Free Betrayed by a Kiss by Kris Rafferty Page A

the system, pushed back when his supervisors told him his wife’s murder case was cold, he’d lost it, busted up his lieutenant’s face and nearly gotten arrested for the pleasure. Post-traumatic stress disorder. It was in his file. They said to take time off, be with Elizabeth, who at the time was still catatonic, but it was like telling him to ignore what had happened. His daughter was made to stand with a noose around her neck for hours, screaming herself mute, while across town his wife was hanged by the neck until she died. There was no getting over that. Elizabeth hadn’t. She still hadn’t spoken a word, despite her doctors’ assurances there was nothing physically wrong with her. Dane suspected Elizabeth would only talk again when she knew she was safe, when Alice’s killer was brought to justice.
    His family’s safety had consumed his life. He bought this farmhouse to hide Elizabeth and Harper when the shit hit the fan, like he knew it would. Bought with a blind trust, no paper trail, it was hidden in the woods for privacy, and all high-tech security measures were in place. No one came within a hundred yards of this place without his sensors picking up on them, his video cameras recording them. There were gun safes on both floors, and he’d taught his sister, Harper, how to shoot to kill. He’d tried to think of everything, shore up every weakness that could be exploited and make his family vulnerable. Yet, of all the outcomes he’d brainstormed, not one came close to what had happened today.
    Marnie Somerville happened. He glanced at her sleeping next to him, propped up against the window. She was in danger because of him, and he needed her to commit to more of it, which put the pressure on. One more innocent to keep alive as he tracked down the son of a bitch who’d destroyed his family. She wouldn’t make it easy on him, he knew, but it was necessary nonetheless. Somewhere between her latest demand to be let out of the car and his driving up to the safe house, he’d realized he’d put his fate in her hands. He believed her. She wanted to help him and, for some reason, was invested in keeping his family safe. Not trusting her seemed more dangerous in the long run.
    He saw Harper’s car in front of the safe house’s garage. The trip from home in Manchester wouldn’t have taken all that long, even with the circuitous route he’d suggested to prevent possible tails. Once again, he was hit with a wave of gratitude that Harper had moved up from Boston to help after Alice’s murder. She was a life saver, especially today.
    Knowing Elizabeth was inside the farmhouse allowed him to relax a bit. She and Harper were as safe as he could make them under the circumstances. He shuddered to think of the gunmen arriving at Harper’s little Cape with its picket fences. Harper was a good shot, but she was barely out of the schoolroom, trained as a teacher, not a soldier.
    He was impatient to see Elizabeth, even if she was asleep. Rusticating in the cabin for three days, avoiding the MPD’s questions, he’d missed her. Skyping helped, but he wanted to hug his daughter. She was twelve. Pretty soon she wouldn’t want hugs.
    He parked and stared at the dilapidated farmhouse. She’d been a grand dame at one point, maybe a hundred years ago, but things like painting and repairs had been low on his priority list this past year. The money he and Alice had saved during their marriage, severance, the insurance, and the profit from selling the other house had bought this one and funded the blind trust. It wasn’t his dream home, but it got the job done. They’d be safe here until he could figure things out.
    The rain had stopped long ago and the clouds cleared, but he was tired of being wet and cold, and knew Marnie had to feel the same. When he stepped out of the car, she didn’t stir, so he carried her in, searching her face for hints of his future. She represented so many good things to his family: hope, closure,