All or Nothing: A Trust No One Novel Read Free

shot her was almost enough to make her reconsider. Man, this guy didn’t give up. She dragged her eyes away from his.
    “I should get back.” She threw some money on the table and scooted from the booth.
    He stood too. “Wait. I don’t even know your name.”
    “I think it’s better that way. Don’t you?”
    “Come on… let me have something to remember you by. Please don’t make me beg.” He smiled beguilingly as he matched her stride.
    “Cara… my name is Cara.” She sighed, annoyed.
    “I’m Joe.”
    He kept pace, despite her shorter stride, walking close beside her, continually, almost apprehensively, glancing around him. Cigarette smoke wafted across the large room to meet them as they neared the casino floor. There was no way she was ready to go back in there, under the shroud of secondhand smoke that hung over rows and rows of discordant machines. Besides, she needed to put some space between this… Joe and her, so they didn’t end up sitting side by side again. Impulsively, she veered toward the front door, hoping he’d take the hint and go back where he came from.
    “I need some fresh air. It’s been… interesting, Joe.”
    “Fresh air sounds good.” He caught up with her as she reached the door.
    Angry now, and frightened, she turned in front of him and stopped, hands on her hips.
    His lips curved in an impish grin when he nearly ran into her.
    “You should go now, before I call security.” She glanced around nervously. What if he became angry and wouldn’t leave? How long would it take to get help?
    Joe raised his hands and took a half step back. A flash of something, maybe anger, darkened his eyes for a second, but before he could say anything, two men dressed in suits appeared on either side of him. The one closest to Cara opened his jacket far enough to show a partially concealed handgun.
    “Let’s all go outside, shall we?” the man said.
    A calculating expression hardened Joe’s features. Cara took a step back, confusion gripping her. This had nothing to do with her. They wanted Joe, not her. Yet the man with the gun grabbed her arm and jerked her in between Joe and him. Joe put his arm around her waist and forced her to walk alongside him. Numb with fear, she dragged her feet, looking to the right and left to catch the eye of anyone who might help.
    Outside, the briny sea air filled her lungs, and the wind chilled her through the light cotton shirt she wore. The men pushed them along the sidewalk and across a motel parking lot to a beach access with a steep set of rickety stairs.
    Terrified, her breaths came in short gasps as her heart drummed wildly in her chest. The stairs led down to sand and a dark, empty beach with the ocean beyond. No way was she going down there. She braced herself on the top step, but Joe’s arm encircled her waist and pushed her forward.
    Damn him! Why wouldn’t he let her go? What were these men going to do to them? Unquestionably, there was nothing good about being forced along at gunpoint, yet Joe showed no fear, as though even now he had everything under control.
    “Stay calm, Cara.” His whisper barely rose above the crashing of the waves. “Be ready. When I tell you to run, you run and don’t stop, no matter what.”
    She glared at him. Who the hell did he think he was? Why should she listen to him? These men were after him with guns, and she was in danger because of him. Certainly, she had no reason to trust him… but what if he was the only one who could help her?
    When they stepped onto the sand at the bottom of the stairs, Joe whirled to face the men who were still a half-dozen steps above him. He jumped between the gunmen and her, and a split second later he had a knife in his hand. With a flip of his wrist, the knife flew through the air, landing with a thunk in the center of the first man’s chest. Cara gasped and fell back a step, staring at the knife protruding grotesquely.
    “Run!” Joe launched himself at the second man before