Explosive Forces

By G.M. Moore

Talk about bringing your work home with you! Detective Lisa Anderson not only is given the case of finding out who holds the contract on Alex's life but she's also given the assignment of using her home as a safe house for him until these people are found. She's protected herself against involvement from anyone by comparing them to her late husband, especially anyone involved with law enforcement. None of the arguments she has used before, though, stops her silly heart from wanting Alex. But she can't afford to make the same mistake again--not when his life hangs in the balance.

Detective Alex Marshall has known her for less than twenty-four hours, but already, he can't imagine his life without her. He knows they are playing a dangerous game--and that it has nothing to do with the people that are after him--and everything to do with their sanity. He knows in his heart he has found someone he can love for the rest of his life. He's also willing to risk whatever it takes to prove it. But can he get through to her before it's too late, or will this case destroy any chance he might have to change her mind about him?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662484377

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Explosive Forces

G.M. Moore

Copyright © 2022 G.M. Moore

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2022

ISBN 978-1-6624-8435-3 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-6624-8437-7 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Epilogue

About the Author

Chapter 1

The city came alive at night. Neon lights danced and whirled while whistles and blaring car horns added sound to the light show. A typical city street on a typical Saturday night found in just about any city in the country. But this night was not normal. This night something out of the ordinary was about to happen—and it had her on edge.

A shiver ran through her, and Lisa tried to melt into the wall of the brick building behind her. Not only because of her foreboding but also because she was standing on a street corner half naked, and the promised cold weather finally came rolling in. The wind and the dampness in the air made it feel even colder than it really was. After being in the low seventies all day, the thermometer was now hovering around fifty degrees and dropping rapidly. Late winter was striking one last blow before it left and allowed spring to take its place.

She crossed her arms in front of her and ran her hands briskly up and down her forearms. Next time, she would listen to the weather report before she decided to stand so scantily dressed on a street corner.

Of all the times to pose as a prostitute, you had to pick this night, she grumbled morosely to herself.

Her informant had been almost positive her suspect would be here, but so far, he was a no-show. She hated stakeouts, but she hated this kind most of all. If she had to pull surveillance, she would rather be sitting inside her warm truck with a thermos of hot coffee and the latest southern rock music playing on the radio.

She longed for the warmth of thick denim jeans on her bare legs and the comfort of a thick jacket, but the other half dozen women who had themselves on display along her side of the street wore the same scant attire as herself. Of course, they had enough sense to be walking back and forth instead of standing in one spot. She sighed as she shivered again. It was nights like this she wondered if her career was really worth it.

She glanced at her watch. Nine o'clock. She had been here for three hours already. If the man didn't show up in the next thirty minutes, she would call it a night and get in touch with Joey about setting up another meeting for tomorrow night. She wasn't going to stand out here and freeze to death waiting for her alleged thief all night.

She exhaled a deep breath and closed her tired eyes for a moment. The noise and the lights seem to be keeping rhythm with the pounding in her head and feet. She reluctantly resumed her watch of the nightlife on the streets, wishing this night was already over.

Alex Marshall hated working robbery. He would rather be back on the streets busting drug dealers instead of looking for hookers. His boss, however, had decided he needed a break. His mouth pulled into a slight grimace, and he almost laughed out loud. Some break. Still it was better than forcing him to take a vacation he didn't want.

He eased his way through the congestion of junkies, pushers, and drunks as a helpless, weary feeling washed over him. He took them off the streets just to pick them up again the next weekend. It was a vicious, never-ending cycle that seemed to have no purpose except to fill him with frustration.

That was one of the reasons he had accepted the transfer from New York to the medium-sized city of Allendale in central Florida. In the back of his mind, he had been hoping for something more along the line of Andy Taylor and Mayberry—certainly not a small replica of New York itself. Hell, he could have just stayed home. At least then, he would still have been working undercover in the drug cartels.

A snort of laughter escaped him as he shook his head. He hoped the guys back at his old precinct never found out about this. They would never let up on him. Here he was—a highly decorated undercover narcotics detective looking for a hooker pulling a string of robberies. One thing about it—they could only move him up from here, he consoled himself.

The department had received reports from five different male victims over the past two months about the same woman. Once they picked her up, she took them to a motel. It had been a different one each time, but once they got there, two men had been waiting for them. After roughing them up a bit, they robbed them and then left, taking the woman with them. He figured it was only a matter of time before one of the victims resisted, and the robberies became a homicide.

As he turned the corner at the end of the block, he couldn't believe his luck. Half the night, he had been looking for her, and now here she was. He drove down the street, slowly passing her, taking in her appearance. It had to be her.

