Free 02 Madoc by Paige Tyler Page A

anything to Shayna until they had gotten back to Denver, he had actually made the decision not to turn her in while they had been in bed that morning. She had looked so vulnerable lying there sleeping that he couldn’t bear the thought of her spending even one night in a jail cell much less going to prison for the rest of her life.
    Especially for something she didn’t do.
    And if he hadn’t slept with her, would he still be so willing to help her clear her name? he wondered. Of course he would be, he told himself. The fact that he had just spent the night having the most incredible sex of his life with her hadn’t factored into his decision at all.
    Madoc ground his jaw. Who the hell was he kidding? He had criticized his brother for getting involved with a protectee in the Witness Protection Program, and here he was falling for a fugitive! That thought stopped him cold. He was definitely not falling for Shayna Matthews! He was helping her in the interest of justice, that was all.
    His hand tightening on the handle of the overnight bag he held, Madoc cleared his throat. “I’m going to grab a quick shower and a change of clothes, then head over to the office and see what I can dig up,” he announced.
     
    “Make yourself at home.”
    Before Shayna could reply, Madoc walked down the hallway and into his bedroom. Stripping off his clothes, he took a shower, and then pulled on a fresh pair of jeans and a clean shirt. When he went back into the living room, it was to find Shayna standing at the window, gazing out at the snow-covered mountains in the distance.
    “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he said, pulling on his coat. “Don’t answer the phone or open the door to anyone.
    And whatever you do, don’t go anywhere.”
    A small smile curved her lips. “I won’t,” she said.
    Digging into his pocket for his keys, Madoc started for the door.
    “Madoc?”
    His hand on the doorknob, Madoc turned to see Shayna chewing on her lower lip and looking at him gratefully.
    “Thank you,” she said softly.
    Madoc wanted to tell Shayna that she shouldn’t be thanking him yet. That if he didn’t succeed in finding something to clear her name soon, then she’d very likely end up going to prison anyway. But she looked so worried standing there that it was all he could do not to stride across the room and take her in his arms. Not trusting himself to speak, he merely gave her a nod and walked out.
    The building that housed the U.S. Marshals offices was across town from his apartment, but the traffic was surprisingly light, so it took less than a half hour to get there. Once inside, Madoc went directly to his boss’
    office. Since he knew he wouldn’t get much investigating done with the workload that was sure to be waiting for him, Madoc had decided to take a couple more days off. Though Deputy Chief Evans wasn’t thrilled with the idea of Madoc taking more time off, the other man agreed. Of course, it helped that Madoc went into great detail about the two “miserable” days he’d had to spend holed up in the cabin.
    Deciding that the best way to check out Shayna’s story was to find what the Denver police had on the case, Madoc went over to the precinct where she had been arrested. Fortunately, he had a friend that worked as a detective there, so getting a look at the file wasn’t as difficult as it might have been if he’d had to go through normal channels. That didn’t mean his friend didn’t wonder why Madoc was interested in a case that had already been solved.
    “It might be connected to another case I’m working on,” Madoc told the other man with a shrug.
    Opening the folder, Madoc read through the file. Though everything had been done by the book, it was clear that the police hadn’t wanted to investigate anyone else after finding the evidence on Shayna. Though Madoc supposed he couldn’t really blame the cops. The evidence against Shayna was solid, and if he had been working the case, he probably