No Chance in Hell by Jerrie Alexander Read Free Book Online Page B

kitchen breakfast bar. Heat burned her cheeks. Thankfully, he made no mention of her earlier state of undress.
    “I’m sorry if I scared you by banging on the door. It’s my job to keep you safe.” Marcus shoved his fingers through his hair. He’d returned to his usual stoic self. “But when you didn’t come out ready to go to the shelter, I called.”
    Chris finally relaxed. “I can’t imagine you panic often.” Marcus’s expression of horror made her laugh out loud.
    “I didn’t panic,” he growled out his answer. His hand covered hers. “I’ll admit to being concerned.”  
    His touch was warm and strong, leaving her unable to speak with his hand on her. Marcus jerked his hand away, almost as if he’d startled himself by touching her.  
    Her cell sang out, and Chris ran to retrieve it. She checked caller ID. It was the shelter. Today was free adoption day, and she’d promised to help. She apologized profusely to the facility manager and went back to the kitchen.  
    “The manager at the animal shelter is depending on me to show up.”
    He poured her cold coffee back in the pot and refilled her cup. The aroma put her taste buds on alert. Marcus turned back to face her. “We can follow the original plan. I’ll follow you. But we should think about moving you.”
    “As much as I hate that he was here, I don’t want to run. If I disappear, he’ll never be caught.”
    “There’s a difference between being brave and being stupid. The difference is often death. We’re not using you as a sacrificial lamb.”
    Chris walked to him. “Is that for me?”
    “Yeah.” He handed the cup to her. “You need it. Maybe it will clear your head.”
    “I’m not trying to be brave, and I try not to make stupid decisions.”
    “Ignore me,” he said, pushing a lock of hair off his forehead. “I wasn’t insinuating you were stupid.”
      “But I’m right, I can’t disappear. Besides, he’ll just find me again.”
    “And we need to figure out how he does that. He knows a lot about you.”
      “I can’t let the shelter down. They expect to be swamped.”
    “Hang on.” He slid his buzzing cell from his pocket. While he spoke with Nate, Chris grabbed her socks and boots. She returned to find Marcus pacing.
    “What’s the verdict?” she asked.
    “Did you tell the shelter when you’d be there?” The nerves in his jaw had started twitching again.
    “We’re good until after lunch. Should we check with the police first? They were going to ask the neighbors if they’d seen any suspicious vehicles in the parking lot.”
    “Nate will do that from the office.”
    “Then I need to get to the shelter.”
    “That’s not a problem. I’ll follow you over. We’ll enter the shelter together, and you can introduce me as a neighbor. It will give me an excuse to stay close.”
    “Help is never turned away. No matter what pretext we use, you hang out for very long and we’ll put you to work.”
    “Let’s try something before we go. Come sit down.” Marcus patted the back of her easy chair.
    Chris did as he asked. “Now what?”
    “Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths.” He dropped to one knee and took both her hands in his.  
    Her hands were cold inside his warm and comforting grasp. His thumbs rubbed across her knuckles. How long had it been since a man had demonstrated such tenderness with her? She’d been looking over her shoulder for two years, not allowing anyone to get close.  
    “Tell me again what you remember about the break-in.”
    A chill raced up her spine, and she tightened her hold on Marcus. “He seemed really angry that my parents had money. Was bitter I’d grown up in the ‘lap of luxury.’“ She opened her eyes and looked into Marcus’s troubled gaze. “I’ve already told you that he said I shouldn’t make any friends. If I do, he’ll kill them.”
    “Let him try.” Marcus released his grip on her hands and stood. “Maybe you remind him of someone who had money