Free If I Should Die by Allison Brennan Page A

crux of the problem, Sean realized. Lucy felt helpless and her need to find justice for the dead woman—to give her family peace—overrode the details of the plan. If she didn’t search for answers, she wouldn’t be able to put it to rest. The woman would be on her mind, a tragic puzzle with no solution. Even if Lucy went down in the mine and found nothing, at least she would feel that she had done everything she could.
    “All right,” he said. “We go down first thing tomorrow morning.”
    “Thank you. And—would you mind if I asked Patrick to pull all missing persons in the area? Not just St. Lawrence County, but all of upstate New York? Maybe the adjoining states?”
    “Already done.” He grinned at the surprise on her face and leaned back in the chair, hands behind his head.
    “Why didn’t you tell me?” Lucy stared at him with such a quizzical expression that Sean laughed.
    “You never have to hold back with me, Luce. Your mind is a computer. You go through all the arguments you can think of to get your point across, and then bring them up one by one until you get your way.”
    She looked both confused and sheepish, not sure if what he’d just said was a compliment. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
    “Brainstorm with me. Give me all your ideas, the good and the bad, and we’ll go through them together. You don’t have to justify your reasons for anything, not to me.”
    “That’s not what I was doing.”
    “Yes you were. Maybe you don’t see it.”
    She shook her head and turned away.
    What had he said wrong? He wanted Lucy to know that he knew her, how she thought, how she felt, so she never felt that she had to put on an act for him. She didn’t have to sell him on her ideas. With her family and her colleagues, she was always hesitant to stand by her theories, though she was rarely wrong. Sean wanted her to have the confidence she deserved without tacit approval from Patrick or the rest of her family, or even him.
    He stood and limped over to her, his leg stiff from sitting too long.
    “You can say anything to me, Lucy.”
    “I know,” she said quietly.
    “Good.” He kissed her, a long, soft kiss that generally was a prelude to taking her to bed. He wished they had more time alone—she was still preoccupied, and it felt important to find out what she was thinking. “Luce, I mean it.”
    “Sometimes I think you enjoy this game of yours a little too much. Trying to read me, so proud when you get into my head. And you’re good at it. Really.” But she wasn’t smiling, and Sean felt a chill run down his spine. “I like that you understand me, and I love that you’re so supportive. But sometimes I feel manipulated, like a puppet, when I explain something you already figured out.”
    “I don’t mean to—”
    “I know you don’t.” She squeezed his hand. “If I thought you were doing it to make me feel foolish, I wouldn’t be here. You know me, Sean, better than anyone. Which is kind of scary considering we haven’t known each other for long. So think about that—knowing me, how I would feel if someone was manipulating me.”
    Sean realized he had made a critical mistake with Lucy. “Sweetheart, I would never do anything to hurt you. You know that, right?”
    She smiled and nodded, but Sean saw that she’d put her shields back up, the invisible barrier that he hated. She should never feel defensive around him.
    He wanted to push. Instead, he said, “I think it’s time to go into town and see what crawls out of the woodwork.”

TEN
    An audible hush descended on the half-filled Lock & Barrel when Lucy and Sean made their entrance with Adam Hendrickson. All eyes turned to the group as they crossed the room to an empty booth. They sat, Adam on one side, Sean and Lucy on the other.
    The crowd resumed talking. Quietly, making no pretense that they weren’t looking at the threesome.
    “You sure know how to kill a party,” Sean said, bemused. “I swear, this place is