Free Easy Prey (Love-Inspired Suspense) by Lisa Phillips Page A

door. And so was the female laughing—either Sienna or Hailey or both. The two women could quickly become Elise’s friends, if she had any free time outside the zoo to spend with them.
    She scanned the area as she walked. When the barn door slid open, she looked back to see Jonah emerge with his gun out.
    “No way.” She stopped and turned to him. “You cannot shoot this animal.”
    “I’m not here to protect you from the tiger. This is to protect you from the person trying to kill
you
.”

EIGHT
    E lise lifted a charred piece of wood and tossed it aside. All that fuss at Sienna’s ranch and they hadn’t even found Shera. Now it was getting dark and the old tiger was probably cold, and hungry. Then she’d had to look at photos to officially identify the reporter, even though he was dead.
    She threw another piece of wood, narrowly missing Jonah.
    “Watch out, Lise.” His eyes narrowed, but there was a hint of humor there as he turned to her. “What did I do now?”
    He looked so boyish, Elise couldn’t help laughing. Then it wouldn’t stop. She set her hands on her knees and bent over, trying to suck in air.
    “Uh-oh. It’s never good when you get all hysterical.”
    Nathan chuckled, across the entrance pathway, clearing his side. “She’s snapped.”
    Elise straightened. “I have not. But if I had, it would be entirely justified.” She put a hand on her side. “Ouch, my ribs hurt.”
    Jonah crossed the distance between them, and she noted Nathan and the marshals all strategically turning away. Did they think something was going on between Elise and Jonah? Because there most certainly was not.
    “Are you okay?”
    “What?” Elise jumped, and turned to him. “Uh, fine. Thanks.”
    Jonah reached up and tugged on the growing-out strand of her bangs. “No bruises from the mailbox incident?”
    Elise shook her head. She didn’t think she could talk. Jonah had done that pulling-on-her-hair thing when she was a teenager, but it hadn’t felt like this. Serious crush or not, Jonah back then had nothing on the grown-up version.
    Jonah stepped back, his face awash with mischief. “You should get back to work. There’s a lot to do.”
    Elise narrowed her eyes. If he wanted to stick around for the hauling and sweating part, what was it to her? She knew he was primarily here to protect her, but he could have claimed that meant he needed to be watching and not working. Yet here he was. Still as honorable as ever.
    She swiped her notepad from her backpack and started making a list. They could clear debris, but soon enough they would need a construction crew with heavy equipment to remove what was unusable. After that the crew would have to start reconstruction of the buildings and the animal enclosures. There was a lot that had to be done before the zoo could reopen, but this would help her start making a list on paper.
    Jonah looked aside at her. “Can I ask you a favor? I was thinking maybe you know some people Fix used to hang out with. Anyone I wouldn’t know to talk to.”
    Elise tried to think if there were friends of her brother who might still be in town. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to know who is here and who isn’t.”
    “What about your mom? Could she have stayed in contact with Fix? Did she ever mention him?”
    She stilled. “Are you working right now?”
    Jonah shook his head. “I don’t know what you mean.”
    “I mean, you’re interrogating me. You want information, so you’re working
me
right now.”
    “Elise—”
    “For your information, I have not once in the whole of Nathan’s life said one word to my mother. Apart from the fact that her trailer never had a phone, and I haven’t been back here, I don’t see how you’d think I would even keep in contact with that woman.” She sucked in a breath. “You know, Jonah. Of all people, you know.”
    His gaze dropped, and why not? Jonah had been driving the truck half the times they’d had to pick her mom up from whatever