The description he had matched her exactly—late twenties, about five-seven, white blond hair, the face of an angel. Well, that last was his own contribution added to the composite as he passed her. For some reason, the thought just popped into his head. Not exactly what he should be thinking about a hooker.

He drove about three blocks up and turned around, coming back by her on the opposite side of the street. He made a mental note of the vehicles parked nearby. He didn't see any with two male occupants, but that didn't mean they weren't somewhere close by watching her. More than likely, they were already at the motel waiting for her.

He pulled around the block and parked on a side street. He sat watching her as she stood on the corner with the other women. Alex frowned as he looked at her. Something about the way she stood apart from the others; the way she held herself; the way she moved; was off, wasn't the same. His head tilted slightly to one side, and his fingers absently drummed on the dash. No matter what his gut was telling him, she sure looked like she belonged there.

Black leather boots sheathed shapely legs all the way up to her knees. Silver stockings reflected the glittering neon lights when she moved and caressed her legs as they slid up under a black leather skirt that started at midthigh and ended just under a sparkling belly ring. An expanse of tan skin ran up to the bottom of a silver lame top that hugged her trim torso possessively. Shoulder-length blond hair caressed the swells of creamy breasts that peeked from the edge of the blouse.

She sure knew how to dress for the part; he would give her that. His eyes traveled up her slender neck to her face, and his pulse picked up. Her chin was slightly squared in a stubborn angle. Her lips, full and tempting, sat beneath a straight, slightly upturned nose. He stared into deep-blue eyes that seemed to look straight through him. He felt a sudden quickening in his body, and his grip on the steering wheel tightened. His reaction surprised him, and he suddenly found himself wishing that she was in another profession.

Twice over the next couple of hours, he started the car when he saw her walk up to the passenger side of a vehicle, but both times, they had left, and she had resumed her pacing. A frown creased his face as he sat watching her. Alex survived on the streets by his instincts, and they were trying to tell him there was more here than what his body and brain were reacting to, but right now, that was all he was seeing.

An hour later, he saw her push away from the building she had been leaning on and start to walk again. He had planned on waiting for someone to pick her up and then following them to the motel where he could call for backup, but maybe it was time for a change in plans. He would just have to pick her up himself. Once they pulled up to the motel, he would place her under arrest and call for backup once he found out which room her partners were in.

He wanted to take one more look around first, so he drove by her again and came back around the block. His timing couldn't have been better. Just as he turned the corner back onto the street, she stepped off the curb and whistled, motioning him over.

Hell and damnation! The curse exploded through her tired mind. Three hours she had been walking this sidewalk waiting for the man that was now walking toward her on the opposite side of the street. And wouldn't you know it—somehow, she was standing on the corner alone—not down at the far end with the other women where she should be. She knew if she tried to run down there now, she would only attract attention to herself and he would see her. She needed a distraction so she wouldn't be so conspicuous. She didn't want to scare him off now that he was finally here.

She scanned the street and the sidewalk around her and quickly found a solution. She stepped off the curb, put two fingers in her mouth, and whistled loudly at a man driving a black sedan up the street toward her. Seeing she had his attention, she stepped back up on the sidewalk and motioned for him to pull up beside her.

As she started to step forward, she stopped. A prickling sensation tickled its way up her back, and she shivered. What had seemed like a good idea at the time now felt like a mistake. Something set off little warning bells in her head. Instead of approaching the car like she had planned, she stood back far enough to see the driver.

She knew she had seen this man before. But where? A frown creased her brow. Then it hit her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, while she had been pacing, she had tucked away the memory of seeing this same car drive slowly by her at least three times. Maybe he had just been trying to work up enough nerve to approach her, and now she had just given him the perfect opportunity. Images of serial killers floated through her tired mind, and she immediately scoffed at herself. Some inner instinct told her that, although he definitely had singled her out, she didn't think he was out to harm her.

Now, however, not only was she going to have to watch her man across the street, but she was also going to have to figure a way out of this mess. So far tonight, she had been lucky. Only two men had tried to pick her up, but after a few uncensored words from her extensive street vocabulary, they had beaten a hasty retreat.

She didn't think this man was going to be gotten rid of that easily, though. She supposed she could just tell him who she was and why she was standing on the street corner dressed as a hooker, but she really didn't have the time to explain. If she did tell him she was a detective working undercover and he bolted, her cover might be blown. No, she was just going to have to figure another way out of this. Besides, she only needed him to stay just long enough for her man to walk into the pawn shop. As soon as he did that, surely, she could come up with some excuse to ditch the guy.

Once she had a plan in mind, she relaxed. Her training took over as she began to build a composite of the driver as he slid over closer to the passenger door. She guessed he was probably somewhere in his midthirties. Black hair hung down a couple of inches below his jacket collar and was brushed back from a rugged face in a careless manner, so it gave him a bit of a bad-boy image.

