Read Still The One (Family Stone #4 Jack) (Family Stone Romantic Suspense) for Free Online Page B

that to the next level for protecting Maria. You need to pretend Ava never knew Maria. You cannot take the risk that if you bring up Maria that Ava won’t mention it to someone. Because someone, somewhere might be listening.”
    “But—”
    “Right now, Fernandez has a prisoner that’s escaped but absolutely no leads on where she went.”
    “How did she get to Adams-Larsen?”
    “She is blessed with unbelievable luck.”
    “Except for that whole being imprisoned for eight years,” Jack snarked.
    “Fine. But when she escaped, she scrambled through a canyon and went to the nearest house. Turns out the owner is a former U.S. Marshal.” Bliss chewed on the pen tip. “Although he’d never done a stint in Wit Sec, he had friends who are still in the service. So he knew exactly what to do.”
    “So why didn’t she stay with the marshals?”
    “Marshals protect federal witnesses. There’s no trial, or even technical threat against her yet. The case against Fernandez doesn’t exist yet. So she isn’t eligible for protection right now. Once she testifies against Fernandez, she can go into the witness protection if she wishes.”
    Right, so her life can be taken away again. How many times was this poor girl going to be ripped away from everything she’d ever known? Jack shook off that worry. Right now he needed information.
    And Bliss still didn’t answer his question on how Maria ended up in DC at Adams-Larsen. “So how did she get to you?”
    “Both Jill and Marsh are former marshals,” Bliss said. “Luckily, the neighbor’s contact knew about the other side of Adams-Larsen’s business.”
    “So it really was a series of lucky events that brought Maria Torres to you?” Jack mused. “I guess her luck is changing.”
    “A series of unbelievably lucky events.” Bliss frowned. “So why did she run?”

Five
    They got to the isolated farm house an hour and a half after they landed at the Perry Municipal Airport outside Des Moines. The dark night was unbroken only by one large spotlight strung up at the top of a single bare post. It illuminated the front yard and the steps leading up to the rickety old porch.
    Jack withdrew his weapon from his belt holster as they cautiously approached the weathered structure. Peeling paint revealed patches of bare, worn wood and a tangle of brush surrounded the base of the house.
    Crickets chirped, frogs croaked in the immense silence. No cars traveled the deserted two lane road, and the howl of a coyote pack haunted the waning moonlit night. The stars sparkled in the still sky. Frost crystallized on the bare grass. Winter was edging in the barren farm town.
    From the road the house looked deserted, half overgrown with brambles and old bushes that hadn’t been trimmed for years. One of the shutters had lost a hinge and hung crooked against the peeling wood siding, but a shiny new industrial lock gleamed through the dark shadows of the unlit porch.
    “It’s straight out of a horror flick,” Jack commented mildly.
    “It’s isolated and unregistered. The land belongs to a trust, so it’s almost impossible to trace.”
    Jack tilted his head to the side and indicated that Bliss move behind him. She rolled her eyes but before she could argue, he knocked on the door, the bang loud in the quiet air.
    Bliss huffed out an annoyed breath, stepped around him, and smoothly inserted the key into the well-oiled lock. She turned the knob and stepped into the darkened foyer before Jack could stop her.
    “Maria?” Bliss called out. Just in case she had gone back to the house. But there was no answer, no sound at all but the hum of the refrigerator and the distinct smell of something rotting.
    Jack grabbed Bliss by the bicep and held on tightly. “Wait.”
    He braced for what they might find and flipped on the light switch in the entry. But what greeted them was...nothing. There wasn’t a thing out of place. A simple sofa, coffee table, and television were the only items in the