Brett Halliday - Shoot to Kill

Then he thrust his hand deep into his pocket and fingered the wad of bills there, strode blithely across to the door and opened it.

Enough light entered Lucy’s bedroom from behind him to show the outline of her body curled up beneath the covers on the bed, and Shayne walked quietly to her side and looked down at her face pressed against the pillow.

She was sleeping peacefully and trustfully, just as she had been earlier that night when he returned to his apartment, and again he stood beside her for a long moment, looking down at her and remembering a lot of things.

Then he brought his hand out of his pocket and held it high in the air over her head and began letting thousands of dollars begin fluttering down over her.

She stirred as some of the bills settled gently on her face, and opened her eyes slowly to look up into his grinning face, and then she sat up quickly, brushing the bills away and looking at them in bewilderment on the bedspread in front of her.

She looked up at him again, shaking her tousled head gravely, and told him with a catch in her voice, “A mink coat doesn’t cost that much money, Michael.”

His grin widened and he opened his big fist to let the rest of the money fall into her lap. He said generously, “Then let’s make it ermine, angel. Get yourself into a robe while I fix us both a drink and tell you what a smart guy you’re working for.”