La femme de ménage voit tout

Freida McFadden

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PROLOGUE

The sun is shining.
Not a cloud in the sky.
It's a good day to run.
Run for my life.
***

The Cop Who Won't Let Go

Alaina Carter's boyfriend is a narcotics cop.

Before his abuse can escalate to the point where it threatens her life, she leaves him. But he finds her, and when he does, she realizes that she's already in a life or death situation, and there's nothing she can do about it.

Eric stands over me, his eyes full of fury. "Don't you ever threaten to leave me. Try it, and you'll regret it. I'll find you. It's what I do. Don't you forget it," he says, his voice so even and quiet it petrifies me. I'm used to his bellowing rage. This tone is scarier. Much scarier.

He storms out of the apartment, slamming the door on his way out. Running to the bedroom, I pack everything I can fit into a suitcase. Everything in me screams that if I'm going to leave, I have to do it now!

Running for Her Life

"How do you want these bills?" the bank teller asks. She eyes me speculatively over the rim of her glasses. She reminds me of a schoolmarm, ruler in hand, looking down at a recalcitrant child she knows is hiding something.

I'm sure she doesn't see someone withdraw ten thousand dollars in cash every day. But then, not many people are running - especially from a narcotics cop.

The discerning teller hands me the bank bag full of bills. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" Her look changes from schoolmarm to concerned stranger. She looks really worried. Join the club, I think to myself.

Walking outside, the heat hits me in a brutal rush. Though it's fall, the Houston, Texas sun is scorching.

Getting into my little yellow VW - I call her 'Coffee Can' - I roll the windows down to let the heat escape. Sighing tiredly, I start Coffee Can and pull out into traffic. It's going to be a long day. I don't know where I'm going, but I know where I don't want to be. Here. Anywhere but here.

Finding Unexpected "Love on the Run"

Jonah Chandler puts a wrench in my plans. An 'entanglement' with him -- or any other man -- is the last thing on my mind.

Considering what I'm running from, all men should be off limits for me. But Jonah is not all men. There's only one of him - and he's the kind you don't ignore when he comes into your life. No matter what's going on.

"I want you, and I think you want me too. I would almost bet my life on it. But I know there's something you're not telling me, Laney. ... And I need you to trust me enough to be honest."
***

I don't know how to answer him without lying. Honesty ... it's the one thing I can't give him.

Jonah doesn't know my history. With all of my baggage, I doubt he'd want to get involved with me. And I have no right to drag him into the mess that is my life, even if he does.

Then there's my ex, Eric. I know what he's capable of. If he finds me, I'll have to leave -- with no explanation. That means leaving collateral damage behind. Nobody deserves that. And that's why my head knows that what happened today with Jonah was a blessing in disguise.

But my heart ... it's not as accepting. In spite of everything, I don't want to run. I want to stay.

I really, really want to stay.
***

I get a sense of being watched. I shift my gaze and spot a man with dirty-blonde hair. He turns a corner too quickly for me to get a sense of if it was Eric, never mind get a look at his face. But I don't need to see him.

I know it's him. And I know what I have to do.

Run
Again.
***

Alaina (Laney) thinks she's running from one danger. The truth is so much deadlier. Her great-grandmother's clock holds the answer. Will she discover it in time to save her life ... and Jonah's?

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