Too Far Gone Read Online Free PDF

can’t stay in hiding forever.”
    He shrugged. “I don’t have a crystal ball, Miss Woods. You keep your head down for as long as it takes.”
    Her knees gave out and she reached for the door to steady herself. Her career plans for the future would have to wait. However determined she was, getting herself killed wasn’t going to help anyone. Surviving this nightmare meant relying on the sexy, domineering man standing in front of her. She rubbed her clammy palms on her jeans.
    “Okay.” She surrendered. “So what do we do?”
    “You’re absolutely certain you didn’t see anyone else at the scene?”
    “There was no one else.”
    “We take a look at the evidence and we find out the identity of the witness.”
    “Any photos released will be on the gossip shows by tonight.”
    “First, they’re not likely to release the witness’s name or photo. Secondly, time is our enemy. We need to get ahead of this before it spirals any further out of control.” He pulled out his phone and sent an email or text message.
    “What if I cooperate?” Lauren chewed her bottom lip as she considered the idea. “Surely I can talk to Detective Treadwell without going into custody.”
    “You don’t need to talk to anyone but me right now. The people who took out your...
agent
may be part of an organized crime syndicate. Based on your descriptions, the accents, and names, my money’s on organized crime. Probably Russian. They don’t leave loose ends. Particularly if they have reason to believe you know something.”
    He stared at her with an expectant expression, as if she should fill in some blank. “I’ve never seen them before. I have no idea why they wanted to kill Desmond or what the product they kept talking about is.”
    “You lived with Trinity, worked with him. There must’ve been some indication he was associated with organized crime.”
    Lauren knew that tone. It was the tone powerful men took all too often with her, assuming the pretty little lady had rocks in her head. She’d heard Desmond use it too many times. She closed her eyes and thought of the ocean, of digging her toes into the sand as the tide kissed her feet. Some people said they felt small when staring out at the vastness of the ocean. Not her. She’d felt bigger and stronger from the first moment the Pacific Ocean had washed over her skin. The new awareness had been a monumental discovery when she’d arrived in California. On the beach, staring out over the endless stretch of water, she felt connected and infused with energy as if the ocean fueled her. Pulling deep from that well of calm strength, she opened her eyes once more.
    “When I arrived in Hollywood, I worked my ass off. Desmond signed me for my looks and my work ethic. No casting couch. It was completely professional. He was a player and I knew it, but he was a hell of an agent. It took him years to convince me to take our relationship to a personal level, and a few more of blissful ignorance before I caught him cheating on me.”
    Stone cocked that handsome yet arrogant head of his. “Is there some point you’re getting to?”
    She refused to be goaded by his impatience. “This industry is ruthless, no matter how beautiful the people in front of the camera are. Reputation is everything and infidelity happens every day. If I’d thrown a tantrum about him sleeping with a willing wannabe it would’ve started a media feeding frenzy. I would’ve been out of the agency in a heartbeat, my career damaged—perhaps beyond repair.”
    She held up a finger when he started to interrupt her again. “Being faithful to Desmond was my most challenging role, but I played it to perfection. Don’t assume that means I knew every facet of his businesses. The opposite is true.” The distance she had kept between them gave him plenty of room to do whatever or whomever he pleased. She could just imagine what Mr. Stone thought of her choices. Whatever he thought, she didn’t owe him an explanation.