Fugitive Pursuit. Christa Sinclair

vulnerable. Once had been enough.

      Now, where was his fugitive?

      * * *

      Jamie Carter read the news article on the computer before her. Official reports claimed her sister had had a drug problem that ultimately led to her death. “Yeah, right.” Jamie’s brother-in-law, Drew, had killed her. Based on her sister’s last phone message, Jamie was sure of it. Proving it, though, was a whole other ball game. Tears blurred her vision.

      Why hadn’t she gone to the house when her sister called?

      She swiped her fingers under her eyes. “I’m sorry, Erin.” Sorry for so many things, but mostly for not being there when her sister needed her the most. Jamie had gone on a vacation with her teacher friends to celebrate the end of the school year and to get away from Erin’s excuses for staying in the marriage. She’d had enough of trying to convince Erin to leave her abusive husband. When Erin had called and left a rushed message, Jamie hadn’t heard the phone ring and Erin had died. Jamie had gone to the house on her way home from her trip, but it was too late. The investigation was underway, with speculation her sister’s drug dealer had killed her.

      Except Erin didn’t do drugs. Never had, never would have.

      When Jamie arrived at his home, Drew stood outside, holding his daughter and pretending to mourn his wife. But when Jamie looked into his eyes, she knew he’d had a hand in Erin’s death. Like a wild woman, she pushed, punched and swung an IV pole at her brother-in-law and one of the deputies in front of a yard full of lawmen, paramedics and spectators. Of course, the men pressed charges. While waiting to see a judge, Jamie’s head swam with indecision. But nothing mattered except honoring her sister and getting her niece to safety.

      Quiet sobs stole her breath as memories huddled in her brain. She didn’t think it was possible, but again her heart wrenched in her chest. She’d make it up to Erin, though.

      A few days after Jamie made bail, she followed her niece and the girl’s new nanny to Charlotte’s favorite park. Joy traveled through her, and when the nanny got caught up in flirting with a man sitting next to her with a baby on his lap, Jamie pulled her niece and the girl’s bedraggled stuffed elephant into her arms. As Charlotte chatted excitedly about how happy she was to see Jamie, she whisked her away. Now she was ready to focus on somehow proving to anyone who would listen how evil her brother-in-law was.

      Rumors throughout the small town of Hampton and through some of her students claimed Drew authorized his deputies to sell drugs there and in nearby communities. If she couldn’t get him investigated for her sister’s death, then she’d work to get him held accountable for the drugs he and his deputies peddled. Jamie’s next step was to interview some people. But who? How?

      She closed her eyes and lowered her head. From successful, well-respected high school teacher to wanted woman in a matter of weeks. Could she succeed in bringing Drew down? Alone? To her success, everything Jamie set her mind to she achieved. But being wanted by the law...

      The bell on the front door signaled a new customer entering.

      And God helping her? That wouldn’t happen. He’d abandoned Jamie the day He first allowed Drew to steal Erin from her.

      The new person, an imposing figure of a man, stood by the door, scanning the room. Jamie tensed. She was pretty sure he wasn’t looking for a seat since several near him remained empty. Although he wore no uniform, some kind of badge dropped around his neck.

      Right. Time to go. Thankfully her niece was tucked away safely with a friend, so only Jamie had to run. As quickly as she could, she gathered the printouts covering the details of her case since she’d run and stuffed them into her backpack. When she rose from her chair, she kept her gaze toward the back of the room and prayed the man wasn’t looking for her.

      A burst of air from the vent above her head stirred the strands of hair hanging loose from her ponytail. She fought every nerve to walk casually toward the back hallway.

      “Jamie Carter.” A deep voice stirred something within her—fear, ease, maybe a bit of both.

      Customers nearby stared at her.

      She stopped and slowly turned to face the man about ten yards away from her. Dark hair, dark clothes. A few inches taller than her five foot seven, with well-defined muscle in his limbs, he could prove to be a challenge during her escape. She’d never seen him before. Could he be one of Drew’s musclemen? Or a new deputy?

      “How’d you find me?” Like a wheel, her brain spun, scanning the surroundings, searching for freedom. Leaving by the front door would be impossible.

      He shrugged one shoulder. “I asked around. Took a chance you’d be in the neighborhood.” When he stepped closer, she could see hair that barely touched his shoulders and a handsome face with a rounded jaw. “I’m sorry about your sister.”

      A sense of intimacy rolled between them, his words like a balm over her broken heart.

      Jamie shook her head. Crazy. The man was the enemy. “Sure, you really care.”

      “I do. I can’t imagine losing one of my brothers or my sister in such a way.”

      A hint of sympathy passed through his expression, as though he could truly understand her pain. Since when had her brother-in-law hired anyone with compassion? “You can tell Drew I’ll never stop fighting him, not until he answers for the crimes he’s committed.” Abuse, murder, drug peddler. Could there be more offenses?

      Being more used to facing teenage drama and too many parent meetings than life on the run, Jamie didn’t have all the investigative skills she needed yet to convict Drew. But her time in the education system had taught her to roll with the punches. Hopefully her success rate inside a classroom put the odds in her favor as she attempted to uncover the truth. Nothing would stop her, not even the handsome man in front of her.

      “The only person here with a warrant is you.” The man inched closer. He remained calm, confident.

      She was not.

      Going left or right would wouldn’t work. Too many people to maneuver around. Any one of them might grab her for him.

      “So, what are you going to do? Bury me in an unmarked grave somewhere or take me back to Drew so he can kill me himself?” Several more customers stopped what they were doing. Many chose not to look directly at her. “I’m not going with you.”

      “You don’t have a choice. You kidnapped your niece.”

      Other people watched her and the man, as though enjoying a tennis match, as their conversation continued.

      “I didn’t kidnap her. I’m protecting her.” Although Drew spent most of his marriage hitting Erin, he hadn’t hurt Charlotte, according to the little girl. Jamie had made sure to ask. Often.

      He shook his head. “The courts don’t agree.”

      “The courts are full of obnoxious old men who don’t have a clue what a true villain Drew Timmins is.” When the man took another step toward her, she backed up. “Please. My niece and I are in danger. Don’t you have a heart?” Make a decision. Which way should she run?

      Metal clinked behind her. The closest computer geeks leaned over to glance around her.

      Jamie jerked to one side so she could keep an eye on the man while assessing the latest threat. A woman, shadowed by the darkness of the hallway behind her, approached with handcuffs dangling from her fingers. “Please don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

      “Lil, I told you to wait,” the man grumbled.

      Okay, if this woman was working with him, then they were definitely not Drew’s employees. Her brother-in-law would never hire a woman.

      “I thought you and Ms. Carter could use a hand.”

      Fear shot through Jamie. Once those metal bracelets clinked around her wrists, her attempts to eventually earn Charlotte a safe life would be over.

      Which