Page 131 of Past Due

Besian did, but he played dumb. “I don’t.”

Eric turned his ire toward Marley. “And you? You have nothing to say?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Marley said honestly. “You’re the one accosting us in the middle of a parking lot. Whatever you have to say, spit it out or get out of the way so we can go home and pack!”

God, Besian loved the feisty version of his wife. He wanted to kiss her so badly right now.

“Spider,” Eric snapped. “He’s gone!”

Marley reared back in shock. “Gone? Dead?”

“No!” Eric shouted. “Gone as in he escaped.”

“What?” Marley shouted right back. “How? When?”

“About two hours ago,” Eric said angrily. “He was in transport between the hospital and the jail. The van was hit in an intersection. He was taken.”

“The guards?” she asked worriedly.

“Fine. Mostly,” he admitted. “Scrapes and bumps and some burns from Taser prongs. Not a single shot was fired by either side.”

“Well, that’s good, right?” Marley replied expectantly.

“Did you hear what I said? Your stepdad escaped from federal custody!”

“I heard you, and so did everyone else within five blocks,” she grumbled. “You’re out here shouting at us like a lunatic.”

“If you had something to do with this,” Eric warned.

Marley rolled her eyes. “Eric, we’ve been here at the title company for most of the afternoon. Before that, we were at the bank arranging the wire transfer.”

“You know exactly what I mean!” Eric insisted and glared at Besian. “You think you’re going to get away with all this?”

“Again, Eric, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Besian replied calmly, secretly delighting in the way that vein throbbed in Eric’s temple.

“Bullshit,” Eric snarled. “First, the body that was found in Marley’s kitchen mysteriously vanishes from the medical examiner’s refrigerator. Then all the DNA evidence and trace taken from the scene goes missing? Kim’s still gone. Now, Spider escapes in an obviously orchestrated attack on a prison transport? Give me a break! I’m supposed to believe this is all a big coincidence?”

“I mean, it sounds like your department has some serious security issues,” Marley remarked. “Like you guys should look into that or something before a journalist decides to dig into and uncover all the dirty secrets you’re hiding at HPD.”

Eric narrowed his eyes. “Is that a threat?”

“Why would it be threatening? If you don’t have anything to hide,” she clarified in a maddeningly sweet tone that seemed to infuriate Eric.

Besian hadn’t ever imagined he would get this turned on in the middle of a parking lot in broad daylight, but damn if Marley hadn’t just proven him wrong. There was something outrageously sexy about her being a little mean.

“We’ll see how smug you are when it all comes crashing down on your heads,” Eric warned. “Enjoy your holiday, Mr. And Mrs. Beciraj.”

“Happy holidays!,” Marley called out as he stomped away. When Eric was out of sight, she glanced at him and scowled. “Seriously, B?”

“Not here,” he murmured and led her to his car. Once they were inside and driving away from the title company, he said, “Yes, seriously.”

“Do I even want to know how?”

He lifted his hand and rubbed his fingers together in a silent gesture that meant money.

“I see.”

He shrugged. “That was the deal we made with your mother.”

---