To Honor and To Protect by Debra Webb Read Free Book Online Page A

it.
    Minutes or hours later, Addison woke with a start. It was tricky, listening past the blood thudding in her ears, to figure out what had startled her. The refrigerator was quiet and she heard the creak of wind in the trees.
    Not the wind, she realized, as the curtains over the sink were still. She strained for another clue, telling herself it was just another overreaction to new surroundings.
    This time the quiet splash of water under the house was followed immediately by the soft rasp of a boat being pulled onto the grasses that lined the shore. Damn it all to hell. Someone had found her.
    Immediate worry for Nico flashed through her. Guilt pricked her conscience. Had they hurt him to get a lead on her direction? Since Leonie’s death, there had been no reason to head into this part of the swamp. Many of the locals believed she haunted the place, and they preferred to avoid even benevolent ghosts.
    Addison gripped the shotgun and sat up without making a sound. It might very well be someone familiar with the shack and in need of shelter. If they’d noticed the generator was going, it made sense to stop and ask for help, but Addison prepared to shoot first and ask questions later.
    For several long moments nothing more than typical night swamp sounds reached her. Maybe whoever had been in the boat just needed to sleep off a wrong turn. It happened, and hospitality was part of the odd society out here. If they stayed down there with the boat, they wouldn’t have any trouble from her.
    She’d just relaxed her hold on the gun when she caught the unmistakable creaking tread of the third step in the string leading to the porch. Addison tried to breathe, telling herself Craig wouldn’t come by night and sure as hell wouldn’t come to a place so rural without vocalizing his discomfort in the process.
    But that had been the Craig she’d known—thought she’d known—not the greedy bastard who’d brokered terrible deals that ended with dead US citizens.
    She listened, her palms going damp as whoever was outside climbed closer to the porch. Part of her wanted to run, to grab Andy and bolt through the back, but she’d only heard one person. She could take one person.
    “Addison?”
    The inquiry, delivered in a low whisper, only revealed that the speaker was male. Nico would’ve announced himself already, knowing she was armed and prepared to defend herself.
    So who else out here could possibly know her name?
    The intruder made no secret of his approach now. He leaned close to the window. “Addison? Are you in there?”
    Without a porch light, the intruder’s identity was impossible to make out, but he was nearly at the door.
    “Hello?” The voice, a little stronger, sounded familiar. “Addi?”
    Addison’s heart clutched. She knew that voice, and only one man had ever called her by that nickname. Drew Bryant, her long-dead fiancé.
    She shook her head. Clearly she’d let the stress and worry get to her. Drew wasn’t here, wasn’t even alive. This was probably just a vivid dream induced by Andy’s talk of zombies. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, urging her brain to wake up.
    The screen-door hinges squealed and the handle of the main door turned. A dream, she thought, it has to be a dream. No one but Nico knew she was here. As the door eased open, Addison leveled the shotgun at the man casting shadows across the weak moonlight spilling through the door.
    “Addi, it’s me, Drew. I’m here to help.”
    Wake up!
    Addison fired. The loud report deafened her to the splintering wood as the buckshot pelted the front door. The reactions of the stranger in front of her were like a bad mime, first ducking behind the door, then rushing forward and taking the gun before she could fire again.
    “It’s me ,” he said, his voice lost in the ringing in her ears.
    The single lightbulb came on and she covered her mouth, barely smothering the scream lodged in her chest. “No. No. ” This wasn’t possible. It