Devoted Defender Read Free Page B

took a step back and he stood, grabbing onto both her arms. She sucked in a breath at his tight grip on her body and tried to break herself free. “Please, Phil. You don’t have to do this. Just let me go.”
    “It’s better this way than if Silva’s men get to you.”
    “I won’t say anything. I promise.” She had to keep him talking as she pulled away again. Try to figure a way out of this mess.
    “You’ve already heard too much. You know more than you should. There’s no way Silva will let you live. You’ve been marked.”
    “So what now? You’re going to kill me? You’re not a killer, Phil. That much I know.” She tried to appeal to his humanity. A tear fell down her cheek. Was she going to make it out alive? How long could she keep him talking—long enough to plot an escape?
    His grip loosened. “All I can say is that I’m sorry, and that it’ll be fast. I like you, Annie, but you’ve crossed the wrong man. Now that I know about what you saw and heard, I can’t have that hanging over me. If I just let you go, I’d be in trouble with Silva, too. I have a drug I can give you through an injection. You’ll go to sleep and won’t feel a thing.”
    Let him think that she would be compliant. Then she’d make her move.
    He looked down at her. “Just know that I never wanted you to get wrapped up in this.”
    She used the little amount of space he’d put between them to her advantage. With one smooth motion she brought her knee up into his stomach knocking the breath out of him. He reached out for her, and she screamed as she sidestepped him. This was it. If he was able to hold her captive and give her the injection, she’d be dead. He was tall and strong, and she didn’t really stand a chance. Her basic self–defense class would only get her so far. But she wasn’t going to give up.
    He lunged toward her again, tackling her, and they crashed into the end table knocking over the lamp. She hit the ground hard and her vision blurred.
    A gunshot rang out loudly. But it wasn’t from Phil. No, he was running out of the living room toward the back door. What was happening?
    She was a bit disoriented from being tackled to the ground. She blinked a few times as she lay there trying to compose herself.
     “Ms. Thomas, can you hear me?”
    She looked up into striking blue eyes. The ones that belonged to police chief Caleb Winters. And then her world faded into darkness.
    **
    Annie awoke and fear ripped through her body. Then she remembered what had happened. And now as she looked around it was clear that she was in a hospital. But was she safe?
    “You’re awake.” Caleb’s voice came from the side of the bed.
    She turned and saw him there. “How long have I been out?”
    “Overnight. Once they ruled out a concussion they gave you something for the pain. You had some nasty bruises and cuts.”
    “How…how?” she stuttered. “How did you find me?”
    “I followed you.”
    Her first instinct was to be upset, but then she realized that if he hadn’t followed her, she’d be dead by now. “Where are we?”
    “A hospital outside Atlanta. I didn’t want to risk taking you back to Maxwell last night without knowing the extent of your injuries.”
    “You saved my life. I don’t know how to thank you.” Regardless of her reservations about law enforcement, he had saved her.
    “You can thank me by telling me what in the world is going on? What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into? I can help you, but I need to know the facts.”
    “It’s not that easy.” How could she ever make him understand? Not just the facts, but why she reacted the way she did.
    “Take your time. If you’re not up to talking to me at this time, it can wait. You’ve been through a lot.”
    She knew at that moment that she had to have an ally, and this man had just saved her life. Yeah, she wouldn’t normally trust a police officer. Not after she’d been betrayed by them in Florida. But this was more a temporary