A Marked Man Read Online Free PDF

breathing grew shallower, her lungs tight.
    “I can tell I’m upsetting you,” he said. “I’ll go back.”
    “Don’t,” she said. “You said you needed my company. I’m here for you. If you want to talk, I’m ready to listen.” She had never been able to walk away from someone in need. Sometimes that had been a mistake but it couldn’t be with Max…could it?
    “Thanks,” he said and drove on more slowly.
    He thumped the steering wheel and Annie jumped. Her hands trembled and she wound them tightly together. If things did get sticky, she would find a way to bail out. She’d learned the hard way about not allowing a man to trap her where she could be overpowered.
    Max wasn’t the type to overpower anyone.
    She touched his arm. “It’s none of my business, but you’re worried. Is somethin’ wrong with the person you interviewed yesterday? Michele?”
    “I don’t know.” He didn’t, and he didn’t want to talk about it—or think about it, for God’s sake.
    “Okay.” She wished she hadn’t asked.
    “You’re shaking,” he said. “I’ve scared you. Dammit! This isn’t like me. Those bastards are getting what they want, they’re turning me into a madman.”
    “Who?” she said automatically.
    “Let it go.”
    If it might not turn out to be a really bad idea, she would tell him what she thought about being a captive audience for someone in a foul temper.
    “Bail,” she said, not meaning to speak aloud. She cleared her throat.
    A strong hand settled over both of hers. “There’s no reason for me to bail. I’m going through a rough patch is all. And I’m getting ahead of myself. Do you like bagels?” He continued to hold her hands. “Remember a little restaurant in St. Martinville called Char’s Bagels?”
    “No.” She looked around. St. Martinville? The weather, the fog, had disoriented her, if it hadn’t, she’d have asked him to go somewhere other than St. Martinville—anywhere but there. The town where she’d grown up wasn’t so far from Toussaint but she’d left a long time ago and never returned since.
    “You’ll love it. Every kind of bagel and every flavor whipped cream cheese you can think of. Smoked salmon. Capers. Paper-thin onions. Great coffee.”
    “New York food,” she said faintly.
    “People eat bagels all over,” Max said. “Could you go to Char’s with me and eat something now?”
    Her life in the town was over. The people she’d known were dead or gone—most of them. Those who remained would never recognize her after so long. Almost everything about her had changed.
    She definitely wanted out of this car. “Didn’t you get lunch at Pappy’s?” What did it matter? Once she was out of the car she could take charge of herself. “Well, I’ll come. Why not. I always like pickin’ up fresh ideas.” If she made a big deal out of driving somewhere else, Max could get suspicious.
    “I had a good lunch.” He couldn’t read her mood. “But I can’t remember what it was, so I’ll take more time with the bagels.”
    This man was in control, always. He had never blabbered about inconsequential things—like bagels. “Lead me to Char’s,” she said.
    When he glanced at her again, his eyes were narrowed and she felt him assessing her, her reactions. He suspected she was humoring him. She stared back into his eyes and felt drawn to him, even as she couldn’t put fear completely aside.
    In St. Martinville, folks had said she was a bad seed, that she went after the kind of excitement that could ruin her. She had heard whisperings: “Disgustin’” “Stay away from her and make sure your George does. She’s ruined more than one decent man.” They had no proof because there was none, but they linked her to men she’d never met and she had no defense because she had made two mistakes that turned out badly enough to trash her reputation.
    Max drove into St. Martinville. The rain had cleared the streets of people on foot.
    “You know your way around