Trust Me: The Lassiter Group, Book 1 Read Free Page A

closer to the counter. “I’m friends with Sherri, the owner. Maybe I can help.”
    Blackwater’s son shrugged and dug a picture out of his pocket. “We’re tracking down a missing person.” He offered the photo to Lucas.
    It was the same one he had in his own file on Maxine Walker. “She’s pretty, though I don’t usually go for blondes myself. And she’s missing? Do you guys think anything bad happened to her?”
    “Not yet. We hope,” Blackwater tacked on, forcing a smile that was probably supposed to pass for concern.
    “I haven’t seen her around town. Is she local?”
    “No. It’s an old case, actually.”
    “You know, you should probably talk to Constable Herring. He’s the RCMP officer running the BBQ on the wharf today, the big guy massacring the burgers. He’s pretty vigilant about what goes on in Riverbend. He might have come across your missing woman.” All of which Lucas had learned in the two minutes he’d spent scoping the area out earlier.
    Turning his back, he kept his body between them and Max. He offered her the picture. “Have you seen her?”
    Her eyes snapped to his, suspicion glittering in the steel-blue depths. “I don’t think so. No.”
    Before Blackwater Junior got any closer, Lucas pivoted around, handing back the picture. “If one of you guys has a business card or contact number, I’m sure Sherri would have no problem getting in touch with you guys when she gets back into town.”
    Blackwater’s son tucked the photo back into his suit. “We’ll be in touch with her later.” He nodded to Snake, who lingered another moment, then headed for the door.
    “You need to go,” Max hissed under her breath, all but shoving the bagged and boxed dream catcher down his throat. “Now.”
    He lowered his voice to match hers. “I can’t do that.”
    She stepped around the end of the counter, putting herself a few feet closer to the back door. “Who are you?”
    The chimes sounded and Lucas waited to hear the door close. And waited…
    Max froze. The cool resignation in her eyes said it all—Snake had recognized her.

    How in the hell had Blackwater’s men found her? And of all the lowlifes he could have sent after her, why did one of them have to be Snake?
    Three months ago she had figured out how he’d earned the nickname, had witnessed the sick bastard drape his albino python around a snitch, grinning as it wrapped itself around the guy and squeezed the life out of him.
    But it was the presence of Blackwater’s son that really unnerved her. Samuel Blackwater wouldn’t have sent his oldest son, his right-hand, if he wasn’t dead set on getting her back to New York. She knew she’d crossed the line in that rundown warehouse three months ago, had made it impossible for him to forget her.
    The same way he’d made it impossible to forget what had gone down that night. The nightmarish images hovered at the back of her mind, and she quickly shut them down. She couldn’t afford the distraction. Not when she was determined to avoid being stuffed in a trunk with Snake’s python and taken back to Blackwater.
    The stranger opposite her snapped his head around, his gaze locking onto Snake. Whatever he’d come looking for, it didn’t have anything to do with a souvenir for his nephew. He knew who she was, which left him with the advantage. He also knew who Sherri was, and the local law officials. How long had he been hanging around town?
    Across the room, Snake went for his weapon.
    “Down!” Max threw herself against Mr. Unknown, and they crashed to the floor.
    She ignored his surprised grunt and rolled to a crouch, yanking her gun out as the first set of silenced shots tore into the display case behind her. Shattered glass rained down on her head.
    Damn it. Sherri was going to kill her. Thank god she’d said she planned to wait until morning to come back in.
    Angling around a shelf filled with some locally crafted pottery, Max slid to her feet, catching sight of Snake. Her