Free Cold Pursuit by Carla Neggers

her tears. “Devin, what are you doing here? You startled me.”
    â€œSorry.” He looked almost forlorn. “I just want to talk.”
    â€œThere’s nothing to talk about. Really.”
    A pair of mallards floated in a small man-made pond behind him. The banks of the pond were planted with weeping willows and rhododendrons. Everything about the estate was beautifully done, carefully planned. As much as she wanted her own apartment, Nora loved being there, having her own space and being surrounded by wilderness. She’d hated living in a dorm.
    Devin nodded to her pack. “Are you going somewhere?”
    â€œMaybe. I don’t know. I wanted to see how all the stuff I’ve been collecting since the class I took with Elijah would fit into my backpack.”
    â€œLooks heavy.”
    â€œI can manage.”
    â€œNora, what’s going on?”
    There was no irritation or frustration in his tone. Obviously he didn’t know about Alex, and she couldn’t bring herself to repeat out loud what her father had told her.
    â€œI have terrible news, Nora. Alex has been killed….”
    It wasn’t a mistake. Her dad wouldn’t have called her unless he was positive.
    Alex was dead.
    My mom’s a widow.
    Devin took an audible breath. “Nora…please. Talk to me.”
    She wanted to believe in him. Until that morning, she had. She’d never met anyone steadier or more reliable than Devin. People in Black Falls didn’t understand that about him. They thought he was just a dumb, screwed-up kid from a bad family.
    Nora didn’t want to be the one to prove them right.
    She let her pack lean against her knee. “You stole money from me, Devin.”
    He didn’t respond. He looked hurt, and that made her want to cry even more.
    â€œIf you needed money, you could have asked me.” All the starch had gone out of her. “I’d never refuse you. Even if I don’t have much to spare—”
    â€œI didn’t steal from you.”
    Even now, reeling, frightened, confused, Nora wanted to find a way it couldn’t have been him. Devin was her best friend in Black Falls. He understood how she felt about her father’s odious fiancée and didn’t tell her she was just jealous. Something was off about Melanie. Nora couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but she didn’t like her, didn’t trust her and was convinced the feeling was mutual on Melanie’s part. She’d gotten Devin to help her. They’d essentially been doing their own background check on Melanie—something Nora’s father probably should have done himself.
    â€œNora, are you running from me?”
    She shook her head. “I don’t care about the money.” Her voice was hoarse, barely a whisper. She gave a fake little smile. “I just need some space to clear my head.”
    She hoisted up her pack. It was expensive and brand-new—it even smelled new. Her mother had actually loved the idea of her taking a wilderness-skills class and told Nora to put the backpack on her credit card. Elijah had a simple beat-up pack he’d had for years. He’d probably taken it on hundreds of hikes. It wasn’t an army-issue pack—Nora knew that much. They’d all talked behind his back in class about what he must have done as a soldier. Supposedly he could speak the different languages of Afghanistan and knew the culture, the people, as well as how to handle himself in a firefight.
    Elijah’s class had consisted of her and six other students just as green and eager and stupid as she was. She was the youngest, though. That had made her feel a little less self-conscious. The women in the class all thought Elijah was sexy. Nora did, too, but thinking that way made her feel disloyal to Devin, even if they were just friends. Elijah was a total stud and very serious about the information he was giving, but it was so obvious to Nora that she