Marine. “Ma’am, yes ma’am.”
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About CJ:
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CJ has been called a "master within the genre" (Pittsburgh Magazine) and her work has been praised as "breathtakingly fast-paced" and "riveting" (Publishers Weekly) with "characters with beating hearts and three dimensions" (Newsday).
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Want more of CJ's Thrillers with Heart?
"A perfect blend of romance and suspense. My kind of read." -#1 New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown
NERVES OF STEEL, Hart and Drake Book #1
Dr. Cassandra Hart is fighting a war. And losing.
A deadly drug epidemic, a killer stalking her hospital...meet the ER doctor who never gives up.
Cassie's Pittsburgh ER has been deluged by young patients who have overdosed on a new drug, FX. After Cassie discovers that the source of the FX on the streets is her own hospital, her best friend is killed, and Cassie's life is threatened. She is forced to place her trust in Detective Mickey Drake.
Drake's irascible charm eventually penetrates the barriers Cassie has built around herself, and their relationship progresses from professional to passionate. After Cassie discovers the truth behind the thefts, she and Drake must confront a killer. In the end, their only weapons are their new found love and the courage that it gives them.
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Want more of CJ's Thrillers with Heart? Check out her complete list of books:
Lucy Guardino FBI Thrillers:
Caitlyn Tierney FBI Thrillers:
BLIND FAITH
BLACK SHEEP, coming 02/13
Hart and Drake Romantic Medical Suspense Series:
Shadow Ops, Romantic Thrillers:
BORROWED TIME, a Romantic Thriller
LUCIDITY, a Ghost of a Love Story
Angels of Mercy, Medical Suspense Series:
LIFELINES
WARNING SIGNS
URGENT CARE
CRITICAL CONDITION
AJ Palladino Suspense Series (co-written with Erin Brockovich):
ROCK BOTTOM
HOT WATER