Mortal Dilemma Read Online Free Page B

know. If you, or we, start hiding things from her, all the relationships start to fray. I won’t be a party to anything that causes a rift between the two of you.”
    â€œYou’ve been called on to do some terrible things, Jock, and you did them for all the right reasons.” And he certainly had. J.D. had shied away from that at first, but she’d come to understand that there’s a jungle out there where laws and rules and ethics mean nothing. She came to realize that without men like Jock, the ones who took out the predators, the jungle and the people who thrive there would overtake us all, and thousands of years of civilization would disappear.
    â€œMaybe so, but nobody can condone what I’ve done.”
    â€œTell me about it.”
    â€œNot yet, podna. Maybe tomorrow.”
    The phone rang. J.D. “Matt, about an hour ago somebody tried to kill me.” Her voice had a jittery quality, the sound of great stress.
    That hit me like a punch to the chest. “Are you okay?”
    â€œI think so. I killed the guy. The one who tried to shoot me.” She told me what had happened on I-75. “I just finished with the statements and the paperwork. I’ll be home in a couple of hours.”
    â€œWhere are you? I’ll come get you.”
    â€œI’m in a car with an Alachua County deputy. He’s bringing me home. My cruiser isn’t drivable. We should be there in a couple of hours. I’ll come to your house. Is Jock okay?”
    â€œBetter.”
    â€œSee you soon.”
    â€œJ.D.?” I said, not wanting to hang up.
    â€œYes?”
    â€œI love you.”
    â€œI know. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”
    I told Jock what had happened. “She’s pretty stressed out,” I said.
    â€œI’m not surprised. Killing takes a lot out of you. I think a little part of your soul dies with every one.”
    Jock’s tone had a self-pitying element that I’d never heard before. “Are you all right, buddy?”
    â€œNot yet, but I will be. It gets better every day. Time to stop the boozing.”
    I was relieved. That was always the sign that he was better, that whatever had caused his pain was receding into the recesses of his memory. “Glad to hear it.”
    â€œYou got another problem headed your way. J.D.’s going to need all of your attention for a few days. She’s not as tough as she wants everybody to believe.”
    I laughed. “I know, but I’d never let her know that I know. She’d chew me up and spit me out.”
    â€œHold her close, podna. She’s the best part of you.”
    We talked for another hour or so, reminiscing about our high school days and the girls we’d loved, or maybe just lusted after. We talked about J.D., and Jock tried to allay my fears about what her near-death experience would do to her. We did not mention his recent experience, whatever it was.
    Finally, as the sun lowered itself toward the Gulf’s surface and the clock neared six, I heard a car pull into my driveway and saw an Alachua County sheriff’s cruiser come to a stop. “J.D.’s here,” I said.
    â€œI’m going back to bed,” Jock said. “You take care of your woman.”
    â€œShe’ll want to see you.”
    â€œNot right now. She’ll need you to herself. You take good care of her or I’ll have to kick your ass again.” He was grinning. A good sign.
    â€œAgain?”
    â€œYeah. You know, like that time in the seventh grade.”
    I laughed. “You’re still drunk. I’ll wake you for dinner.”
    â€œNah. The hamburger did the trick. Let me sleep.”

CHAPTER SEVEN
    T HURSDAY , O CTOBER 30
    I WAS STANDING at the front door as J.D. got out of the cruiser and walked toward me. She half-turned and waved at the deputy as he backed out onto the street. She looked a little deflated, somehow diminished, not quite the J.D. I saw every