Free In Harm's Way by Lyn Stone

deposit box.” Mitch’s brows drew together, and his lips firmed. “He must have considered this pretty important. If I’m right, it could be something worth killing for and could give us a clue about who was so hot to have it.”
    If what Mitch said was true, that meant James was mixed up in something dangerous and had been even when they’d been together in New York. She simply couldn’t imagine that.
    She shook her head. “Believe me, James was not the type to take any risks. If you’re thinking he was caught up in something that could cost him his life, you’re sadly mistaken. Everything he did was so precise and well-thought-out it drove me crazy. He never entertained a spontaneous thought that I know of.”
    â€œI got the impression that he married you on impulse.”
    Robin sighed and looked away from his piercing glare. “No, that was strictly my impulse. James constructed a dedicated campaign to convince me we should. It took a year before I finally caved. The whim was mine, not his.” She added without thinking, “Even the affairs he had later were deliberately arranged so that I couldn’t help but find out.”
    â€œAffairs? More than one?” Mitch asked casually. Too casually for Robin not to realize he considered it crucial. She had just admitted to yet another motive he could use against her, but she had gone too far not to finish the explanation.
    â€œYes. Apparently marriage proved too confining for him after a while, so he made certain I had excellent reasons to end it. He admitted it to me later and apologized.”
    â€œAnd you accepted?” he asked in obvious disbelief. “You stayed friends with that—”
    â€œYes,” she told him firmly, cutting off what was about to be an insult. “You see, it really was at least half my fault thatit didn’t work for us. I made him unhappy. In fact, I was relieved it was over between us because we could go back to the way things were before, when he was just my friend. I’m sure he was, too.”
    Mitch huffed. “I think he was a damned jerk.”
    Robin secretly agreed with him, in a way. But she had understood James better than any other man she’d ever known. He’d been weak and often selfish, but he had also been generous with his affection and praise, which she’d badly needed at the time. She knew the reasons behind his selfishness and her willingness to tolerate it until she had grown strong enough to resent it.
    Simply, she and James had used each other to recover, and when that recovery finally took place, the marriage had unofficially ended. They discussed it, understood it and went on from there.
    â€œBetter the devil you know,” she muttered, not even realizing she’d spoken aloud until Mitch replied.
    â€œI don’t think you knew this devil at all, Robin,” he told her as he reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. “And I can almost understand if you did shoot him.”
    â€œSo you said. But I swear I didn’t do it.” Fear riffled through her, chilling her to the marrow. Did he still think she had killed James? She could see accusation of some kind in his eyes. Maybe it was only that he thought her a fool for allowing James to dupe her the way he’d done.
    Would Mitch Winton, a man sworn to uphold the law, actually kiss a hand he believed might have wielded a murder weapon? What kind of cop would do such a thing? One hoping she was innocent? Or determined to prove guilty by using any means available?
    â€œYou’re a dangerous man to know,” she told him.
    He released her hand and sat back, smiling a bitter smile. “Yeah, I can be that,” he admitted. “If I find out you’re jerking me around, you can count on it.”

Chapter 5
    M itch knew the value of intimidation and was in no way opposed to using it when the time was right. So why did it make him feel so rotten