Page 2 of Dangerous Lies

“I was terrified Oliver’s killer would come after me.” Megan gestured to the emails. “Honestly, who's to say these emails aren’t from him? They talk about vengeance, but that could mask the real purpose for wanting to hurt me. I’m the only witness to what happened that night. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I started receiving threats shortly after the investigation into the accident was reopened.”

Jax lifted a shoulder. “How do we know you didn’t send these emails to yourself to garner sympathy?”

Her mouth dropped open. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

Jax rose, palms planted on the table for leverage. He loomed over her. “No, I’m not kidding.” The anger in his voice was sharp. “This innocent act may work on some people, but I’m not buying it. I know what happened. You were high or drunk, you picked up my brother for a joyride, and then you ran off the road. You didn’t kill him on purpose, I’ll give you that, but he’s dead all the same. You’re guilty of negligent homicide and terrified of going to prison, so you’ll do whatever is necessary to muddy the waters of this investigation. Including sending yourself fake threats.”

Megan trembled. “That’s not true.” Her words came out weaker than she intended. Jax’s accusations, while false, raked against her survivor’s guilt. She blamed herself for Oliver’s death. She’d failed to maintain control of the vehicle. “I’m sorry for everything your family has gone through, but I’m telling the truth about what happened that night. These threats are real…”

He didn’t believe her. It was etched in every line on his handsome face. The contempt pouring from him was too much to take. She shrank back. Jax wouldn’t physically harm her, but he’d love to slap some cuffs on her wrists and haul her to prison.

A headache pulsed at her temple. In desperation, she sought out Noah. She met his gaze. “Please look into the threats. Reexamine the evidence from the accident. Someone elsewasthere. We were run off the road.”

He gave a sharp nod, but his expression remained unreadable. Megan was normally intuitive. Reading people was a skill that came naturally, but right now, she had no idea what Noah was thinking. Would he follow up? Or would he ignore the threats the moment she stepped out of this room?

Either way, there was nothing more she could do. Her stomach swirled with a mixture of unease and frustration as she stood, gathering her purse and coat.

Jax rose to his full height. Broad shouldered and muscular, he had the physique of an athlete. A scar creased the edge of one furrowed brow. His shadowed jawline and dark mop of hair gave him a hardened appearance—the look of a man who had spent too much time in the trenches of life. Megan knew only a little about him personally. He’d worked undercover with the ATF for nearly ten years before joining the Knoxville Police Department. People described him as serious, dedicated, and uncompromisingly honest.

In another life, maybe they could’ve been friends, but Oliver’s addiction and his death had set them on a different path. To Jax, she was the enemy, the person to blame. And while Megan didn’t carry that same bitterness, trusting him would be foolish. After this meeting, she wasn’t sure she could rely on anyone in the police department.

It was a crushing and lonely feeling. One that reminded her far too much of her teenage years.

Jax’s piercing blue eyes followed Megan as she went to the door. As she reached for the knob, he said, “This isn’t over. I won’t stop until I get to the truth.”

Megan glanced over her shoulder, meeting his intense gaze. This time when she spoke, her voice was steady. “I pray that’s true.”

Their eyes held for a beat. A flicker of something—regret, confusion, or perhaps another feeling entirely—flashed across Jax’s face, but in the next moment, it was gone, hidden behind the same hardened mask she was familiar with.

Noah sat quietly. His rejection stung. She’d thought they were friends. Or at least acquaintances. At the very least, she’d hoped Noah would honor his oath to protectallcitizens of the town. Megan ignored the wave of disappointment that struck her as she swung open the door to the interview room.

No one believed her. She was alone. Being stalked by God knows who.

It was terrifying.

Tears pressed against her eyelids. She wouldn’t cry. Not in front of all these people. Head held high, she crossed the main room of the police department and exited the building. A slap of cold air stole her breath. Megan quickly shrugged on her coat as she hurried across the dark parking lot toward the street. Her office was a short distance from the police department. It didn’t make sense to drive in the daylight, but the meeting had taken longer than expected. Now, with the cold January darkness pressing in, Megan regretted not taking her car.

Her heels tapped against the pavement. At this hour, traffic was nonexistent. The street lights flashed yellow. Megan jaywalked at an angle to the main square. Tree leaves whispered in the wind, the creepy sound heightening her anxiety. She huddled inside her coat and quickened her steps.

Clearview Counseling, her workplace, came into view. The converted shotgun house had a quaint charm, with white shutters and a small front porch. Megan worked there along with another two therapists and several members of support staff. The adjacent parking lot was empty save for her SUV tucked under the bright beam of a streetlight.

Megan fumbled with the fob to unlock the doors. The headlights on her vehicle flashed. She rushed into the driver’s seat, shivers racing through her body from the icy weather. She started the SUV and exited the parking lot. The pounding at her temple increased. A migraine was coming on. A stress headache. Megan might stave it off with a hot bath and a home-cooked meal.

Megan stopped at a red light at the edge of town. Nana and Pops would be waiting for her. The thought of her loving grandparents eased some of the tension in Megan’s muscles. Returning to Knoxville hadn’t been easy, but even with these recent threats, she didn’t regret it. Nana and Pops were advancing in years, and Nana’s recent bout with cancer had been a stark reminder of how precious their time together was. Megan intended to make the most of it. Her grandparents were all the family she had left.

The town faded as she followed the curve of Main Street. The engine hummed, and now that it’d warmed up, Megan reached for the knob to turn on the heater.

A shape loomed in her rearview mirror.

Megan screamed and nearly drove off the road as an arm encircled her shoulders like a vise, pushing her back against the seat. A round circle touched her throat, pressing hard. Her muscles locked in terror.

“Nice and steady,” a voice whispered against her earlobe. “I won’t hurt you as long as you do as I say. Got it?”

The man was crouched behind her, his face covered by a ski mask. Dim light coming from the dash of her vehicle illuminated the cold steel of the handgun pressed to Megan’s throat. She gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles went white. Terror clogged her throat. She wasn’t stupid enough to believe this man wouldn’t harm her.

The threats had been real.

And now, he was going to do as he promised in the emails.

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