Easy Prey (Love-Inspired Suspense) Read Online Free PDF Page B

bare walls, or the denim-colored curtains.
    Was she really in Jonah’s house?
    Then again she’d survived an attack, a bomb and a break-in, the day before. Why should she be surprised at the fact that she was in Jonah’s home now?
    She lifted her arms and caught herself before she stretched. The pain medication she’d taken the night before had waned. She’d have to take more soon. As if on cue, her stomach rumbled. She looked at the clock on the wall. It was past ten? No wonder she was hungry.
    Elise found a change of clothes on the end of the bed—shorts and a NAVY T-shirt that were clearly Jonah’s, since she had no stuff of her own. How long would it be before the police released the belongings that hadn’t been stolen back to her?
    The coffeepot in the kitchen was half-full and still hot, so she rummaged in Jonah’s cabinets and found a mug. He still took half-and-half in his java, so she added some of that for a treat, along with her usual splash of milk and enough sugar that she’d have some extra energy.
    Where were they?
    Elise looked out the window, but all she saw was grass and a barn. Jonah, who’d grown up in a mansion on the rich side of town, now had a weathered ranch that strangely fit his personality perfectly—even if it did seem a little forlorn.
    Nails clicked on the tile floor, and a tan dog with a black saddle and folded-over ears above a German shepherd’s face wandered in, headed for a food bowl.
    Jonah had always loved German Shepherds, but this one was mixed with a Collie, which softened the dog’s features in a way that was immensely cute.
    She smiled at him. “Hello.”
    The dog eyed her but started eating. Probably worried she would try and take his food. Elise crouched and let the animal get to know her scent. She ran her fingers through his scruff. He was well fed, but lean. They probably ran together.
    Years ago she, Jonah and Martin had run together. The idea Jonah now ran with someone who wasn’t her—even if it was a dog—weighed on her so suddenly she sat down on the cold tile. Logically he’d have run with other people over the years. After all, it had been close to two decades. Why did it bother her so much now?
    Martin was gone, and Jonah was the one still here. He probably hurt over his brother’s death as much as she did. Would she ever reach the point when she stopped remembering exactly what she’d lost? Martin. Jonah. Their father. The mess she’d made of all of it was immense. Overwhelmed by the tide of grief and guilt, Elise turned her attention again to the dog.
    “Let me guess...Hound?”
    The dog’s ears pricked up. He closed the gap between them and nuzzled her until her hand cramped from stroking him. Elise lifted the tag on his collar.
Sam.
She chuckled. Jonah had always given his pets normal names like Steve or Wilson.
    This was what she needed, some animal therapy. No matter how much she helped an animal, it always seemed to heal something in her at the same time. Animals were a solace she found nowhere else, especially when the grief of losing the Rivers brothers swallowed her. The peace and comfort she got from being around animals—and through sharing that with her son—was a gift from God.
    Jonah had probably brought them there knowing Elise would be a sucker for his terminally cute dog. Was he trying to win them over with his animal? Too bad it was sort of working.
    “Where’s your master, huh?” Of course, the dog didn’t actually answer. But there was no one else here to talk to.
    The couch looked like someone had slept there. It was like her son to bed down anywhere. He’d slept in animal enclosures many times when they were sick, or when one of the females was giving birth. Nathan was almost a nomad in his sleeping habits, bonding only with her and the animals. He seemed to find home in living beings, and not in a place to return to at the end of the day.
    Elise walked to the front door so she could look around outside. The dog padded