Page 4 of Allie's Shelter

“They won’t let me stay here?”

“Not until they clear the crime scene.”

“Do you know who he was?”

“Nope. You?” he repeated, hoping she’d slip up this time.

She shook her head again, her lips clamped in a thin line against the emotion swimming in her eyes.

He believed her. Unfortunately for the progress of his case. “Go on. It’ll be safe in the trunk. I promise I won’t mess with it.”

He amended that promise with all sorts of conditions in his mind, but he knew he wouldn’t violate her privacy unless he had to. At this point, he felt sure he could bring her and the stolen data in without much more trouble. She looked to be in a pretty cooperative mood. Being on the wrong end of a gun could do that.

Still, she had run away from her life. “The car isn’t quite your style and I guarantee you won’t get more than a mile down the road if you try to run.” Her eyes narrowed at the insult. He admired that. She’d always been tenacious. “Or you can keep this guy company and I’ll take it out there for you.”

“I’ve got it.” She fisted her hand around the strap of the backpack. “And I would never steal your car.”

Until her name hit his desk, he’d believed her wild streak only went wide enough to date a guy like him. Now he knew better. Knew he had to be ready for anything.

* * *

Dawn was a whisper teasing the horizon and the water birds were barely stirring on the lake behind her aunt’s home when Sheriff Cochran finally released her.

“Stay in town, Allie. I’m sure we’ll have more questions.”

Of course they would. As soon as someone contacted her office and discovered ‘leave of absence’ had been her pretty way of saying she’d been blamed for stealing proprietary— incriminating—data about the company’s new product. It would only get worse if they learned about the money.

Not if, when. Dread turned her stomach inside out.

She didn’t care to lie to a man who’d played church league softball with her father for years, but she couldn’t afford to volunteer any real information. Not yet. Not when her boss had been playing fast and loose with the charity fund he’d told her to set up a few months ago.

She stared up at her aunt’s house, the windows glowing in the stone facade like so many eyes. The sight had always been comforting, but now worry and tears muddied the feeling.

Inside, the crime team examined the minutiae of the scene. The coroner, another of her dad’s buddies, had paused to hug her as he’d escorted the body away. She was home, but what kind of trouble had she brought with her?

Where could she turn? Her superiors didn’t want to know what she knew about the product and with stolen data in her possession, the authorities would never believe she wasn’t behind those fishy bank transactions. Certainly not when another chunk of it had landed in her account last week.

“Come on.” Ross pressed the key fob and the lights flashed on his car. “Sheriff says I can drive you to the motel.”

That would have tongues wagging in three counties before noon. Local rumors weren’t anything to ignore, but her thoughts kept circling back to how and why he just happened to be right here in the lakeside neighborhood of a town he’d left as soon as possible after high school.

“Fine.” She didn’t have much choice since the evidence on her flash drive, her few remaining possessions, and the last of her dwindling cash were all in his trunk.

The sheriff had separated them to take statements, so she had no idea what Ross had told him, or if he’d offered a decent explanation for his presence in her aunt’s home.

“Why were you there?” she demanded as he put the car into gear and pulled away from the curb. “Why are you even here?”

“To save your life, apparently.”

That much she’d figured out on her own and she was grateful. It had finally clicked that Ross had fired even as she was charging the wannabe assassin. She knew he hadn’t been there just to save her, and even if he was helping with random patrols, he hadn’t answered her about getting into the house.

As she tried to voice the question, the dead man’s lifeless face flashed through her mind and she suddenly worried Ross might be in serious trouble for helping her. “Will they arrest you for…?” She couldn’t finish the question.

“Doubtful. Justified force and I’m licensed to carry. Besides, around here they like you enough to appreciate how my actions kept you alive.”

“That won’t last,” she muttered.

“Pardon?”