Wanted with Murder (A Rilynne Evans Mystery, Book Five) by Jenn Vakey Page B

since she was a child. It wasn’t that the darkness itself was leaving her frightened, it was the prospects of what could be waiting for her in it. It took all of the strength she had to wait until she made it into the kitchen before turning a light on.
    It was just after four.
    As she poured herself a glass of water, she pondered whether she should try to force herself back to sleep, or just give up and get an early start on the day. Though she didn’t have to get up early for work, she still knew the events she currently found herself caught in the middle of would not go away on their own. She was going to need to be well rested if she was to tackle the day ahead. With a resigned sigh, she finished the last of her water and walked back to her room.
    Ben hadn’t moved a muscle since she left him. His gentle snoring echoed through the room as she carefully climbed back into bed. Before she lowered back down onto her pillows, she saw the moonlight creeping through the window reflect off of something sitting on the nightstand closest to Ben. She squinted as she tried to make out what it was, and smirked when it became clear. Before getting in bed, it appeared that Ben had made sure her backup gun was in reach.
    She grinned down at him before gently kissing him on the forehead and sliding back under the covers. To her surprise, she now felt much more relaxed. It took only moments for her to drift back to sleep.
    It seemed like only minutes later that she was awoken again. When she opened her eyes, though, she saw the morning light flooding into the room.
    She reached out to grab the ringing phone that was sitting on her nightstand and held it up to check the number. It wasn’t one she knew.
    “Who is it?” Ben asked, rubbing his hands over his face.
    Rilynne shrugged before pulling the phone up to her ear. “Hello?”
    “Evans.” She heard Matthews’ voice on the other end of the line. “I need you to listen to me very carefully.”
    “You’re scaring me,” she interrupted. “What’s going on?”
    “They just issued a warrant for your arrest,” he said abruptly. “You have about twenty minutes before they show up to take you in. Rilynne, you need to get out of there now. Don’t go to Ben’s or anywhere else they would think to look for you. Just go, go now.”

Chapter Nine
    R ilynne was shocked by the tone in his voice. She had never heard him sound so scared. More than anything, though, she was stunned to hear her name. He never called her Rilynne. “You could lose your job for this,” she said as she jumped off the bed and ran to the closet. “You have too much going on right now to take a risk like this.”
    “You’re my partner,” he said simply. “Now go.”
    Before she could say anything else, she heard the line go dead. With one last heartfelt look at the phone, she shoved it into the pocket of her pajama pants and grabbed a handful of clothes.
    “What’s going on?” Ben asked as she shoved the clothes abruptly into the pack she had grabbed from the top shelf.
    She considered not telling him for a moment. She knew what it would mean if she walked out of the house now, and didn’t want him to have to make the same decision. Before she could respond, though, he seemed to see the truth in the situation. He was off the bed and out of the room before she knew what was happening.
    Rilynne stuffed everything she might need into the bag and rushed out of the room. She found Ben in the kitchen.
    “Send Lori a text and tell her you’re on the way to visit your mom,” he stated. “Ask her if she can keep an eye on your house while you’re gone. Tell her you shouldn’t be more than a week.” She was taken aback by his statement, but she quickly complied. “Go put that in my car. Then grab the sleeping bags out of the hall closet. How long did he say we have?”
    “You don’t have to do this, Ben. You don’t have to give up your life like this,” she stated.
    “How long?” he asked again