Christmas Getaway Read Online Free PDF Page B

lied about Camden—she didn’t need to know everything. His destination was about three hours farther up the east coast, and it was going to be one hell of a drive.
    â€œAll right,” he said finally. “But you’d better rent me an SUV. The roads along the coast are treacherous when there’s snow.”
    â€œHumph,” she said.
    â€œYou mind telling me where the hell we are?”
    â€œJust over the New Hampshire border. I figured you’d be in a better position if we crossed state lines. The Boston police would have no jurisdiction outside of Massachusetts, right?”
    â€œThey have no jurisdiction outside of Boston, but they could get the staties involved.”
    â€œStaties?”
    â€œState police.”
    â€œBut not the New Hampshire state police, right?”
    â€œIn theory. In fact, every law-enforcement official in the northeast is going to want to bring down a cop killer.”
    â€œEven if it’s a fellow cop?”
    â€œEven more,” he said in a bitter voice. “Right now I’d like nothing more than to blow a hole in O’Bannion’s thick skull. And Tommy’s going to break my second cousin’s heart.”
    â€œWho are O’Bannion and Tommy?”
    He considered whether he should tell her. Right now he was so cold and wiped out he wasn’t thinking too clearly, but he couldn’t see any reason not to.
    â€œO’Bannion’s the chief detective. My boss, and I’m betting he’s behind the whole scam. Tommy Morrissey is a cousin, and he’s up to his neck in it, as well. They’ve got to be the ones who framed me.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œBecause I stumbled across what they were doing and they knew I’d turn them in the moment I got proof.” He blinked. She was looking like someone in a movie—all soft focus and backlit. And he could feel himself beginning to slip away again. He closed his eyes, listening to the soft sound of the windshield wipers battling the snow, the whisper of Christmas music coming from the radio, the sound of the tires on the slushy roads. He needed to get rid of her—she was in danger, and as a cop his first duty had always been to protect the innocent. It had been drilled into him from childhood, growing up as he had in a family of cops and firefighters, and in kidnapping this very bossy woman he’d betrayed his code of ethics, just on the slight, unlikely chance that she knew something.
    Of course, he’d only meant to take the car and dump her someplace safe as soon as possible. But all that had taken a flyer when he’d passed out and she’d gotten all medical on his ass.
    â€œIf you want me to be able to make it into the motel on my own, you better find it soon,” he said, groggy.
    He didn’t hear her answer. Things weren’t making muchsense—he was cold and he needed a bed. He tried to fight it—he needed to keep it together long enough to get rid of her, or she’d be a sitting duck. But he could barely focus enough to form words.
    The car stopped moving, and suddenly all noise was gone—the jingling music, the comforting whoosh of the wipers, the soft purr of the engine.
    He heard her voice from far away. “I’m going to get us a room. Don’t move until I come back.”
    Yeah, like that was going to happen. He needed to get away from her, for her own sake. He waited just long enough, and then fumbled with his seat belt. It took him forever to unfasten it, and he reached for the door handle, pushing it open as a blast of snow hit him in the face. It took too much effort to swing his legs out of the car, and he lifted himself up from the seat, determined to get away from her.
    A moment later he was facedown in snow, and the darkness began to close in for good.
    Â 
    â€œB LOODY HELL ,” Ellie said, moving around to the side of the car. Her patient lay sprawled in the snow, and he’d probably