SEE HIM DIE Read Free Page A

suspicious.
    “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
    Nice voice, too. Deep, smooth. Sexy. Julie blinked and gave herself another mental shake. This ridiculous reaction had to be shock. She was on the verge of divorce, couldn’t get a job, and she’d just damaged the man’s car. Worse, she had no idea if she even still had insurance.
    The urge to cry hit her hard. She blinked it back, determined to avoid further humiliation. “Please, I don’t want to involve the police or insurance companies. I’ll take care of everything.”
    He scratched his head, drawing her attention to hair that was thick and dark. Great hair. She cringed. Why did she keeping doing that? Focus, she ordered, battling the dizzying emotions whirling inside her head.
    “This looks expensive,” he said as he studied the rear end of his no doubt fully equipped Mustang. “I think we should play this by the book.”
    Damn it! She didn’t want her name on any kind of negative reports until the divorce was over. The Bartons were well connected. Austin would use anything he could find against her. She peered up into the man’s face—such a handsome face. Good Lord. She was hopeless. “Look, mister, give me a break here, would you? I’ll pay for the damages. You have my word. I just don’t want to involve the cops.”
    One dark eyebrow arched skeptically above the other as a droll smile rolled over his lips. “Lady, I am a cop.”
     

 
     

Chapter Three
    Technically Blake should go ahead and call Traffic, but then the strategic maneuver he’d made would be for nothing beyond a few minutes of information exchange in the hot Alabama sun. He needed more than that.
    A lot more.
    “You’re... you’re a cop?” she stammered, those clear blue eyes wide with defeat.
    He shifted his suit jacket aside and let her see the shield clipped to his waist right next to his service revolver. Her quickly indrawn breath told him he’d made his point.
    “Detective Blake Duncan. What’s your name?” he asked, drawing her gaze back to his. Damn if she wasn’t even more gorgeous up close. The feminine peachy colored suit and the snippet of lace peeking from above the top button of her jacket made him think of rumpled sheets and hot, sweaty sex. She had great legs and silky blonde hair to boot, but it was the whole package that made her unforgettable.
    All of this he had first catalogued nearly a year ago when he’d noticed her at one of Randall Barton’s elaborate fundraisers. Julie Barton was the arm candy wife of Randall’s younger and only brother Austin. Blake had considered her just another acquisition Barton money had bought. Yet, he’d found himself watching her every chance he got. The way she shoved her hair behind her ears when she was frustrated. The way she bit her bottom lip when she was nervous. He’d watched her take morning runs and shop at the city’s most expensive department stores. She’d given the appearance of any other Mobile socialite—until he glimpsed her helping in the gardens around the mansion her husband owned and giving those fancy packages she purchased on her shopping sprees to members of the household staff. He’d even seen her cleaning windows once.
    Julie Barton was… confusing and unsettling. He’d had to stop watching her when the sexual fantasies started. He’d dreamed of running his fingers through all that silky hair and over that perfectly toned body. He’d longed to kiss those luscious lips.
    He’d had to stop.
    Unfortunately, everything had changed now. Randall Barton had picked up on what Blake was up to and he’d put him on notice. Blake understood where he stood. If he got too close to Randall again, he would lose his position in the department.
    He couldn’t let that happen anymore than he could give up his quest to see his brother’s murderer brought to justice. All he needed was another route. He didn’t remember making the decision to hit his brakes just as she barreled into traffic this