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warning, he swept her into his arms and tossed her, none too gently, onto the bed. He stretched out on the opposite side and caught her as she tried to roll off. His arm lay across her stomach, trapping her arms.
    Panic tore through her. “Please, let me go,” she whispered.
    “Only if you promise not to run away.”
    The more she struggled, the tighter his hold on her became. Finally she stopped, lying still and stiff, glaring into the darkness.
    “That’s better.” Joe’s tone was amused. “Now, do you suppose you could relax?”
    She snorted.
    “If you stop and think about this rationally, you’ll realize if I wanted to hurt you, I could have let those hit men do their job and saved me the trouble. As for sleeping with you, believe me, right now I’m only interested in sleep.”
    Joe couldn’t know what holding her down on the bed would do to her, how she’d react. Reason told her he meant her no harm. Not every man was like David, but David had taught her well and the lesson wouldn’t soon be forgotten. It was several minutes before she could still the rapid beating of her heart. As she began to relax, Joe’s grip loosened and finally he released her entirely. They were silent for several minutes, but Cara knew he wasn’t asleep.
    “I have to tell my father,” she said softly. “He still has a controlling interest in the company.”
    “Charlie went to your father. His cover was blown. That’s what got him killed.”
    “My father is involved in this too?” She propped herself on one elbow to look at him.
    “He’s only guilty of believing his son innocent. Unfortunately, when he went to Brian with the information about Charlie, he became an accessory. Whether Murphy hangs him out to dry will remain to be seen.”
    What was she going to do now? She was totally alone. Her brother was a ruthless murderer. Her father was the informant who cost Charlie his life. There was no one left.
    It wasn’t like she’d never been alone before. She’d pick up the pieces and go on. Maybe it wasn’t her first choice, but she was a survivor. She had one thing to do before she moved on with her life, though.
    Her sadness almost choked her as she started to speak. “I have to make sure Brian pays for what he did. I have to… for Charlie. Will you help me?”
    Joe was quiet for a moment. “We’ll have to trust each other if we’re going to work together.”
    “Uh… okay.”
    Joe chuckled and rolled onto his side. “We’ll talk about it in the morning. By then, maybe you’ll be able to say that and mean it.”
    She lay back down. He was right. It would be wise to wait until her emotions weren’t so raw before she made her decision.
    Cara turned on her side with her back to him and fluffed her pillow. A few minutes later, still wide awake, she inched closer to Joe’s warmth. Then, feeling strangely safe and protected, she fell asleep.

 
    Chapter Four
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    Saturday, 6:40 am
    W HEN C ARA CRAWLED from the bed at first light, Joe rose on one elbow and watched her cross to the door, but he didn’t move to stop her. She could have walked out of the motel if she’d wanted to. Where would she go? With a blanket from the closet, she stepped out on the deck and closed the door. Her heart was heavy within her chest. The gunmen on the beach last night. She’d killed one of them. Everything she’d learned about her brother and Charlie. That unspeakable tape. Her life had turned upside down. She’d lost her brother, the closest person in the world to her, and the only one standing between her and David. What was she going to do now?
    Brian was eleven years older than she, her father’s son from his first marriage. She’d idolized him from the time she could walk, being the annoying tag-along little sister to his patient and protective big brother.
    When he first learned of the abuse, Brian wanted to kill her husband, but she begged him not to get involved. She feared what David would do to him. Brian agreed,