THE MARINE'S LAST DEFENSE by Angi Morgan Page A

was. How had things gotten so out of control?
    “Couldn’t I just answer your questions here?” she asked, hoping.
    She gulped. The dry, cold fry didn’t want to go down.
    “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He draped his arm across the seat and stared. Stared straight into her eyes without blinking, without darting those hypnotic deep brown spheres anywhere else. “See, I know your secret, Bree.”
    This man did something to her. Stirred something she hadn’t ever experienced before and couldn’t name. Roughly along the lines of instant trust, because he was gaining intimate knowledge without any words. If he searched her inside as deeply as his stare indicated he would, what would he find? An innocent woman had died because of her, didn’t that make her guilty now?
    She swallowed hard, needing to break the silent interrogation he’d begun. “So you know I love working as a dog walker and moonlight as a serial killer?”
    “You’re a funny gal.” He turned the key and faced her again after putting the car in Reverse. “I know that Brenda Ellen Richardson wasn’t the intended victim. You were.”

Chapter Six
    The silence in the backseat surprised him. Jake expected lots of tears from those magnificent amethyst eyes. Along with a healthy dose of denial and persuasive words attempting to get him to release her.
    Dallas whined and nudged the fry container from Bree’s lap so she could drop her head there. A moment later Bree buried her face in the pup’s fur and he heard a few long intakes of breath as she slowed the tears to a stop.
    “I probably shouldn’t have sprung it on you like that,” he admitted, but gauging her reaction had seemed important. Not so much now.
    She wiped both her eyes with the edge of her coat sleeve. “Oh, my gosh, stop being so nice to me and let’s just get this done. Haul me to jail so I can tell them everything.”
    Another unusual reaction.
    “Why don’t we just start with your real name?”
    “It’s Bree.”
    “Do you know who’s after you?”
    “Can’t we just go to the police station, Detective? I don’t think the man who killed Brenda Ellen is going to give up as easily as the rest of the police.”
    “ You’re with me now and only ten minutes away from a holding cell. I think you’re safe enough.” Jake put the car into gear and pulled away from the curb. “I’ve got a hunch you’re running from someone. I can help, Bree.”
    “I know you think you can, Detective. But I seriously doubt you will. I don’t think anyone will believe me.”
    Something twisted in Jake’s gut. How many times had he said those words to himself? Why bother explaining what had happened when no one was going to believe him. He’d been convicted without a trial by his family, but he hadn’t put up a defense, either.
    “Why don’t you try me?”
    Bree’s eyes came to life when they met his in the mirror. He could see the indecision and decided to listen. He turned off the main road and pulled into another parking lot north of the boat ramps, facing the water that was calm after the snowfall the night before.
    “I don’t know how to start.”
    “I’d say the beginning. We might need to go for the short version and who’s trying to kill you.”
    She shook her head. “That’s just it. I don’t know who. They tried to kill me in Amarillo and instead I took something they want back.”
    “Drugs?”
    “No. At least I don’t think it’s about drugs. I grabbed a list of names and money.”
    “Where is it now?”
    “You see, they were trying to frame me for embezzlement. I don’t know how or why except that the man who ordered my death said there was no choice, that it was a direct order from the higher-ups. I grabbed the briefcase and ran.”
    Still keeping him at arm’s length. He knew she’d deliberately not told him everything. He could hear the hesitation in her voice and recognized the deliberate selection of her words.
    “How long ago was