Free Witness Seduction by Elle Kennedy

intelligent woman; she might see the benefit of having a cop close by.
    But he couldn’t take the chance that fury might cloud her judgment. AJ had persuaded him to befriend Marley so he could gain information, but now that Grier had contacted her, Caleb had an even more important reason to stay by her side. He’d never be able to forgive himself if Grier hurt Marley—if he killed her, the way he’d killed Russ.
    Caleb’s blood pressure spiked. Marley was still waiting for his answer, and for the life of him, he couldn’t leave her right now. “Let’s sit in the living room,” he said with a small sigh.
    They walked into the spacious room, which contained a comfortable brown couch, a huge bookshelf crammed with novels, and a large window overlooking the front yard. As Marley sank down onto the couch, Caleb went to the window, fixing his gaze on the driveway.
    How was he going to get out of this? Detective Hernandez would arrive any freaking second. Caleb needed to intercept the man before he entered the house.
    Behind him, Marley sat with her back ramrod straight. Caleb wanted nothing more than to draw her into his arms and offer words of comfort, but he couldn’t. Not until he figured out how to get Hernandez alone before the man questioned Marley.
    Tension coiled into a tight knot in his gut as he spotted an unmarked black sedan pulling into the driveway. He started for the front door. Marley followed him, but he placed a hand on her arm before she could reach for the doorknob.
    “I want to go out there and talk to him first,” he said.
    She blinked. “Why?”
    “To make a few things clear to him before he comes in here and starts treating you like a suspect,” he improvised.
    “Caleb, don’t—”
    Before she could object further, he darted out the door and descended the porch just as Hernandez stepped onto Marley’s driveway. The detective was short and stocky, with a head of black hair streaked with gray, and dark eyes that widened at the sight of Caleb. “Agent Ford?” Hernandez said.
    Caleb closed the distance between them, glad the detective hadn’t spoken any louder. “Hey, Miguel.”
    Hernandez’s thick black mustache curled as he drew his lips together in a frown. “What the hell are you doing in there with her? I thought Stevens had you next door.”
    “He does, but I had to make contact.”
    Hernandez looked suspicious. “Why?”
    “It was necessary. Look, I’m undercover, Miguel. Kincaid thinks I’m her writer neighbor, and I need her to keep thinking that.”
    The detective’s frown deepened. “The department still views her as a suspect, Ford.”
    “The department might need to change that opinion then,” he retorted. “I don’t believe Kincaid had any knowledge of her fiancé’s previous or current crimes. But I do believe Grier will contact her again, especially after the message he sent twenty minutes ago.”
    “The email she claims he sent,” Hernandez said.
    “It’s real, Miguel. And before we go in there, I need your word that you’ll maintain my cover. We don’t know each other.”
    Hernandez paused for a moment, looking both intrigued and wary. “We don’t know each other,” he finally agreed.
    The two men crossed Marley’s lawn and climbed the porch. Marley was waiting at the door. The moment she saw Hernandez, her delicate mouth tightened in a thin line. “Detective Hernandez,” she said coolly, casting Caleb a suspicious look.
    “Ms. Kincaid.” Hernandez’s nod of greeting was polite, but it was still obvious how he felt about Marley. He didn’t trust her.
    “Let’s go into the kitchen,” Caleb suggested.
    Unable to stop himself, he placed a possessive hand on the small of Marley’s back, ignored the slight raise of Hernandez’s fuzzy black eyebrows and headed for the kitchen.
     
     
    M ARLEY HAD TROUBLE CONTAINING her distaste as she watched Hernandez read the email. He’d slipped on a pair of latex gloves before handling the laptop, as if