One Night In Reno by Rogenna Brewer Read Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Rogenna Brewer
dog and continued down the hall toward him. “How’d you get her to do that?”
“We’ve been working on some things,” he said, getting up from his computer desk and moving to the kitchen. “Is this going to be an all-nighter? Should I put on a pot of coffee?”
It took her a minute to realize he was talking about the discussion she wanted to have with him and not a night of something else. “No.” She shook her head in answer to both questions.
Coffee would just keep her awake. Not that she was going to get any sleep. Now that the time had come to talk, she couldn’t seem to find the right words. “Tess seemed upset.”
What an inane and stupid thing to say. She didn’t want to bring up his ex.
“If Tess was upset there’d be four letter words and shooting.”
“She’s in the military?”
He chuckled. “So that’s your opinion of the military? No, Tess is all civilian. Though she’s with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.”
“NCIS? Like on TV? Your ex is a cop?”
“Special Investigator. You have nothing to worry about unless you’re a spy, terrorist or criminal threat to the Navy and Marine Corps. Are you a threat to the Navy or Marine Corps?”
“I don’t think so,” she said, slipping onto a stool while he made coffee. “But I might be in trouble. And I don’t want to get you in trouble along with me.”
“What kind of trouble?”
She tucked her hands between her thighs. “I hit my manager over the head with a hammer. I didn’t kill him,” she was quick to add. “At least I don’t think so. I think he may have tried to run us off the road.”
He didn’t seem shocked by her confession. “I’m sure you had your reasons.”
“I burned dinner—sorry, but you should also know you married a terrible cook. The smoke alarm didn’t go off. So I got up there to change the battery. When I realized it hid some sort of mini cam, I freaked out. To think that creep was watching me and Josh in our own home…” She shivered. “I put the spy cam on the table and smashed it with a hammer I’d been using to hang pictures.”
“Barry came running over—because he’s also my landlord and neighbor—he stormed the door, ‘Jenny, Jenny it’s not what you think! Security only, security!’ Of course, I didn’t believe him. I screamed at him. He’s tried to shut me up by putting his hands on me. He’s a pretty fit guy. I knew if he got hold of me I wasn’t going to get away—”
“And that’s when you hit him with the hammer?”
She sucked in her breath. If felt good to let it go. “And that’s when I hit him with the hammer.”
Garrett came around to her side of the island. “Why didn’t you go to the police?”
“I thought I’d killed him. There was blood. He wasn’t moving. I wasn’t thinking. I just grabbed Josh and loaded up the car. I went back inside and grabbed the smashed mini cam, but then Barry was coming around and I didn’t want to be there when he woke up. I just wanted to get away. I figured he wouldn’t go to the police, not if I had evidence and he had to explain himself.”
“You still should have gone to the police.”
“I know, I know. But by that time I was on the road to Grand Junction. My car broke down. I didn’t have any money until it rolled over to midnight and my payday hit the bank. Then I realized I had no job and no home to go back to. I just felt overwhelmed.”
She implored with her eyes.
“Still have that evidence?”
She nodded.
He held her gaze as he dropped his forehead to hers. “Tomorrow you’re going to tell Tess everything you just told me.”
Jenny closed her eyes and nodded. Was it so terrible to want to kiss her husband right now?
#
Garrett woke up on the couch several hours later to find Josh staring at him. It was still dark outside and it took him a minute to orient himself. He propped
“We’ve been working on some things,” he said, getting up from his computer desk and moving to the kitchen. “Is this going to be an all-nighter? Should I put on a pot of coffee?”
It took her a minute to realize he was talking about the discussion she wanted to have with him and not a night of something else. “No.” She shook her head in answer to both questions.
Coffee would just keep her awake. Not that she was going to get any sleep. Now that the time had come to talk, she couldn’t seem to find the right words. “Tess seemed upset.”
What an inane and stupid thing to say. She didn’t want to bring up his ex.
“If Tess was upset there’d be four letter words and shooting.”
“She’s in the military?”
He chuckled. “So that’s your opinion of the military? No, Tess is all civilian. Though she’s with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.”
“NCIS? Like on TV? Your ex is a cop?”
“Special Investigator. You have nothing to worry about unless you’re a spy, terrorist or criminal threat to the Navy and Marine Corps. Are you a threat to the Navy or Marine Corps?”
“I don’t think so,” she said, slipping onto a stool while he made coffee. “But I might be in trouble. And I don’t want to get you in trouble along with me.”
“What kind of trouble?”
She tucked her hands between her thighs. “I hit my manager over the head with a hammer. I didn’t kill him,” she was quick to add. “At least I don’t think so. I think he may have tried to run us off the road.”
He didn’t seem shocked by her confession. “I’m sure you had your reasons.”
“I burned dinner—sorry, but you should also know you married a terrible cook. The smoke alarm didn’t go off. So I got up there to change the battery. When I realized it hid some sort of mini cam, I freaked out. To think that creep was watching me and Josh in our own home…” She shivered. “I put the spy cam on the table and smashed it with a hammer I’d been using to hang pictures.”
“Barry came running over—because he’s also my landlord and neighbor—he stormed the door, ‘Jenny, Jenny it’s not what you think! Security only, security!’ Of course, I didn’t believe him. I screamed at him. He’s tried to shut me up by putting his hands on me. He’s a pretty fit guy. I knew if he got hold of me I wasn’t going to get away—”
“And that’s when you hit him with the hammer?”
She sucked in her breath. If felt good to let it go. “And that’s when I hit him with the hammer.”
Garrett came around to her side of the island. “Why didn’t you go to the police?”
“I thought I’d killed him. There was blood. He wasn’t moving. I wasn’t thinking. I just grabbed Josh and loaded up the car. I went back inside and grabbed the smashed mini cam, but then Barry was coming around and I didn’t want to be there when he woke up. I just wanted to get away. I figured he wouldn’t go to the police, not if I had evidence and he had to explain himself.”
“You still should have gone to the police.”
“I know, I know. But by that time I was on the road to Grand Junction. My car broke down. I didn’t have any money until it rolled over to midnight and my payday hit the bank. Then I realized I had no job and no home to go back to. I just felt overwhelmed.”
She implored with her eyes.
“Still have that evidence?”
She nodded.
He held her gaze as he dropped his forehead to hers. “Tomorrow you’re going to tell Tess everything you just told me.”
Jenny closed her eyes and nodded. Was it so terrible to want to kiss her husband right now?
#
Garrett woke up on the couch several hours later to find Josh staring at him. It was still dark outside and it took him a minute to orient himself. He propped