All or Nothing: A Trust No One Novel by Dixie Lee Brown

breakfast. That okay with you?” The moment the words were out, he regretted the brusqueness of his tone. He wasn’t angry with her. He understood where she was coming from. Her ex-husband, however, he didn’t understand. If that SOB were here right now, Joe could pretty much guarantee the man would never bother Cara again.
    She didn’t reply, but her chin came up and a glint of stubbornness flashed in her eyes. She was strong, but Joe sensed weariness deep in her soul. For a moment, the need to protect her was overwhelming. Far exceeding his obligation to a friend.
    Damn it. He had to get a grip. He couldn’t afford to get personally involved. Why the hell hadn’t Charlie listened? If he had, they’d be done with this now. Sinclair would be in jail, Cara wouldn’t be in danger, and Charlie… would still be alive, free to pursue her and make her his. Joe tensed, angry with himself for the pinprick of jealousy that shot through him. If he wasn’t careful, this job would be his undoing.
    He held her door and waited for her to latch her seat belt before he closed the door and crossed to the other side. He slid behind the wheel then started the car and drove out of the parking lot. Glancing sideways at her, the baseball cap pulled low over her eyes, partially covering the boyish cut of her hair, caused his lips to twitch with amusement and banished his annoyance.
    “I always seem to come off sounding angry with you. I’m not.” He wished he hadn’t given her those damn dark glasses so he could see her eyes. “It’s just… you’re so hell-bent on going it alone. Surely you realize that’s not possible anymore.”
    “Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do. It’s just really hard for me to trust anyone. If you knew David, you’d understand. You can’t protect me from him.” She laid her head back against the headrest and sighed. “No one can.”
    “I get why you don’t trust me, but that has to change if we’re going to help each other. Charlie trusted me. Maybe you could give me the benefit of the doubt?”
    “Oh sure. Somehow it doesn’t give me a warm and fuzzy feeling knowing the last man who lied to me vouches for your trustworthiness.”
    “It wasn’t all a lie, Cara.”
    “I’m not buying.”
    “You don’t believe me? Charlie was a professional, and he never got involved with a woman undercover… until you. He couldn’t tell you the real reason he was there, but my guess is anything he told you on a personal note was probably true.”
    Her chin trembled, and she looked quickly away. Her shoulders slumped under a burden he could only imagine, and he wanted to bear some of it for her. She wouldn’t allow it. This was a woman determined to take care of herself, and doing a lousy job. At least she was talking to him. Maybe he could still salvage something from this chaos.
    “Who do you work for?” She sat erect in her seat again, evidently determined to change the subject.
    “I guess you could say I’m self-employed. Right now I’m helping Murphy on one of his projects.”
    “Who does Murphy work for?”
    “ATF.”
    “Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms?”
    Joe nodded without looking at her.
    “So, you’re what? A mercenary? Selling your services to the highest bidder?”
    “I’ve been accused of worse.”
    “Yeah… probably by me.” She turned away again, staring out the side window in silence.
    Joe parked in front of a small diner on the edge of town. Inside, the aroma of frying bacon and fresh coffee assailed him, and his stomach reminded him he hadn’t eaten in the past twenty-four hours. Cara looked like she could use a good meal too. He threaded his way through the tables to a booth in the back, where the man he’d arranged to meet them already waited.
    “Cara, this is ATF Special Agent Michael Murphy.”
    “Oh yeah, the medic, right? The one who drugged me last night?” She removed her dark glasses and scooted into the booth across from Murphy, skewering him with