Read Drawing The Line for Free Online Page B

simply said, “Good to know. Look, we don’t have a whole lot of time here, and I’m sure you’re exhausted. So what do you say we get your things and head over to the safe house so we can get settled in?”
    Her thoughts screeched to a halt right along with her movements , and she froze with one hand mid-lift toward the car door. “I’m sorry. Did you say we ?”
    J ason got out and popped the handle for her, smooth as freshly rolled pie crust. “You’ll have someone with you for the first few days, at least until the arraignment.”
    “And that someone is you?” Say no. Please say no. Please…
    “Yes. ” Cue the mischievous boyish smile, and her traitorous immunity considered a permanent holiday. “Most of the time, that someone will be me.”
    Fantastic. Because what she needed was a whole bunch of downtime with a silver-tongued detective whose ass looked firm enough to give perfectly in-season cantaloupes a run for their money.
    Not that she was checking out his ass for less-than-savory purposes, but come on. The guy was right in front of her on the sidewalk, and for God’s sake, dress pants at a casual gait gave a whole new meaning to the phrase scenic view .
    Serenity stumbled for just a step before speeding up to slip around him as they got closer to her front door, and she forced herself to focus. It wasn’t lost on her that Jason’s gaze swung from one end of the grounds to the other in a constant assessment of their surroundings. In the four years she’d lived here, there had never been so much as toilet paper in the trees. Surely he was overreacting with all this cloak and dagger stuff.
    “Okay,” he said after a cursory sweep of her apartment . “There’s a backup unit nearby who will come get your laptop and cell phone so we can keep them secure down at the precinct, but go ahead and grab anything else you’ll need.”
    Unease trickled into her chest as one more thing hurtled out of her control. “Nobody said anything about handing over my cell phone.”
    “ It’s too easily traced. If we have guys who can find you in less than five minutes using the GPS coordinates, you can bet Brody does too.”
    “But what if there’s an emergency at Mac’s?” At the very least, Serenity needed to be a ble to get in touch with Jules. The diner was her lifeblood, her home. She hadn’t worked her butt off for four years just to pass it off like a football on game day.
    “ Your manager has all my contact information, as well as my partner’s and my boss’s. Plus we’ve stepped up police presence at Mac’s and put a few extra security measures in place for your employees, just in case. You don’t have to worry,” Jason said, stepping in from his spot by the front hallway with a trust-me smile.
    Whether it was h er shredded nerves playing catch-up from this morning or the unexpected blast of reality setting in, Serenity couldn’t be sure. But all of a sudden, the pain in her head grew fangs as it rattled along with her pulse, and she pressed her fingertips to the bridge of her nose to try and check the sensation.
    “If I didn’t have to worry, we wouldn’t be doing this.” The words lacked any heat, and Jason’s smile f ell into something more serious as he pegged her with a stare.
    “I know this is a lot to take in right now. But Brody’s not going to hurt you. Not on my watch.”
    Whoa. Serenity reached out for the edge of the small table in the foyer, steadying herself against the sudden shot of dizziness rolling through her aching skull. “O-okay.”
    Jason’s brow tugged downward over a look she couldn’t decipher, but the expression disappeared before she could unravel it. “Why don’t I help you with your suitcase?”
    “Oh.” Surprise pinged through her chest, easing her grip on the polished wood of the hall table. Dr. Fisher had said even mild concussions could be serious, and her balance sure did seem like playing whoopsie-daisy was its new favorite pastime. A little