Delilah Devlin - My Immortal Knight 04 by Relentless

you
can get.”
    “You’re damn well going to do as you’re told,” Max said, his voice hard
and loud. No way was she going to get into the middle of this operation. The
only danger she’d face would be him, after the pack was taken care of.
    “Max is right,” Joe said. “You’re staying out of danger.”
    Max slowed down to pull into the parking lot.
    “I’ll just tell the man pumping gas to follow you,” Pia said. “I can be very persuasive.”
    Max cursed under his breath. He knew damn well just how persuasive she
could be. Her sweet body was another weapon in her arsenal. All she had to do
was lift her skirt an inch…
    He shot a glance at Joe, but his partner’s mouth was tight-lipped.
    “You better hurry,” Pia said. “Your friend sounded a little worried.”
    The little witch! Joe and Max shared a glance. They didn’t have time to
ditch Pia.
    Joe cursed and raised the mike again. “We’ll be there in five.”
    “We’ve already cleared out any civilians along the boardwalk,” Phil
said. “See ya, buddies.”
    Max peeled out of the parking lot and gunned the engine again. “Just
how much experience do you have with a gun?”
    “Plenty. And I almost always hit my target.”
    “ Almost always?” He glanced in the rearview mirror.
    Her eyes sparkled with excitement. “I usually hit where I aim.”
    “Sweet Jesus!” Joe groaned. “Quentin’s gonna have my ass if I give her
a weapon.”
    “Should we let her go in without one?”
    “I don’t suppose you just want to watch?” Joe asked. “From a safe
distance?”
    A scowl darkened her expression. “You’re not leaving me behind. I’m not
helpless. I’ve been in Special Ops for twelve years now.”
    “And just how many of your fellow officers have you shot?” Joe asked.
    Max blinked and looked at her in his rearview mirror.
    Pia’s mouth twisted in disgust. “Just one…well, two…if you count the
time I tripped on a fallen tree limb. But that wasn’t my fault.”
    “What are you?” Max asked. “The Barney Fife of vamp cops?”
    “I excel at ‘undercover’ work,” she said snidely. “You should know.”
    “Sweetheart, I’ve half a mind to lock you in the trunk while we answer
the call.”
    “Do you really think that will hold me?” she said, her voice dripping
sweet sarcasm.
    “Fuck!” Max turned into the parking lot that flanked the boardwalk
along the beach. He killed the engine, hit the trunk latch, and bounded out of
the car.
    With light shining from the streetlights above and the pale lamp from
the trunk lid, Max and Joe strapped on their web belts and slid percussive
grenades into metal loops. Almost in unison they drew their Glocks and
depressed the buttons on the sides of their weapons to eject the clips with the
standard issue bullets. From an ammo box, they drew clips with the special new
issue—silver-filled bullets.
    “What about me?” Pia asked as she peered into the trunk from behind
Max’s shoulder.
    He stepped on the bumper of the car and reached beneath the hem of his
trousers. He pulled out a gun and laid it in her palm.
    “Don’t I get ammo, too?”
    “It’s already loaded with what you need.”
    He watched as she drew back the barrel and pressed the button to drive
it forward again. Satisfied she knew which end of the gun she held, he reached for
the flak jackets. He offered one to her.
    “Uh-huh,” she said, shaking her head. “I might need to move fast.”
    Max continued to hold it out. “You’ll wear it, or I’ll hog-tie you and
strap you to the steering wheel.”
    Pia’s eyes narrowed, and her lower lip jutted out.
    Max lifted one brow.
    “Oh, all right.” She swiped the flak jacket from his hands and shrugged
into it.
    Max assisted, closing the Velcro tabs.
    She scowled ferociously. “If one of those puppy dogs bites my ass
because I couldn’t get away fast enough, you’ll be hearing about it.”
    Max leaned down and put his forehead against hers. “Baby, no one’s
biting