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

bar she’d passed out in. Fix had always been conveniently too busy to deal with her, which left the baby of the family—though she’d been in high school—to head across town after midnight. Jonah had never let her go alone.
    There had only been one time Martin had been busy, but that wasn’t important, and he’d loaned her Jonah’s truck.
    “I’m sorry.” He sighed. “I’m here to protect you, but I’m also here because there’s a chance Fix will show up again. It’s where he was running to last night. I’m not going to lie to you, Elise. My team and I are working right now.”
    “And I’m the job?”
    He looked disappointed. “On paper maybe. But you know that’s not the truth. You’ve nearly been hurt twice in as many days. I’m looking for Fix, but there’s no way his running into the zoo yesterday was a coincidence. If it was, I’d be seriously surprised.
    “Until I know for sure the threat against you has been resolved, or that it has nothing to do with my case, I’m your shadow.”
    “And if it has nothing to do with my case?” Elise didn’t know that she liked it being called that. A file was too bland to represent her nearly being killed.
    “I’ll have to turn your protection over to the police, just like the investigation into the bomb and the reporter’s death.”
    She swallowed.
    “The initial report said he died early this morning, hours before you were shot at by my mailbox.” His voice was low, but full of determination. “That’s why I’m here, because for some reason you’re wrapped up in this and I’m going to find out why.”
    Elise’s voice came out breathy. “He was murdered?”
    Jonah got close. “Nothing is going to happen to you.”
    She should just leave. Why had she even come back? Elise didn’t care about construction, or renovation. She wanted to look after animals, not revamp a zoo that had been run down years ago in a town she hadn’t liked when she lived here. And she’d brought her son to this place?
    Her breath was coming in gasps. “You need to take Nathan away from here.”
    Pain filled her chest. It felt like her heart was breaking. She wanted her son with her, but if she was in danger the last thing she wanted was for Nathan to be in a killer’s crosshairs.
    “Mom—”
    She looked up, her gaze filled with Jonah—full grown, and capable of keeping her son safe when she couldn’t. “He can’t be with me.”
    “He can go to my mother’s.”
    “No.” Nathan’s voice was firm.
    Jonah glanced at him, so Elise did the same. She saw the confusion warring on his face. “You don’t have to go anywhere you don’t want. But I need you safe, and right now that isn’t wherever I am.”
    Nathan bit his lip. “I could go back to Jonah’s.”
    Whoever had tried to shoot her that morning might be watching the house. Waiting there for her to come home, and shoot Nathan by accident.
    Elise shook her head. “I don’t think that’s an option now.”
    “My mother’s house is secure. She wants to meet you.”
    Nathan lifted his chin. “Well, I don’t want to meet her.”
    “Nate—”
    “My name is Nathan.” Her son sucked in a breath. “And if you’re going to send me to your mom’s, then you might as well drop me off in that trailer where my mom grew up so I can be abused like she was.”
    Elise took a step toward him. Nathan shot her a hard look, and she stopped. He wasn’t protecting himself; he was trying to protect her from having to revisit the painful parts of her past.
    Nathan turned back to Jonah. “You just want to drop me off so you don’t have to worry. Well, you can forget it. I don’t want my mom or me anywhere near either of those women.” He turned and strode away. Eric Hanning followed, keeping a distance, but Elise was confident the marshal wasn’t going to let her son out of his sight.
    Jonah stepped in front of Elise, his eyes hard the same way her son’s had been. “What on earth did you tell him that my