Free Pick Your Poison by Roxanne St. Claire Page A

plants.”
    Callie gasped softly and Ben slammed on the accelerator, flying through another—no, that one was actually red.
    “I’m on my way to the tea party,” he said simply. “Back up would be nice.”
    “I understand. And, Callie, I hope you know how grateful we are to have your foreign-substance expertise.”
    “You want to thank her?” Ben asked. “Then you can do a little historical research on her behalf.”
    “Just let me know what you need, Ben.”
    Callie looked at him, a smile pulling. He could really do this? This Lucy woman could really find out Jeremiah’s real identity… the man who was Callie’s great-grandfather by birth?
    She reached over and touched Ben’s hand, curling her fingers through his.
    “I’ll check in, Luce,” he said, smiling at Callie. “When you give me my next assignment as a Bullet Catcher.”
    “How do you know I will?” she countered.
    “Something in my… gut.”
    She laughed softly. “Good luck, Ben. Do what needs to be done.”
    “I always do.” He ended the call and inhaled slowly, clearly satisfied with how that went. “She won’t let me back on staff until we finish this job.”
    “Then, let’s do it.”
    He smiled at her. “Damn, I like you more every minute, farm girl.”
    She grinned back. “Darn, I like you, too.”

 
     
     
    Chapter Eight
     
     
     
    Ben parked the car in the main lot of a sprawling complex called West Villages, taking a minute to study his passenger.
    “I know this is more than you counted on this morning, Callie. You wanted money and didn’t plan to risk your life to get it.”
    She shrugged, all the color back in her cheeks again and plenty of light in her big blue eyes. “Beats farming.”
    “Yeah? You interested in a job?”
    “As the foreign substance expert?” She laughed softly. “Heck, yeah, if I could sell the farm, finally go to college, and earn a degree. I could be a… what is the company called again?”
    “The Bullet Catchers.”
    “That has a nice, dangerous ring to it.”
    “So I guess you’re not going to opt to stay in the car for this job.”
    She gave him an elbow. “You guess right, pal. You need me.”
    “I sure do.” He reached a hand around her neck, pulling her closer. “I need you,” he repeated, kissing her hard on the lips, then relaxing and letting the connection turn hotter, slower, and much more meaningful.
    Under the kiss, she smiled. “You really are the devil.”
    He pulled away, wiping a stray caramel-colored strand from her face and letting himself get lost in blue eyes about the same color as the sky behind her. “It’s my only flaw.”
    “I noticed.”
    One more kiss and they were out, holding hands as they walked to the front entrance.
    “Shit,” he mumbled, glancing at the few retirement community employees and seeing a complete lack of security professionals. “Totally lax security.”
    “But now you know why,” Callie said. “The less security, the easier for him to do the deed and pop off his wife.”
    “And that’s why all the overt clues and threats of assassination. I bet he planted every one, all to be used as evidence that he was innocent later on. All lies, just like he was going to claim I went after you and we both got stuck and died when the old freezer malfunctioned.”
    She snorted smugly. “Surprise, surprise, Governor. We are so not dead.”
    “And he doesn’t know what you look like,” Ben reminded her. “So once we worm our way into this event, I’ll stay in the back and you…” His voice trailed off.
    “I what?”
    “I don’t know,” he admitted. “Some things you have to figure out as you go along. You’re pretty good at that.”
    “Yep.” She gave his hand a squeeze as they worked toward the front entrance and he flashed his bodyguard’s license and the campaign badge he’d held onto from the last event he worked for McManus. And they were in.
    They strolled around the room where the speech would take place, but behind