The Accidental Assassin by Nichole Chase Read Free Book Online

had gotten to Song by now. They would go through my purse and call out to all of the officers to start looking for the American with torn stockings, blue eyes, and brown hair.
    I was so screwed. Right now my entire life hinged on the guy driving this stolen car—on what he decided to do next. And I wasn’t exactly comfortable with that. But my options were limited. Very limited. I sighed.
    “What’s in Oxford?” We passed a small sign with the city name.
    “My house.” He cleared his throat and sat up a little straighter. “A safe house.”
    His house or a safe house? And was I really okay with going to a strange house with him? Did I have a choice?
    “What are we going to do there?”
    “After I have my way with you I think I’ll order pizza and catch a game.”
    My mouth fell open and for a minute my stomach did all sorts of flips. When he saw my expression his lips pulled back into a wide grin and I felt my cheeks heat.
    “Very funny,” I said, but he only laughed.
    Though I didn’t want to admit it, for a moment I’d hoped he was serious. It had been almost a year since I’d rolled around in the sheets with someone other than George, my battery operated toy.
    “I told you I wasn’t going to kill you.” A deep chuckle filled the car.
    “You’re an ass.”
    “And you’re disappointed I wasn’t serious.” His smirk made me itch to hit him again.
    “You wish.” You wish? Was that the best I could come up with?
    “We need to figure out why someone is trying to kill you and what we can do about it.” He glanced at me slyly. “Then if you want…”
    “You know, maybe after the pizza...” I raised one eyebrow. His eyes darted down to my mouth then slowly back up to meet my gaze. “We could discuss strategy. I’m starving.”
    He smiled slowly and looked back at the road. Ha. Score one for me. He wasn’t the only one who could play that game.
    I tried to pay attention to landmarks as we drove through town. The last thing I wanted was to be completely lost. There were lots of little storefronts, old buildings, and students meandering through the streets. If I wasn’t worried about someone trying to kill me I would have had a blast poking through the old shops and bookstores.
    “What is that?” I pointed at a row of houses. One of them seemed to have a giant fish sticking out of the roof like a missile that hadn’t detonated.
    “A shark.” Owen chuckled.
    “Why is there a giant shark sticking out of that roof?” I shook my head.
    “An expression of outrage about nuclear issues.” He shrugged and I leaned back in my seat. “The city tried to have it removed but failed.”
    “It adds a certain amount of charm, don’t you think?” I wished I had my camera. A shark sticking out of a roof would make a fun picture. Of course, my camera was back in Tess’s apartment, which was probably being combed by officers wearing latex gloves and searching for fingerprints.
    “It’s certainly eye catching.” His shoulders seemed to relax, even though I hadn’t realized that he was carrying tension in them. Part of me wondered if he ever rode around with someone, just talking.
    “What else is there to see in Oxford?” I wanted to keep him talking, see him unwind even more. If nothing else, it made me feel more relaxed.
    “Museums, the Carfax tower, the Bridge of Sighs.” He rattled off the list as he made a turn down a narrow lane.
    “The Bridge of Sighs?” I smiled. “That sounds romantic.”
    “It’s very similar to the bridges you find in Venice, but that’s as romantic as it gets.” Laughter lit his eyes as he talked. “It’s not far from the Turf.”
    “The Turf? Turf as in grass?”
    “As in Turf Tavern. It’s near the colleges. A lot of the students gather there. Always a good time. Or good trouble.” A note in his voice caught my attention. Pride?
    “You grew up here?” I offered the guess. It was definitely not just a safe house that we were going to.
    “For a while.”