Free Chasing Joshua by Cara North

know.” Evelyn frowned now. He was the one put out by her being here. She wasn't used to being treated this good. It was disarming, made her weak. “I told her right in front of you. If I wanted to hide, I would have walked in the other room. You want to know something, ask."
    Her confidence was amazing. She was direct and practical, a stark contrast to the woman he carried up the stairs this afternoon. Rough and tough one minute, confessing horrible secrets and clinging to him the next. He didn't need this. Why was this the woman he was dealt? Where was his simple loving lady he asked for?
    "How'd you get here?” Joshua was going to give her another chance to tell him what happened that night, all of it.
    "I drove. My car's out there on the street.” Evelyn smiled. “A black Honda Civic, older model ... My stuff is in it."
    The way she said that, he knew what she wanted. Incredible, he had always been the one catered to. Women threw themselves at him, and he reaped the rewards. This woman hated him on principal, and he's playing butler for her. “Where are the keys?"
    "One key, should have been in my pants pocket.” Evelyn smiled.
    Her bruised face lit up, and he felt his chest sinking. He hoped the bruises were the reason he had turned into Chase, his other cousin who catered to his wife Megan's every annoying whim. “Fine."
    "Oh and Joshua."
    He growled. It was an audible growl.
    "I just wanted to tell you not to be alarmed if you open the trunk."
    "Stix or Stones in there?” His voice rich with sarcasm, Joshua grabbed the car key off the washer. If he knew which car it had gone to, he would have searched it this morning. He looked down the street twice already, nothing out of the ordinary.
    "That hurts.” Evelyn frowned. But she knew he was just tired. She had asked a lot from a man who knew her less than twenty-four hours. More than she had asked any man in her lifetime. And he was there, each time, and he did it. Unlike any man she ever knew in her lifetime. “Joshua"
    "God help me.” He looked to the ceiling, raised his hands and shook his head.
    "Thank you.” Evelyn had a real frown on her face now.
    "I'll be right back.” Joshua unlocked the door and headed out.
    Almost a block away he found the damned car. Evelyn apparently did everything the hard way. It had Tennessee tags on it. That helped, at least until he opened the trunk. It was like a small spy center. A stack of license plates from several mid-west states were close at hand. A few mag-light flashlights of various sizes, various handcuffs, keys to cuffs, flexi-cuffs, night vision equipment, bb-gun, stun gun, shit!
    His eyes couldn't believe the equipment in there. And that was just what he could see in the first box. No suitcase. He closed the trunk before he scared himself. Of course the crossbow caught his attention as he pulled the hatch shut. In the backseat was a small suitcase on wheels. Under it was her jacket, a bulletproof vest, a cell phone and a purse. Huh, a purse. He grabbed all of it since the jacket and vest were stinking up the car; it was covered in the same mud she was this morning.
    Walking back to his house he realized how much it must have hurt to stage everything. The car was definitely nondescript. It wasn't tourist season, so parking along the road made sense. If she parked in the parking lot across the street, he would have noticed the car right away. She was good. Damn good. A new respect welled inside him, along with a new fear.
    "Honey, I'm home,” Joshua called expecting to see her in the chair. She was gone. He waited a minute before stepping inside. His eyes surveyed the room though he didn't feel a threat. “Evelyn?"
    The backdoor was open. He passed through the kitchen, dropped the stuff off in a chair and on the counter, opened the laundry door and tossed the heavy vest and jacket on the washer. Closing the door he realized the light was on out back. Cautiously he slid to the door.
    Looking out he was