Dead or Alive Read Online Free PDF Page A

danger.”
    "You should."
    "Well, I don't."
    He cleared his throat. “What’s the point of getting all dolled up? My lawyer was state appointed. He didn't give a shit. The prosecution had solid evidence, the public wanted my head on a stick, and the D.A. wanted a conviction.  A lovely young girl, my coworker, was... poisoned... and I was the face they slapped on it.  It didn't matter whether or not I did it.  No one wanted to listen when I insisted I was being framed.  No one wanted to hear it.  They just wanted... they needed someone to blame.  I never stood a chance.  I knew I was going to be found guilty."
    "So you planned this escape all along?"
    His head snapped to her. "No. I planned to hear a guilty conviction. But the second I heard the juror say the actual words, the second it became real, I just...  The guard was coming at me, and his keys..." He stared out ahead of him. "His keys were jingling .  When you're a prisoner, that’s the worst sound in the world.   He was coming at me with those keys, and I saw that his hand wasn't on his gun."  He shook his head. "I completely lost myself. I grabbed the gun."  He looked back to her. "I grabbed his gun."
    "Please tell me something I don't already know, it’s been trained at my head for the better part of the morning.”
    "It's technically evening now."
    "Time sure flies when you've got a gun at your head."
    Remy suddenly took the controls and veered the aircraft.  Soon, they were flying over a body of water that Violet could only assume was the beginnings of the Pacific Ocean, and her heartbeat sped up. If they’d hit the ocean, then they were officially hundreds of miles outside of Redding.  Why were they going over water?
    Oblivious to her concern, he continued.  "I didn’t plan this.  After I took the gun, it was too late to turn back.  I figured, if I wanted the chance to prove myself, I was going to have to do it myself.  I had to take you with me, because it was the only way I could get out of there.  But I will let you go.   I will.  I'm not interested in hurting you.  I just want to prove my innocence."
    Violet blew out an exasperated breath.  “There are other ways you could’ve proven your innocence.  Ways that didn’t involve breaking even more laws.  There are attorneys out there who devote their lives to freeing innocent men who’ve been jailed for crimes they didn’t commit.”
    “Which can take years, decades.  Not to mention a limitless supply of money and manpower.  Three things I don’t have.”
    Violet watched him closely for a while. "So what are we waiting for?"
    We.
    Remy swallowed thickly, tried to ignore the rapidly escalating pain in his leg, and let his head fall back against the seat. "Dark... I'm waiting for dark."
    Violet sighed and fanned herself.  Even as the sun was slowly setting, the humid clouds seemed to grow thicker every second, and the stuffy heat was just as excruciating as it had been at high noon.  She unbuttoned her blazer and removed it, sighing in contentment when it was off, leaving a thin black cami underneath.
    Like she did every afternoon after work, she tossed the jacket into the backseat with no concern about where it landed, or the mess she was making.  As she turned to toss the jacket, she caught Remy's eyes, and was shocked to find them riveted to her.  It took a lot to make her blush, but at the moment she found it difficult not to under his gaze. At first glance he looked angry, but closer inspection made the strong yearning that pulled his face taut clear as day.
    Remy’s throat had run dry.  At first he wasn't sure if she was actually removing her jacket in front of him, or if he was imagining the entire thing.  He wasn't.  She’d swept it right off and thrown it in to the back of the plane, making her sweet scent fill the space even more than it already was. 
    The sight of her in the flimsy black top, brown skin smooth with perspiration, immediately put to shame