Betrayed by a Kiss by Kris Rafferty Page A

need a coat if you’re going to stay outside.” Harper shivered, hugging herself, as if she suddenly realized she, too, needed a coat.
    Elizabeth only had eyes for Marnie. “You have to stay.” Marnie acted as if Elizabeth hadn’t spoken.
    Dane felt as if he were missing something. “Marnie is staying. Isn’t that right, Marnie?” She glared at him and then walked down the private drive toward the road. He definitely was missing something.
    Harper jumped from one foot to the other, trying to ward off the cold. “What’s going on?”
    “Give me a second, Harper.” He chased Marnie down, saw her stuff her hands into her borrowed yellow jacket. Alice’s jacket. “I will break into that facility,” he called out after her, “and I will steal those files. You don’t need to be there. Just give me the information I need to make this happen, and I’ll get it done. You’ll stay safe. I’ll get what I want. I don’t see a problem here.” Now that he knew the files existed, she had to know nothing would stop him from getting them.
    “Your way is too dangerous.” She looked over her shoulder, saw Elizabeth following, listening in. “We have responsibilities. You more than me.”
    “Those files will end this. I need them to protect my family. I’ll protect you, too. We can do this without risking your life. We’ll find a way.” Elizabeth increased her gait to stay close to Marnie.
    “Elizabeth! Aren’t you cold? I’m cold.” Harper hurried to her niece, not touching her but staying within reach. “Dane?”
    Marnie stopped, confronting him. “What about your life? They’ll have walls up, cyber and otherwise. Those files might as well not exist they’re so buried right now. Without me working the server, you don’t have a chance in hell of retrieving the files. And you don’t have me!”
    Harper cleared her throat to get their attention. “Someone tell me what’s going on, please.” She glanced at Elizabeth and then lowered her voice. “Are we safe?”
    Dane nodded. “We’re safe.”
    Harper’s relief was obvious. “When we get the files, we’ll give them to the police, right? Make this their problem.”
    Marnie threw her hands up in frustration and turned away, walking faster now. “Do whatever you want.”
    Harper cringed. “Sorry. Did I say something wrong?” She took two steps backward. “Dane, it looks like you and Marnie have some things to work out.” Harper took Elizabeth’s hand and tugged her backward. “I’m freezing. So Elizabeth must be freezing.” Elizabeth tugged her hand away from Harper and followed Marnie. “All righty, then. I’m getting a coat. Okay, Elizabeth? I’ll get her a coat, Dane. Keep an eye on her and I’ll be right back.” She hustled to the house.
    Marnie kept walking. Dane caught up with her and his daughter. The road was within sight. He saw headlights come and go and gauged how traumatized Elizabeth would be if he threw Marnie over his shoulder, kicking and screaming, and carried her back to the house. She had just as big a target on her back as he did. The woman had risked everything to help him and lost everything but her life last night. He couldn’t repay that by allowing her to wander in the night, cold and vulnerable.
    Marnie stopped so abruptly he bumped into her. She grabbed his shirt and tugged, surprising him. “I want to kill the company in a different way. Drain their funds. Make it impossible for them to continue.”
    It was a great idea, but… “That won’t bring me Alice’s killer.”
    His words upset her. “You have something to lose, MacLain. Something precious. You don’t have the right to die when people rely on you, when they love you.” She was shivering, whether from the cold or her emotions. “Let me do it my way,” she said. “It’s time for me to go.”
    He couldn’t think when she was pressed against him like that, so he stepped back. “Your way means Alice’s killer won’t pay for his crime, and