Page 36 of Sins of the Heart

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use to the kid in the closet if Marin plugged her in the

back. Not that a bullet was likely to kill her. But it

would be inconvenient and unpleasant.

Leaning her weight on the hand at Marin’s throat,

her fingers biting deep, she reached under the spare

pillow with her free hand and pulled out his gun. He

struggled, which was little more than a nuisance. A bit

more pressure and he stilled. Guess he liked breathing.

She let go of Marin and stepped back as he snarled

and cursed, but the cuffs held.

“Shut. Up.” She smiled and leveled the gun lower.

His jaw snapped shut with teeth-rattling force.

Guess he preferred to keep his equipment intact.

“So, what do we have here?” She glanced at the gun.

“Hmm…semiautomatic.”

46

SINS OF THE HEART

She preferred knives herself—she was all about the

personal touch—but in her business it paid to know the

weapons favored by the enemy. So she knew the drill:

Push the magazine release. Remove. Pull the slide back

and lock it. Visual confirmation that the chamber was

empty. She tossed the magazine across the floor in one

direction and the empty gun in the other. Then she

jerked open the night-table drawer. It was empty. Jackass didn’t even have a backup.

Marin started up swearing again.

Reaching for the sheath on her belt, Roxy slid her

knife free and turned it so the blade caught the light.

And that caught his attention. He stopped midcurse.

“Easy,” he rasped. “Hey, now…easy, there. You

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