Trust No One by Diana Layne Read Free Book Online Page A

finished commenting on my–”
    “Yeah, yeah, okay,” MJ interrupted. “So give me the details. How many has she supposedly killed?”
    “To date, four.”
    MJ blinked. Not much shocked her; she’d seen a lot in her years in the business. “So many? Why is there no outcry on the news about the senator murderer?”
    “A couple of good reasons. One, the cause of death has been listed as natural; it mimics a stroke or a heart attack. And two, most of the senators are retired and don’t live in the D.C. area anymore, so it’s been difficult to connect the incidences.”
    “Are you sure it’s Tasha? Maybe the cause of death is natural. If they’re retired, they’re bound to be old. God knows most senators don’t leave the job until a foot’s in the grave anyway.”
    “We’re not one hundred percent positive. You can call it a hunch.”
    “No proof? You’re wasting my time then.”
    “You telling me you don’t believe in hunches?”
    “Momma, momma. High, high.”
    MJ shifted her attention to Angel. “There you go sweetie.” She gave the swing another shove before she turned back to Ben. “I believe in my own hunches, and right now it’s telling me I’m not going to be able to help you. Sorry.”
    “You don’t sound too sorry. Maybe you’re holding out.”
    “Why would I bother? Tasha’s a big girl, more than capable of taking care of herself, and cleaning up any mess she makes. I mean figuratively of course.”
    “You could say it literally, too. The crime scenes are clean.”
    “Then you really have nothing to go on. Good luck. You’re going to need it.”
    MJ turned back to Angel, signaling the issue settled, but Ben obviously had other ideas. He moved into her personal space, and wrapped his hand around her bicep. Once more his touch sent a sharp spark of heat through her, even through her layers of clothes. Had to be purely imagined, she reasoned. Still, she frowned, not liking her body’s reaction. When she slowly raised her gaze to meet his, he made his point.
    “I’m not the one who’s going to need luck. You are.”
    His words snapped her focus away from unwanted sexual awareness and straight to the reason he was in Whiddon. MJ narrowed her eyes. This whole situation was starting to piss her off. “That better not mean what I think it does.”
    “And they told me you were sharp.”
    She jerked away. “I’m retired.”
    “Not anymore.”
    “Like hell.”
    Ben knew he could have been more subtle but she was damned prickly and her constant defensiveness presented more challenges than he’d anticipated. It wasn’t her inappropriate sense of humor—she was right, in this business a sense of the bizarre, a way to find humor was a necessity to stay sane.
    This was too often a shit business and it was about to get shittier. His frustration stemmed more from his orders rather than her. With what he knew about her, plus her devotion to that baby. . .it was going to be damn hard to continue as he’d been directed. Better to let her think he had no sense of humor.
    Because if she didn’t agree to go after Tasha, he had no choice but to be heartless.
    He mentally shrugged. If her opinion of him started low, it wouldn’t be a shock for it to sink lower. “Can we go back to your apartment and talk?”
    “I don’t have anything more to say.”
    “Look, it’ll be dark soon. You’ll have to go home in a few minutes. When you do, I’ll just park on your doorstep.”
    She pierced him with a sharp stare that gave him the impression she wished for an equally sharp knife to maybe carve out his heart. Yeah, just wait until she heard the plans if she refused, then he’d really have to watch out for a sharp knife. He bet she had a good aim.
    Finally, with her feet planted squarely beneath her shoulders she said, “You’re not invited to dinner.”
    “Fair enough. We don’t have to be friends, MJ, but I’ve got to have your help.” He clenched his fists and thought how much more