Fugitive at Large. Sandra Robbins

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СКАЧАТЬ released the hold she had on her weapon and pointed down the street. “Go around the end of this building and then turn to the left. It should be on the far end.”

      The girl glanced over her shoulder at her friend and laughed. “I told you to go that way, but you wouldn’t listen.” She turned back to Jessica. “Thank you, ma’am.”

      Jessica gave a weak wave and tried to smile. “No problem.”

      She stood still and stared after the car as it moved off in the direction she’d pointed. After a few minutes she shook her head and chuckled. What was the matter with her? Had the incident at the convenience store upset her so much that she’d mistaken a simple request for directions to have some sinister motive?

      If she had been as observant as she should, she would have been following the advice she’d given Jamie Spencer earlier—be aware of your surroundings. Then she would have known she wasn’t being followed.

      Sighing, she touched her gun once more and headed toward the back door. If the convenience-store episode had taught her nothing else, it had reminded her to be more alert to what was happening around her.

      She stopped on the small back porch and took a long look over her shoulder. Nothing there. Nobody following her. But she still had an uneasy feeling that something wasn’t quite right. She stood there for a few minutes, the scenario from the convenience store playing over and over in her head.

      Something wasn’t right about the robbery. But what was it?

      One of the first things she’d learned as a police officer was to trust her instincts when it came to solving a case. And right now some sixth sense was telling her she was overlooking something.

      After a few minutes she shook her head. Whatever it was would come to her, probably at the least likely moment.

      She unlocked the door and stepped inside. The house felt warm and inviting after the cool temperature outside. She took off her coat and hung it on the back of a kitchen chair and was about to take her gun off when the front doorbell rang.

      Jessica pulled the gun from her holster and eased from the kitchen into the living room and over to the apartment’s front door. The smell of barbecued potato chips enveloped her, and it was as if she was back in the store with a gun pointed at her. No way was she going to open the door without knowing who was on the other side.

      Taking a deep breath and holding it, she stared through the peephole. The breath she’d been holding escaped her body in a big rush, and she sagged against the door. For the second time today she’d experienced a complete surprise.

      Slowly she unlocked the door and pulled it open. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

      Ryan stared back at her, and then his gaze dropped to the gun she still held. His forehead wrinkled, and he tilted his head to one side. “Do you always answer the door with a gun in your hand?”

      “Of course not. I had just gotten home and was taking it off.”

      He nodded. “Oh, I see.”

      She straightened her back. “You haven’t answered my question. What are you doing here?”

      He swallowed, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. “I want to talk to you, Jessica. May I come in?”

      She started to refuse but then thought better of it. She shrugged, opened the door wider and stepped aside for him to enter. “I guess so.”

      He stepped into the apartment and waited until she’d closed the door. Without speaking, he followed her into the living room, where she gave a jerk of her head, indicating for him to sit on the sofa. She took a chair facing him.

      His gaze drifted over the apartment, and he smiled. “You have a nice place here. I don’t know if you remember or not, but I was here about a year ago.”

      “I remember.”

      “Your friend Claire Walker was almost killed that night trying to bring in a bail jumper on her own, and your brother Adam saved her life. He brought her here so she’d be safe, but the fugitive found her. He broke in and tried to kill her. Thanks to you that didn’t happen.”

      Jessica frowned and shook her head. “Claire and I have always made a great team. She helped fight him off, too.”

      He nodded. “Yeah, I remember that’s what you said. How’s she doing now?”

      “Fine. She and my brother Adam are married, and she’s working at the agency with us.”

      His eyes lit up, and he smiled. “That’s great. I hope they’ll be happy. I always liked Adam and Lucas. You’re lucky to have such great brothers.”

      “You have a nice brother, too. I was surprised today to find out who he is. He’s not anything like the teenage kid you used to talk about after he first came to live with you.”

      Ryan chuckled and shook his head. “No, he’s grown up a lot. Back then he was having a lot of problems dealing with all the changes in his life. You know, Mom’s and Dad’s deaths and having to change schools when he came to live with me. But I’m proud of the way he’s turned out. He’s in college and works on the school newspaper. He also has a part-time job working at a computer store.”

      “I’m glad things have improved for the two of you. But is that what you came to tell me?”

      His face flushed, and he glanced down at his hands. “No. I came because Jamie told me I needed to.”

      Jessica frowned and settled back farther in her chair in hopes of displaying an attitude of indifference. Her nonchalance seemed to be working. She spotted a small trickle of perspiration roll down the side of Ryan’s face, and she almost laughed.

      “Why would he tell you that?” Jessica asked.

      “Because he thought you were so brave to take on that robber and you were kind to him afterward. Then he saw how you changed when I arrived. He wanted to know what that was all about.”

      “What did you tell him?”

      “That we had a misunderstanding a few years ago, and you’ve held me responsible ever since. When he asked if I’d tried to fix things between us, I told him I hadn’t. He said it was time I quit making excuses and made things right. I’ve known for a long time I should do that, but I haven’t, and I’m sorry about that. Once, we shared something special, and I know I was the one who ruined it. I’ve faced the fact that we can never go back to where we were, but I would like for us to be friends, Jessica. It’s time we talked through whatever happened between us and made peace with each other.”

      She studied his face. He looked sincere. But could she be sure? Once, she had loved him. Not only had she trusted him with her heart, but as her partner, she’d trusted him with her life. That was a long time ago, and a lot had happened since then. She didn’t know if there was any way they could ever be friends, and certainly they could never go back to the closeness they’d once shared.

      After a moment, she pushed to her feet and shook her head. “I don’t think there’s any reason we need to continue this conversation. Let’s just say that we didn’t know each other as well as we thought we did and leave it at that. Now, I think you’d better leave.”

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