Free Identity Unknown by Terri Reed

take one.” What John really wanted was to shake the man and force him to talk, but he knew torture in any form wouldn’t give the desired results, so he followed Audrey’s lead to build a rapport with their suspect. “What about you, Sasha? A cold bottle of water?”
    Sasha looked away and shook his head.
    Audrey walked back with two bottles of water and handed one to John. “You know, Sasha, at the moment all we have you on is assault with intent to do bodily harm by pointing a loaded weapon at an officer. We can’t prove you blew up the generator. If you help us by telling us who and why someone wants this man dead—” she pointed to John “—we can help you.”
    Sasha snorted. “You can’t help me. I’m dead. Just like he’s dead.”
    His pronouncement shuddered through John.
    â€œWe can protect you,” she insisted.
    The door to the office opened, and Paulson stuck his head inside. “The electricity’s back on.”
    Sheriff Crump straightened and took Sasha by the arm. “Come on, I’ve got a jail cell waiting for you.”
    The sheriff led Sasha out the door.
    Audrey met John’s gaze. The anxiety in her eyes had him stopping in his tracks.
    â€œHe’s not the man from the hospital.”
    John’s heart slammed to a halt. “What?”
    â€œThe man at the hospital didn’t have an accent and was leaner.” Her grim tone constricted his lungs. His stomach dropped. There were more bad guys out there determined to kill him.
    A shout from outside drew their attention. They ran to the door. The sheriff and Paulson had their guns drawn and their flashlights lighting up the dark as they stood back to back. Sasha lay on the grass.
    Immediately John grabbed Audrey, dragging her farther into the shelter of the windowless vestibule. “Kill the lights.”
    Audrey hurried to the wall panel and flipped the lights off, shrouding the church in darkness.
    â€œWhere’d the shot come from?” Crump demanded.
    â€œI don’t know,” Paulson responded in a high-pitched tone full of panic.
    John crouched in the doorway. “Sheriff, you two need to find cover.”
    The sheriff knelt on one knee and checked Sasha’s neck. John already knew the sheriff wouldn’t find a pulse. Sasha had been dealt a catastrophic head shot directly to the brain stem. He was dead before he hit the ground. Just as John would have been if he’d stepped outside the church.

SIX
    â€œI have to leave,” John said, barely able to discern Audrey’s outline in the darkened vestibule. They stood inside the door, careful to stay in the shadows and out of the ambient light coming from the moon outside the church. His gut clenched. Leaving was the only answer. “I can’t stay here. I’m putting you and your town in danger.”
    â€œI know. I’ve got to move you to a more secure location.” The hard determination in her tone came at him through the shadows.
    He frowned in the dark and shook his head. She didn’t get his meaning. “Not with you. I have to go on my own. I can disappear.”
    â€œNo.” Her voice was adamant. “That’s not happening.”
    Her stubbornness could get her killed. “It will be safer for you.”
    â€œDon’t make this about me.” She stalked forward until she was standing in front of him. He could feel the heat of her annoyance buffeting him. He could imagine her blue eyes sparking and wished he could see her face.
    â€œI’m a professional and I have a job to do,” she insisted. “Part of that job is protecting you. I’m not letting you take off alone. You don’t have any money or ID. And unless you plan to become a criminal, you’re not getting either one.”
    He hated to admit it, but what she said was true. Frustration banded across his chest. “How do you know I’m not already a criminal?