Murphy's Law Read Online Free

boat to change.
    Jack kept a tight grip on her elbow making escape impossible. She knew he had a hypodermic needle in his jacket pocket in case she decided to try anyway. But she learned from her mistakes. He expected her to make another attempt and prepared for anything.
    He wasn’t perfect. Eventually, he would relax his guard. She wondered how to help him along. They might refer to it as a fate worse than death, but….
    She arched her eyebrow and ran an appraising gaze over his lean, muscular body. Could she? Since her life depended on escaping, she had to try. She only had to convince him that she had resigned herself to her fate. Pretending to be interested in him might be more than she could pull off.
    “Lilly?”
    She blinked and lowered her gaze. “Yes?”
    “Forget it. I’m not some off-the-boat fisherman you can wrap around your finger.”
    The blood rushed to her face. “I don’t know what you mean.”
    “Yes you do. And if you offer, I’ll take you up on it. But it wouldn’t change a thing, except possibly put a smile on your face.”
    She exhaled a low grown of disgust. “I doubt I could compete with your ego for your attention, Mr. Murphy.”
    “If I were egotistical, I’d think you were interested. But I think you’d sleep with the devil himself to get away.”
    She raised her head and smirked. “At least you know what you are.”
    He chuckled and applied more pressure to keep her moving in the direction of the boats. Crafts of every make and model filled the dock slips. Where had all the people gone? Someone had to be running the place. The spooky silence made her nervous.
    A loud shriek pierced the night silence. Lilly jumped. She got another fright when Jack returned the same call. He turned in the direction of the sound and pulled her along.
    They stepped onto the dock. A blinding light lit up the sky. A blast deafened her. She moved her hands to her ears in an instinctive reaction even as she was thrown to the ground. She struggled for a breath. A smothering weight on top of her kept her pinned her down.
    Debris fell all around. Large chunks landed close enough to shake the wooden planks below her. The thirty seconds she spent on the ground felt like an eternity. Suddenly, the suffocating weight on top of her shifted. Jack had been covering her.
    When he pulled her to her feet, she felt the intense heat of the orange and red flames reflected off the murky waters. A thick black cloud filled the air with a choking smoke. Shouts sounded from all directions.
    “Come on.” He dragged her back the way they had come.
    “Shouldn’t someone call the police?”
    “Not us. Let’s go.” Angered by his insensitivity, she fought him. He stopped and took her roughly by the shoulders. “Don’t you get it yet? That was meant for you. Now move.”
    Reality hit her like a stinging slap across her face. Until that moment, she’d considered Jack Murphy her biggest threat. After all, he’d stalked her for two months. Obviously, he wasn’t the only one.
    Although tired and scared beyond reason, she drew on her basic desire for survival and ran through the old port city in any direction he took her. In and out of narrow alleyways, through a labyrinth of cobblestone roads, they ran until Lilly could no longer catch a breath.
    “Please. I can’t.”
    She leaned back against a building and put her hands on her knees, gasping and coughing. Jack waited, suspiciously eyeing anyone heading in their direction. His hand remained at his side, on his gun she guessed.
    “Can you move yet?” he asked.
    She nodded and stood up again. He kept the pace to a fast walk and weaved his way down the back alleys. Finally, he stopped at the rear entrance of an old brownstone building. Jazz music blared through the open window.
    “We can stay here for the night. It’s safe,” Jack announced. She eyed the building skeptically.
    What is it?”
    “It’s a theater. Sort of.”
    He knocked on the door and waited for