SEE HER DIE Read Online Free PDF Page A

bastard, had screwed her one last time before getting his.
    No, she decided on second thought, that wasn’t it. MacBride was basing his theory on her past. You can never outrun it .
    He took a step closer. She drew back a step, feeling intimidated by the idea of why he was here and somehow overwhelmed by him . The intensity in his eyes pressed against her, made it difficult to breathe.
    “Can anyone vouch for your whereabouts?” His tone was calm, but she could feel the fierce determination beneath the innocuous words. “It would be very beneficial to you if someone could corroborate your statement.”
    “What’s up, Elizabeth?”
    Boomer planted his long lanky form right between them. She hadn’t even heard him climb down from the ladder.
    “Who’s the suit?” His voice was calm but his body was braced for battle.
    “It’s all right,” she said quickly in hopes of heading off any trouble for the kid. He was loyal to a fault. Always her protector, especially when they worked in rougher neighborhoods, which she’d had to do a lot of in the first few months of getting her business off the ground. But he needed to stand clear of this one. “Agent MacBride is with the FBI. He has some questions about Dr. Harrison’s death.”
    Boomer didn’t appear impressed. He folded his skinny arms over his chest and continued to blatantly size up the agent. “Just let me know if he gives you any trouble. He doesn’t look too friendly to me.” He gave their guest a final glare before stalking back to his work.
    Elizabeth almost sagged with relief. Things were bad enough without Boomer getting involved. From the unyielding expression on MacBride’s face, she was pretty sure he felt nothing that even remotely resembled relief. Indifference or disapproval quite possibly, but definitely not relief.
    “The answer to your question is no,” she said to the agent. “I don’t have anyone who can verify my whereabouts. I’m sure that was in the detectives’ report. My landlady was out that night and I live alone.”
    Of course he knew all that, but rather than comment, he jerked his dark head in Boomer’s direction. “Do you know your assistant has a significant criminal record?”
    Oh, yes. Condescension, as well as disapproval. He not only knew it all, he was above it all. A blast of indignation melted some of the ice paralyzing her from the inside out. “I’m not as naive as you apparently think, Agent MacBride,” she replied sharply but low enough that Boomer wouldn’t hear. “I did a thorough background check before I hired him.”
    One dark eyebrow climbed upward a notch. “You don’t mind that he’s had a half-dozen drug charges, including possession with intent to sell? Or that he’s done time in one of our less pleasant prison facilities?”
    Rather than bank her temper, she allowed it to shore up her courage. “Everyone deserves a second chance.”
    He nodded knowingly, something new, primal, in his eyes. “Of course. You would be a heavy supporter of second chances, wouldn’t you?”
    Elizabeth looked at him then, really looked at him. She no longer saw the cocky, handsome man in the thousand-dollar suit, who was perfect from the thick black hair he wore in that short, spiky style that drove women crazy all the way down to the expensive leather shoes. What she saw, instead, was a man who’d had his whole life handed to him on a silver platter. Money, the best schools, probably had never worked a day in his life until he signed on with the Bureau. And now he shone like a new penny, chasing bad guys and making the world a safer place. A hero... who didn’t know the first thing about what it was like to be down on his luck.
    Guys like him didn’t need second chances. His world was perfect. He probably worked murder cases just to keep life interesting.
    “I’m not ashamed of my past, Agent MacBride. I did what I had to do.”
    “I see.”
    She didn’t miss the effort it took for him to keep a