Free Kill Me Again by MAGGIE SHAYNE Page B

tranquilizer,” Aaron said. Then he held up a piece of plastic, with part of a label clinging to it. “I found this near the outside of the fence—right there.” He pointed, and handed her the plastic.
    She eyed it. “Ace-prome—huh?”
    â€œAcepromazine. It’s a tranquilizer, commonly used in veterinary offices. It would take a big dose for a dog this size, hit him within an hour, and probably last for three or four. That timing fit with what happened here tonight?”
    â€œLike a glove,” she said. “How do you know about veterinary tranquilizers?”
    He shrugged. “Damned if I know. House all locked up?”
    â€œI need to run back in for a couple more things.”
    â€œI should pull your car into the garage. It’ll make everything look more normal.”
    â€œYou still have my car keys?” she asked.
    â€œLeft them in it—got distracted when I heard you cry out.”
    â€œOkay. Grab some dog food from the bag out there while you’re at it, will you?”
    â€œI’ll just bring the bag. In case we need to be gone longer than anticipated.”
    A little shiver worked up her spine as the voice of doubt—the one she’d been actively suppressing—whispered a bit more insistently. What if, just what if, this man wasn’t what he seemed? “Maybe I should let Carrie know now that—”
    â€œLet’s just get going, okay?”
    She tipped her head to one side, suddenly less sure about him than she’d been before. “Maybe I should give this a little more thought, Aaron.”
    He glanced at her, frowning, but then his frown eased and his face softened. “Hey, I don’t blame you. You don’t even know me.”
    But she felt as if she did. And yet…something wasn’t quite right about all this.
    â€œThen again, neither do I, at the moment,” he went on. “But, Olivia, someone tried to hurt you tonight. And it wasn’t me. Someone tried to hurt me, too. If the two incidents are related, then we have a common enemy. Even if they’re not, we both have someone after us, and we both want to find out who it is and make it stop so we can get back to our respective lives.”
    She thought about that for a moment. It did make sense.
    â€œAside from the fact that someone else came after you, if I wanted to hurt you, I could have done it bynow, couldn’t I? With Freddy tripping out on acepromazine and the phones dead? I could have taken either vehicle and been long gone before anyone even found your body.”
    Her eyes flew wider as she shot him a look. “You don’t need to be so graphic.”
    â€œI’m not your enemy. I may not know who I am, but…I know that.” He shook his head. “Look, I need to get out of here. I feel that right to my gut. I need to get somewhere safe, so I can stay alive long enough to figure this mess out. And I really don’t want to leave you here alone with some crazed lunatic still out to get you. But I will, if that’s what you want.”
    Her throat was dry. She lowered her eyes, her mind whirling, as she realized she didn’t know what the hell to do. Trust him? Or stay home?
    But the thing was, she couldn’t stay home as if nothing had happened. The new life she’d created, the new identity she’d claimed, the way she’d been living for the past sixteen-plus years—it was gone now. All of it. Someone knew her secret. So it wasn’t a secret anymore. Even if she let Aaron go without her, after the attack she’d already reached the conclusion that she would have to take off.
    And she was rapidly reaching another one. She needed to face Tommy and get things over with once and for all. But she wasn’t so sure she could take him on all by herself and live to tell the tale. At least with Aaron at her side she would have one ally. For a little while, anyway.And while she hated to drag