Because she would soon testify against a very dangerous man.
Marcos Culver.
And Marcos would have his hired thugs kill Alexa if he found her. Heck, he might kill her himself just for the fun of it.
Bottom line—Marcos would do whatever it took to prevent her from testifying at his upcoming trial. Even though the police knew Marcos was connected to another dangerous criminal, a cop killer who’d also been arrested, Alexa was literally the only person who could put Marcos behind bars.
“I’ll call my brother,” Levi said, reaching for his phone so he could call Jericho, who was the sheriff. “He needs to know what’s going on so he can take you into protective custody.”
But reaching was as far as he got. Alexa practically lunged at him and caught his wrist. Not the smartest thing she could have done because her hand landed in his zipper area.
Their gazes met.
Held.
Before she drew back her hand as if she’d been scalded. “You can’t tell anyone I’m here,” Alexa insisted. “I don’t know who’s in on this.”
That wasn’t just fear he saw in her eyes. It was terror. And Levi figured they weren’t just talking about the possible WITSEC breach now.
“In on what?” he demanded.
“Everything,” she said on a weary whisper.
All right. That got his attention. Of course, his attention hadn’t strayed too far from Alexa since he’d seen her step out of the car. And it wasn’t because he didn’t trust her.
“If you don’t want me to tell anyone, including the sheriff,” he snarled, “then what exactly do you think I can do for you?”
“It’s not for me,” she mumbled, and with her grip still on his arm, she began to lead him toward her car.
Levi got a bad feeling then. One worse than he already had. “You didn’t make some kind of deal with the Moonlight Strangler, did you?”
That stopped her in her tracks, and when she whirled back around to face him, it wasn’t just terror in her eyes. There was what appeared to be confusion. Some hurt, too.
“I know you don’t think much of me.” No longer a mumble. Her words were crisp like the air. “But I wouldn’t have brought you here to be killed. I already have enough Crockett blood on my hands.”
Yeah, she did.
And while Levi didn’t believe she’d just hand him over to a killer, that still didn’t get him to lower his gun.
“You should know up front that I stole a car,” Alexa said. “And that’s not even the worst of it. It’s possible I killed a man earlier tonight.”
That stopped him, as well. “You did what?”
Alexa swallowed hard. “Or at least he might be dead.”
Levi motioned for her to keep going with that explanation, but Alexa only tried to get him walking again. When he stayed put, she said something under her breath he didn’t catch.
“He was a bad man,” she finally continued. “And he murdered someone. He would have done the same to me if I hadn’t bashed him on the head with a flashlight.” Again, she tried to get Levi moving.
He didn’t budge. “What man?”
She huffed, shook her head. “I don’t know who he was. A hired gun, I’m sure. And, no, I don’t know who hired him. Not yet anyway. But I will find out.”
That last bit sounded like some kind of threat.
“The guy wasn’t alone, either,” she continued. “He had a partner.”
“You really think he’s dead?” he asked.
Alexa pushed her hair from her face. “I’m not sure of much of anything right now other than he came after us. I hit him, stole his car and left him at the gas station at the edge of town. It’s closed for the night.”
No one had called in a dead body on his watch. Of course, that gas station wasn’t exactly in city limits, and that meant Levi needed to get someone out there ASAP to check on the guy.
“If he’s not dead, he could have followed you,” he pointed out.
“Yes, he could have. And so could his partner. That’s why it’s not a good idea for us to be in the open. Follow me and I’ll explain everything.”
Levi just gave her a flat look. She was definitely shaking now. Probably freezing her butt off, but maybe the cold would only get her talking faster, because he wasn’t going anywhere with her until she gave him some answers.
“Why come to me?” he snapped.
She stared at him as if the answer was obvious. “Because if there was a breach at WITSEC, then whoever’s behind it would figure that you and your family are the last people on earth I’d turn to.”
He couldn’t argue with that. So, it must have taken something pretty darn bad for Alexa to make this trek to Appaloosa Pass.
Alexa led him to the back side of the bar. No lights here, but there was enough of a snow moon that he could better see the dark car. Likely the one Alexa claimed to have stolen. And yes, the engine was still running.
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Levi insisted when she tried to get him closer to the vehicle. “In fact, I’m doing something I should have done the moment I laid eyes on you.” He took out his phone despite the fact she tried to stop him again.
“You can’t call anyone,” she insisted.
“We’ll see about that. I’m calling Jericho right now. He might not like you, but he’ll protect you, and he’ll do what it takes to get you safely back into WITSEC.”
Alexa got right in his face. “Please. Don’t. Just get in the car with me and I’ll explain everything. Please,” she repeated when he hesitated.
Damn.
Levi cursed his hesitation. He also cursed the fact that he was affected in even a small way by her tacked-on please. Or maybe it was just the desperation he could see in Alexa’s eyes.
But desperate why?
To stay alive?
If so, why hadn’t she just taken off in the stolen car and stayed hidden until she was sure it was safe to surface?
Judging from the way Alexa’s gaze drifted to the car, the answer was inside.
Levi tightened his grip on his gun and went closer, not sure what he might see. No one was in front, but a heap of blankets was on the backseat.
“She’s dead,” Alexa said, and a hoarse sob tore from her throat.
The tears came. Man, did they. And Levi
