Escape (Last Chance Series, Book 3.5) by Dee Davis Read Free Book Online Page B

dead.  I thought you were supposed to be some kind of big-wig investigator.”
    “I use science to figure out circumstances surrounding a suspicious death.  And most times from there I go on to figure out who did it.  But I’m not a mind-reader.  I just assumed that since you broke in here in the middle of the night and killed my security chief that you’re not one of the good guys.”
    “Well, now that kind of thing is purely subjective, isn’t it?”  His smile was hollow.  “But you can rest assured I’m not the one who killed Fitzpatrick.  Stupid prick.  Hell, truth is, the only thing I really care about is the package he was carrying.”  
    “Well, if he had anything with him, it’ll be with the police in Minnesota. Not here in my lab.”
    “Why don’t you let us be the judge of that,” Henry said, still rubbing his gut where she’d hit him. 
    “Fine.  I’ll take you to the body.”  She glanced around the room, looking for something she might be able to grab.  A weapon of some kind.  “It’s not here.  We’ll have to go down one floor.”
    “Lead the way.”  Marshall reached down and jerked her up, the motion sending the pain crescendoing through her head again as broken glass cut into her bare feet.  She bit back a cry, fighting a wave of dizziness.  If she was going to find a way out, she had to keep her head.
    They walked out into the hallway, Tracy limping as Marshall held her arm, his gun jammed into her side.  Henry flanked her on the other side, his weapon at the ready.  And from the expression in his eyes it wouldn’t take much provocation to convince him to use it.  The man definitely held a grudge.
    They reached the elevator, and when Tracy reached for the call button, Marshall pulled her back. 
    “Just one floor, right?” he asked.
    “Yes,” she replied, wincing as the gun’s muzzle bit into the skin between her ribs.
    “All right,” he said, “then we’ll take the stairs.  Henry, make sure everything is clear here, then follow us.”
    The other man nodded his acceptance, then moved off in the opposite direction.  Marshall pushed Tracy through the doorway that lead to the stairs. 
    “So what is it you’re hoping to find?” Tracy asked as they started down, blood from her cut feet staining the stairs.  “I mean, besides the man’s body.”
    Marshall was silent and, for a moment, Tracy thought he wasn’t going to answer, but then with a shrug, he replied.  “Information.  I’m looking for the information that Fitzpatrick was selling my boss.”
    “State secrets?” She shivered at the thought, wondering what Fitzpatrick had gotten his hands on.  Something worth this kind of effort to retrieve obviously.  “But I told you there were no personal effects delivered with the body.  He was taken to the morgue in Minnesota first.  They did the rudimentary workup on the body.  So the guy didn’t even have his clothes when he came to us.”
    “Doesn’t matter,” Marshall said, “the information is inside him.   It was Fitzpatrick’s idea.  He was really paranoid.  Afraid that his boss was going to figure out what he’d been up to.”
    “Treason?” She said the word sweetly, but she could feel Marshall tense beside her. 
    “Look, lady, my job is just to retrieve the microchip.  I don’t give a fuck what’s on it.  I just care about the pile of money I’m going to get paid for my trouble.”
    “Right.  And to hell with national security.”
    “Works for me.   Besides, it’s not like it’s all lollipops and roses on the other side of the equation.  You’re just lucky we got here first.  The man who killed Fitzpatrick was hired by the company that he stole from.  And believe me, Victor Cherov is a man who shoots first and asks questions later.” 
    Tracy shivered.  She’d heard of Cherov.  Not a man she wanted to tangle with.  But that didn’t make her current situation any less dangerous.  Marshall shoved her