His face was a little too rough, too severe to be called classically handsome, but then again, he wasn't hard on the eyes. How hard he would be to bring down, if it came to that, was another matter entirely. Lisa just prayed she wouldn't have to find out. He was a big man, maybe a little over six feet, and what she could see of his jean-clad, leather-jacketed body looked rock solid. He definitely worked out regularly, which meant he frequented the gym often. She tucked this little piece of intuition in the back of her mind in case she ever had to try to find him again.

She could feel his eyes travel down her body and back up again. She was trying to focus all her concentration on the other side of the street as she watched her man through the car's windshield, but she was finding it increasingly difficult not to look at the occupant in the car. Something in those storm-cloud gray eyes kept pulling her attention back to him—eyes that caused her to catch her breath. She'd seen that look before; she knew it all too well. She was intimately familiar with it. Even the sultry way he was looking at her now couldn't cover it up. She knew it meant only one thing—death and grief for anyone who got too close to him.

She shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts. Hey, thanks for stopping. Listen, I need you to help me out for a few minutes if you wouldn't mind, said Lisa, popping bubbles with the gum in her mouth.

Alex had to clear his throat before he could answer. No problem. Are you sure a few minutes is all it's going to take?

As he leaned farther toward the door and spoke to her, she tried to ignore the sensual shiver that slid slowly up her spine. His voice was deep and velvety soft. The kind of voice that, just by hearing it, could quicken your breathing and send an ache through your body.

For just a split second, there was a flash of sensations from deep within her that she thought had long been forgotten—feelings that, until now, only Steve had been able to make her feel. She glanced at him curiously. How could this man arouse such memories in her so easily? She gritted her teeth and quickly dammed up the emotions that threatened to flood her senses. She would never open herself up for that kind of pain again.

I hope so. I'm in a hurry. Look. All you have to do is sit there. I'll do all the work, she answered hurriedly, not even looking at him.

Alex frowned and tried to ignore the little voice in his head that was trying to get his attention. I imagine that kind of personal service isn't going to be cheap, he hinted. It was more of a question than a statement.

What? Uh, no, I guess it wouldn't be, she responded absently.

Once again, Alex swatted away the little voice that kept buzzing around inside his head as she completely ignored him. Would you say a hundred dollars would be enough? he inquired casually.

The man was directly opposite her now. He stopped right outside the pawnshop and looked around nervously. Suddenly, he turned around and started walking away.

Oh, come on! You've got to be kidding me, she complained under her breath, thinking out loud. I've been standing out here for hours waiting for this, she almost groaned.

He wasn't going to take the bait. She felt like screaming. Looked like she wasn't going to get to close this case tonight after all.

Okay. Then how about two hundred dollars? Alex offered, playing along with her game.

Her man made it to the end of the block, changed directions again, came back, and walked quickly inside the pawnshop.

Yes! she exclaimed, Alex all but forgotten. Now all she had to do was walk across the street, wait for him to make the sale, and pick him up. Maybe the last three hours of misery were going to be worth the wait after all.

Great. Get in.

She quickly stepped back as the car door opened. She blinked at him in confusion. What?

I said get in. Two hundred dollars is fine with me, confirmed Alex, starting to slide back across the seat of the car.

Two hun… Look, I don't think you… Oh, damn. She started backing up. Guess it was time for plan B. Good thing she was at the end of the block next to the alley. Sorry, but I have to go. Thanks for helping me out, though.

He slid back over to the open door. Where the hell was she going? Had he said something that made her suspicious? He didn't know, but he wasn't going to waste a whole night's work. He came out of the car and caught up to her in about two strides. He grabbed her arm to stop her.

Hey. Come on, pretty lady. I guarantee you won't be disappointed, he promised in that low, seductive voice.

Lisa almost jumped out of her skin! She hadn't counted on him coming after her, nor had she counted on the jolt of electricity that convulsed through her body at his touch. She sucked in a quick breath as her stomach clenched, and the chilled night air became a soothing balm to her suddenly heated skin.

She leaned back against the wall, trying to give herself time to regain control. She flicked a glance over him as she popped a bubble with her gum.

Once again, her training and instincts took over. I said not tonight. I have something else to do. Now take a hike. Since being nice didn't seem to be working, maybe her blunt words and flat tone would convince him to look elsewhere.

The seductive smile Alex had plastered on his face slipped by half, and he almost frowned at her. Okay, he would just have to sweeten the deal, and if this didn't work, he'd haul her butt down to the station anyway. He felt her stiffen as one finger slowly traced the low dipping neckline of her blouse, and he paused momentarily over the swell of flesh there.

"Look, anything you want, you name it. I promise I can make it