Free Fugitive Heart by Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon

brother’s mixed up with criminals; I’m going straight to the authorities and get help.” She tried to keep her voice calm, but it quavered on the last two words.
    “Even if Elliot might end up in prison due to your ‘helping’ him?”
    “Better in prison than dead. If he knows stuff about these criminals, he can plea bargain or something. He can maybe make amends for what he’s done.”
    “I don’t know if he’d feel the same way. And the FBI might not be the saviors you want them to be. Besides, Ames, he wouldn’t be safe in prison either.” Nick’s hand came down on her arm and he drew her gently but firmly up from her seat. “We should go now. We can talk more in the car.”
    As she let him lead her from the restaurant, Ames questioned her sanity. Now that he knew she knew his true identity, this guy might be driving her somewhere to…to whack her. But instinct told her this wasn’t true. She believed his story about Elliot having burned his fingers, messing with stuff he shouldn’t have gone near. It was such an Elliot thing to do. He’d been getting into scrapes since middle school, for no particular reason she could tell. It wasn’t as if their family had been broken or dysfunctional. Elliot had simply always had a wild streak.
    “I’m going to drop you off at your apartment, and then I suggest you stay as far away from me as possible,” Nick said as he opened the car door and practically shoved her inside. “If a stranger comes to see you, don’t let him in.”
    “Duh. Ya think?” She rolled her eyes. “I’m not stupid enough to believe I can handle this on my own. Like I said, I’m going to call the FBI.”
    He didn’t say anything until he’d slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine. “Right now, if I can find what Elliot stole and return it to Bert, we could come out of this okay. Getting the FBI involved isn’t our best move, trust me.”
    Our best move, he’d said. That was interesting. “Really? You think Bert and his friends are going to forgive somebody who stole from them? Why should I believe they’ll just walk away?”
    Nick glowered at the road before them. “You don’t understand everything that’s involved here.”
    “Then why don’t you tell me the rest,” she exploded. “Ignorance isn’t going to keep me any safer. I have a right to know exactly what Elliot did.”
    His jaw tightened, and how sick was it that the play of muscles sent a little wave of heat through her?
    “Fine. I guess you’re in it now,” he muttered at last. “I met your brother in college through some mutual friends. To be honest, I didn’t like the guy much at first, but…” He paused, and Ames could almost see memories flickering across his expressive eyes. “We ended up bonding over some beers and we were practically roommates for a while, in the same suite. Elliot could be a real asshole, but he could be a good friend too.” He flicked a glance at her.
    Elliot had been her best friend and worst enemy at various times in their life. “He’s never boring,” she offered.
    Nick smiled. “No, that he’s not. You know what a thrill seeker he is. When he learned I was related to one of the ‘families’, Elliot wanted me to introduce him to people. He loved to gamble, had an on-campus bookie business for a while, and he was eager to kick it up to the next level.”
    The more Nick spoke, the more Ames believed he really did know her brother. She shook her head at Elliot’s stupidity. “So you introduced him to the Espositos.”
    “No. In fact, I told him he was an idiot. I’d worked to escape those connections. After what happened to my father, I wasn’t about to get a guy I liked sucked into the life. But after college Elliot used my name, introduced himself, and got the Espositos to hire him.”
    Ames stared at the trees rushing past the window. That sounded just like something her brother would do. “Ah jeez. Elliot,” she murmured.
    “We’d stopped