Emmitt's Treasure: Judgement of the Six Companion Series, book 2 Read Online Free Page B

asking for you by name.”
    “If he can’t find you still sleeping, he’ll at least look for a trail to follow.  Switching vehicles was a good start, but they’ll have found the dealer by now and gotten a description of the new one.  It’s only a matter of time...unless you can disappear.”
    Her heart stuttered, and the scent of her fear grew stronger.  I’d known suggesting she come home with me would scare her.  Yet, it was the safest place for her.  I struggled with the words to smooth away her concern.
    “What exactly do you mean?” she asked.
    “I live on a big spread.  No neighbors close by.  Plenty of room for you to lay low without feeling like you’re being locked away.”
    She looked up and studied me.
    “What’s in it for you?”
    She was killing me with her mistrust.
    “Haven’t you ever had anyone help you just to help?”
    She sighed and set her coffee to the side.
    “May I see your wallet?”
    Though the question surprised me, I immediately took out my wallet.  She could have anything in it.  I’d give her anything and everything if it helped her feel safe with me.
    She studied the contents, staring at my library card then the empty donor circle on my driver’s license.  After that, she pulled out the only three pictures I had.
    “Family?” she asked.
    “My mom, brother, and dad.”  I moved away from the door and looked at the pictures in her hand.  They were several years old and well-worn.  Being away from my family had been hard in the beginning.  I’d gotten used to it, but I still missed them.
    Michelle set the pictures aside and continued searching my wallet.  There wasn’t much else, just a piece of paper with phone numbers but no names.
    “What are these?”  She held up the paper.
    When she looked up at me, something happened.  Her scent changed ever so subtly.  A wisp of something sweet and fragile, there and gone again, had me wondering if I’d imagined it.  The way she immediately dropped her gaze had me wondering what she’d just felt.  What had caused her scent to change like that?  I knew better than to ask, and focused on the paper.
    “The first one is compliments of my mom.  It’s the number for a friend of the family close to where I was stationed, in case I ran into trouble.  The next one is my brother’s number.  I left just after he and I moved down here from Canada.  I wasn’t sure I’d remember the number.”
    “How can you be from Canada but in the U.S. military?”
    Her immediate suspicion and accusing tone warned me to answer carefully.  Her brothers had finished eating and were watching us warily.
    “My mom’s from the U.S. and insisted both Jim and I be born here.  It drove my dad crazy because she didn’t want to leave home until the last minute.  He swore it was her sheer determination that kept us from being born on the ‘wrong’ side of the border.”  I smiled, remembering my dad’s expression every time that story was retold.  Mom had worried the hell out of him.
    Michelle nodded to her brothers, and they moved off to the bathroom to wash up.
    “The last number?” she asked.
    “My parents.  I figured if something ever happened to me, those three numbers would be good emergency information.”
    She slowly put everything back in its place.  As she did so, I could see she was lost in thought.
    “Is it so hard to trust?” I asked, sad for her.
    “You have no idea,” she said softly.  “Tell me more about this big spread.”
    She was considering it.  I smiled widely.  They were going to love it there.  I was going to love her there.
    “It’s been awhile since I’ve been back.  It’s an old three-story with wrap-around porches.  Before I left, my brother and I talked about dividing it into six apartments.  From what he’s told me, he’s done the dividing and now just needs to complete the finishing work in three more apartments.  It also has a huge backyard that’s a pain to mow, according to