Read Online All or Nothing: A Trust No One Novel by Dixie Lee Brown - Free Book Online Page A

her arm.
    “Afraid to fly?”
    “Not usually.”
    “I suppose that means you don’t trust my piloting ability either?” A frown creased his forehead.
    She held her breath a moment. “Do you mind if I ask you a question?” Her voice shook.
    He glanced her way, his gaze dropping to her hands.
    She crossed her arms, tucking her trembling fingers from sight.
    “Ask me anything.”
    “I thought maybe, if I knew you a little better, it might be… good.” Perfect. She couldn’t even talk around this man.
    “Can’t hurt.” He smiled encouragingly.
    “How did you get into… killing people?” Cara clamped her lips closed. She didn’t mean to say that. What was wrong with her? She snuck a peek at him.
    He stared straight ahead out the window, giving no indication what he was thinking or how inappropriate he’d found her question.
    She chewed her lower lip and waited. As the silence stretched, however, she lifted her chin defiantly. She wouldn’t apologize. It might not have been a politically correct question, but it wasn’t unfair under the circumstances.
    He turned slowly and met her eyes. “I could ask you the same damn thing.”
    His cold glare hit her like a physical blow, sending her back in time to that night on the beach. Her world spun as she fought to rid herself of the images of the man she’d shot. She’d tried so hard to block out the memory—just for a while, until… what? Until she could accept that her brother was a murderer and a gunrunner and he’d tried to kill her. God, wasn’t that enough?
    She could see the man, as though he still stood in front of her. Dark suit, light-colored shirt, blood spreading from the wound in his chest to his abdomen and soaking through the waistband of his slacks. The drizzly, damp air of the coast lay on her skin, the ocean roared in her ears, and the cold, hard steel was gripped tightly in her hand.
    It took a moment before she realized the waves roaring in her ears were really her breathing, gasping, sucking air in and out of her chest, and still she couldn’t get enough. The next instant, Joe’s arm was around her shoulders and he pulled an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth.
    “Breathe. In and out. Regular breaths. That’s it. That’s better.” He continued to talk her calmly through the attack. A few minutes later, he slowly removed the mask.
    “Touché.” Her voice wavered. “I’m sorry. That was…”
    “When I was young and naive, I signed up for a tour in Afghanistan. I had no idea what I’d gotten myself into, but once you’re there, you catch on or they send you home in a body bag. I was lucky… good at staying alive, and keeping those around me alive too. I guess I thought I was making a difference. So, I re-upped and went wherever they needed me.” He turned to look at her, his gaze sweeping her face, his eyes full of concern. “When my third tour was up, and I was still alive, I figured I better get the hell out of there while I still had my skin. I came home and got a nice, quiet job with the Secret Service, protecting the president’s family.”
    “That’s impressive.”
    “Trust me. It’s not. In fact, it’s about as boring and tedious a job as you can imagine: except for the occasional intense adrenaline highs, just often enough to keep you on your toes. That’s when I met Murphy, and he talked me into training a couple of his undercover operatives in my spare time.”
    “What kind of training?”
    “The kind you only learn in the field, against scum who have no moral code and who place absolutely no value on human life. I taught my students how to survive, how to kill and any other techniques Uncle Sam deemed appropriate. Still do.” He paused, watching her.
    Cara waited, dreading. “Go on.”
    “It was about time for my rotation off the protection detail, and I knew Murphy wanted me to train full-time.” Joe shrugged. “I’m really a hands-on kind of guy. It wouldn’t take long for that to get old, so I quit