Read Next to Die for Free Online Page B

dinner and we’ll call it even.”
    “Are you crazy?” she cried, amazed by his presumption.
    “Then you’d prefer I press charges,” he said with a shrug. He made to retrieve his cell phone.
    “Wait!” Her heart was thumping and her thoughts were still muddled, but she could think clearly enough to realize that there was yet a way out of this predicament. “You’re going to forget about this accident if I take you out to dinner?” she clarified, giving herself time to plot.
    “I’m partial to seafood,” he added with a gleam in his eyes. She suspected he was laughing at her, only he didn’t so much as crack a smile.
    “How do I know that you’re not psycho or something?”
    He shrugged again. “You don’t.”
    “Oh, great. That’s reassuring. What are you, like eighteen years old? Do you have a thing for older women?”
    “Age isn’t the only mark of maturity,” he said, utterly unperturbed.
    “Right.” She glanced back at her car, gauging her ability to jump inside it and take off.
    “I’ve memorized your license plate number,” he added, as if reading her thoughts. “I will call the police.”
    Lia envisioned Penny’s reaction to the police showing up at her doorstep.
    “Meet me for dinner tonight at Peabody’s at seven,” he persisted.
    Yeah, right. Like she’d really go out with a kid like him, even if Peabody’s was the hottest spot in town. “Okay,” she lied. “I’ll be there.”
    The traffic had begun to flow around them. Someone blew the horn. They were getting dirty looks.
    “Give me that necklace you’re wearing.”
    “What?” From the necklace dangled a cameo pendant that once belonged to her grandmother.
    “If you want it back, you’ll show up tonight.”
    “I am not giving you my necklace,” she snapped indignantly. “Here, you can have my ring.” She twisted the opal ring off her right ring finger. It’d been a gift from her last boyfriend, the jackass. She’d never miss it.
    He accepted the offering with a suspicious frown.
    “Now leave me alone. I’ll see you soon enough,” she added, raking the faces of the drivers passing them, wondering if Eric was having a good laugh.
    “You owe me dinner,” the soldier reminded, following her to her car. “Don’t break your word.” He shut her door for her. “Seat belt,” he added, tapping on the glass.
    With a growl of annoyance, Lia whipped the seat belt across her chest and snapped it into place. She looked up to see Soldier Boy slipping fluidly into his car. He skewered her with a look in his rearview mirror, and then he took off, his motor roaring loudly.
    “Annoying brat,” Lia muttered, her own car lurching into drive. She was shaken by the incident, but it served at least to take her mind off greater worries, like whether Eric knew she had gone to the FBI and whether he was plotting his reprisal.
     
    At seven-thirty in the morning, Penny stepped out of her house in her uniform, relieved that it was Friday. She paused on her front stoop to savor the crisp air drawn in by last night’s rain. The sun edging over the house across the street had turned the sky a buttery yellow. She would have preferred to watch it rise over the Atlantic Ocean, but duty called and she had to go. At least she would have the weekend off for working overtime.
    The thud of a closing door drew her gaze to Joe Montgomery’s house. She watched him limp toward his Jeep. He wore his dress blues, complete with golden tassels and brass buttons that fairly gleamed, topped off by a smart combination cap. She wondered what function he was headed to, dressed like that.
    As if sensing her perusal, his head turned and his stride faltered. Despite the shadow cast by the brim of his cap, she could see lines of pain etched on either side of his mouth.
    “Good morning,” she called across the lawn. Had he slept at all since his return? He’d left the lights on every night.
    “Morning,” he growled back. Averting his gaze, he continued