SEE HIM DIE by Debra Webb Page B

your husband.”
    She flinched.
    “Yes, it’s true, I wasn’t ordered to watch over you.” He heaved a big breath. “I was worried about you and I decided on my own to make sure you were okay. I knew the department wasn’t going to and you needed a break.”
    Despite the anger on her face, a tear broke loose and slid down one cheek. It took every ounce of strength he possessed not to reach out and swipe it away.
    “Why would you do that?”
    He opened his mouth to answer, but the sound of tires squealing and a roaring engine cut him off.
    Blake turned toward the commotion. Car. Black. Heavy tint on the windows.
    As he watched, a window lowered. Steel glinted in the sunlight.
    Gun
.
    “Get down!”
    Blake pushed Julie to the ground, his body covering hers.
    Gunshots exploded in the air.
    Rounds buzzed past his head. He pressed his face to the ground.
    Shot after shot rang out… until the ringing in his ears became one long, endless sound.
    Blake slowly lifted his head.
    They were gone.
    He peered down at the wide-eyed woman beneath him. “You okay?”
    She hesitated, and then nodded.
    He looked around. Any second now sirens would start wailing. He doubted the shooters would dare make a second run. “We have to get out of here.”
    “Where’re we going?”
    He pulled her up with him and headed for his rented car. “Some place safe.”
    “What will we do then?” she asked as he ushered her into the passenger seat.
    He started to lie and tell her they’d contact Cannon and get some backup. Instead, he opted for the truth.
    “I don’t know.”
     

 
     

Chapter Eleven
    12:40 p.m.
    Blake drove for nearly half an hour in silence. Every time he opened his mouth to say something, he snapped it shut again. What did he say? He felt as if he were kidnapping her. Maybe he was. He told himself his actions were for her safety, but he’d lied to himself before.
    What he needed was a plan. How the hell did he expect to get away with this? He’d gone over the edge. There was no other rational answer. He glanced at the woman staring vacantly out the window. The memory of those seconds on the ground with her soft body under his kept haunting him. The urge to kiss her… to grind his hips into hers had almost robbed him of any good sense he’d still had.
    How did he expect to pull this off?
    If he’d had a slim chance of salvaging his career before, he had absolutely zero prospects at this point.
    He’d been a Marine and then a cop his entire adult life. Becoming a detective was all he’d ever wanted. A wife and kids hadn’t been on the table. Back home in Birmingham, he’d had the occasional girlfriend from time to time. His sisters had warned he was setting a bad personal example for his younger brother. After all, Luke had chosen to go into law enforcement just so he could be like his older brother. Only, he’d taken the college route. With his degree under his belt, he’d served a couple of years as a beat cop before applying to the FBI.
    His brother was dead and it was Blake’s fault. He should have set a better example.
    Fury burned through his chest. So what if his career was in the crapper? Why not add a kidnapping charge? As long as he accomplished his goal of bringing down Randall Barton, he could live with whatever came next. His family would forgive him when they understood his reasons.
    Randall Barton would pay for taking Luke’s life.
    “Where are we going?”
    Blake waited until he’d taken the right onto County Road 32 before he responded. “It’s a quiet place I found a few miles outside Fairhope.” He lifted his shoulders, let them fall. “Off the beaten path.”
    He could feel her staring at him. The shock of being shot at was wearing off, leaving her uncertain and confused. If she argued or demanded an explanation, he might be able to grasp how to proceed. Her silence left him without the slightest idea what to say next.
    “You need time and distance to regroup. Get a handle on what’s