Free Intrusion by Cynthia Justlin Page B

shifted into drive and left the gas station. “How could you run like that, Audra?”
    “I didn’t steal the armor, Jonathan. You have to believe me. When the judge denied my bail, I just…I panicked.”
    She fisted her hands in her lap hoping he wouldn’t make anything of the fact that she’d deliberately left Cam’s name out of the equation. No one needed to be aware of what had transpired between them. She wished him well in his own quest for answers and that included helping him keep a low profile.
    “If I didn’t believe you, I wouldn’t be here.” Jonathan’s brusque voice penetrated her thoughts. “But I’m not sure what I can do for you without some concrete proof. Surely you must have an idea of who would be after our prototype. What about this security consultant Charlie hired for Nanodyne? Aren’t the police out looking for him?”
    “Yes” She let out a pent up breath. “But a man like him has nothing to gain from stealing high-tech dynamic armor.”
    “Except for money.” His voice had gone flat with a sharp edge to it.
    Audra shuddered. “Not everyone cares about money.”
    “No, you’re right.” He braked at a red light, his voice hushed. “There are far stronger motivators than greed. And that worries me. You could be in danger.”
    “I want you to turn me in.”
    Silence filled the car for several heartbeats, breaking with Jonathan’s razor sharp laughter. “You can’t be serious. I thought you wanted my help.”
    “I do. Can’t you use your connections with the FBI? Convince them that I’m willing to help find the real thief. I’ll do whatever it takes. I don’t care. I just want my life back.”
    He reached across the shifter to cup her shoulder. “I’ll help.” His eyes bored into hers looking more dirty green than their usual clear blue. “But it’s going to take some time to set things in motion with the FBI. I know of a place, a former safe house belonging to a retired agent. Will you stay there while I get in contact with the Bureau?”
    The light turned green and Jonathan stepped on the gas. Audra watched the palm trees along the road fly by, her stomach tightening into knots. A safe house? It was the perfect solution, and yet, she couldn’t shake the small hint of doubt that prickled at her skin.
    Ridiculous. Jonathan was going out on a limb for her. She’d be foolish to turn down his offer.
    “Alright,” she said. “I’ll stay.”

    ***

    Cam’s fingers skimmed across the smooth black surface of his laptop, rubbing away a smudge. His good old ‘American Express’: he never left home without it. Crammed with the latest technology, including state-of-the-art GPS tracking software, his laptop was his one loyal companion in life.
    He slouched in the frayed chair in one of the Plainsman’s finest motel rooms—so fine he refused to go anywhere near the bed. Who knew what scary microbes lurked on those sheets. When a motel charged by the hour, the clientele tended to forego cleanliness in favor of anonymity. Perfect for his purposes—his health, not so much.
    He folded up Audra’s cell phone bill and shoved it into his laptop case. Damn, her call logs were boring as hell. Work. Work. Work. When did she ever find time to play?
    Repeated calls to both her Department of Defense contact and her assistant were about as wild as she got. Simple deduction told him she wouldn’t go to Margaret Stanton for help. The older woman had no connections and Audra would most likely be reluctant to involve her in this mess.
    But Jonathan Peterson…well, there was a man someone like Audra could put her faith in. A solid, upstanding, government employee who probably got off on counting nanoparticles every bit as much as she did.
    He grimaced, punching Peterson’s number into his tracking program, and pushed back the kernel of resentment that threatened to pop in his gut. What did it matter if Audra didn’t think Cam worthy of her trust? He didn’t need her to believe in