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nice ones always disappointed, pulled out the rug, disappeared. At least with the scum, you knew where you stood. You knew you needed to protect yourself, never let your guard down.
    Most difficult was the way Agent Gardner reminded her of Anthony. She closed her eyes tight, remembering big beautiful protective Anthony. She didn’t want another big beautiful protective man. She wanted Anthony. But he was dead. If she couldn’t have him, she would avenge him. She would find his killer and take him down as brutally as he took down Anthony.
    ~~~
    An hour later, Lexie gazed at her reflection in the mirror with a satisfied smile. She turned and looked over her shoulder at her butt. The short swingy skirt flared just enough when she whirled to give an observer a teasing glimpse of her bare thighs. Her legs always looked good. Damn, they should. A minimum of twenty five hours a week of hard core training ought to do something. Of course, her knee high patent leather three inch heeled boots didn’t hurt either. The skin tight abbreviated tank top hugged her full breasts. She threaded the gold and silver dragon into her belly button ring and yanked the waistband of her skirt down over her hips. She’d learned years ago the power of her “assets” and never hesitated to use them to her advantage. But God help the man who misunderstood the rules of the game. That was when ten years of mixed martial arts training proved its power. Her motto: Assholes beware.
    Smearing on one more coat of bright red gloss over her full lips, she shook out her long blond curls. They reached the middle of her back and swayed when she walked. The whole damn Yuma police force had been unable to turn up any clues. She gave herself a saucy wink. Maybe they didn’t have the right uniform.
    Pulling the creaky motel door shut behind her, she scoffed at the laughable lock and traipsed down three flights of cement stairs. The moon was a golden crescent in the stark sky. That was one good thing about being away from her home refuge. Without a million city lights, every star in the sky gleamed bright, nothing competed with its sparkling light. Fingering the blade in the top of her boot and the one at her back, she hopped in her souped up Camaro and headed out to the streets to find Anthony’s killer.

 
     
    Chapter 4
     
    The meeting at Chief Burton’s office went better than she expected. At least his secretary had been cordial when she handed her a large sheaf of papers without protest.
    “My name is Delores, honey. But most people call me Del,” the matronly looking woman behind the desk said with a kind smile. “You must be Anthony’s sister. Sheesh, you look enough like him to be his twin.” She frowned, the wrinkles around her eyes that years of smoking had planted, deepened.
    “I sure hope you know, honey, how bad we all feel about your brother. He was the kindest man I ever met. Charmed us all. That smile. He was…”
    Lexie broke in. “Thank you, Delores. I mean Del. Yes, I know how my brother affected people. Is Chief Burton in his office?”
    Delores’s face reddened and for a split second, Lexie was embarrassed. There was no need for her to be rude to this woman. She was being kind. But she didn’t want to talk about Anthony with anyone. The only reason she was here was to get the materials she’d asked for.
    “Good morning, Miss Beloi.”
    Lexie turned at Chief Burton’s greeting. The corpulent man stood in the doorway. His face was stern, unsmiling. He stepped aside to allow her to enter.
    Lexie shook her head. Without retuning his greeting, she nodded at the papers Delores had handed her.
    “I presume all the materials I asked for are in this folder?”
    The chief looked surprised at her curt response.
    “As much as I am permitted to give you.” He hesitated for a moment then added, “The autopsy report will be available tomorrow. Jake, Special Agent Gardner, has it, but said you could get it from him tomorrow.”
    Lexie