“It wouldn’t be a good idea.” She moistened her lips. “We’re nothing alike, Lassiter.” She shook her head ruefully. “Face it, I’m not like anyone. My father called me a freak and so would most of the people on Earth.”
“Would you like me to go after all of them with something more lethal than that frying pan that you used on your father? My pleasure.”
“It wouldn’t change the fact that I’m different. You have trouble with accepting me as I am. Anyone would, but sometimes it still hurts. And you like to pretend you’re not kind, but you are. I don’t want to look at you someday and see you’re only being kind to me.” She smiled shakily. “You never said that there might be a someday, but it could happen. So it would be better to walk away.”
“Like you’ve done all your life? Hell, like I’ve done all my life?” His eyes were blazing in his taut face. “I feel something for you, dammit. And you feel something for me. So come with me and we’ll find out what it is and how we’re going handle it.”
She shook her head. “And you’d try to take care of me. You’d try to control what I do, what I am. You couldn’t help yourself.”
“Then you help it. You keep me in line.” He said recklessly, “You’ve fought me every step of the way. You’ve had no trouble so far.”
“Yes, I have,” she whispered. “That’s why I have to leave you. It would be so easy, Lassiter.”
He went still. “Margaret?”
“No, it’s not going to work.”
“The hell it won’t.” His narrowed gaze was searching her face. “But maybe not now. I can see that you’re squaring your jaw and getting ready for battle. But what if there’s no battle? Just the greatest con of my life because it’s no con?”
“No, Lassiter.” She took her backpack from him. “You don’t need me. You have to take Patrick to Johns Hopkins and get him well. You have a company to run and that monastery to rebuild that’s—”
“And what are you going to be doing?” he interrupted. “Where were you heading after you got into that taxi?”
“Monkey Island.”
“What?”
“And I told you that I wanted to see the pink dolphins of the Amazon. I figured this was as good a time as any to do it. I need to get my bearings. It’s going to feel strange not to be on the run any longer.”
“I could help you to—” He broke off. “Forget it. That was automatic.”
“Exactly.”
“And what next?”
“I’m going to visit my friend Eve Duncan. I want to meet her new son, Michael.”
“Well, that would at least get you back on U.S. soil. Am I allowed to help you get documents?”
“I’ll manage.”
“Without doubt.” He stood looking at her. “You see how civilized and reasonable I’m being?”
“I’m impressed.”
“Don’t be.” He was next to her in less than a second. “That’s a true con.” His hands were framing her face and he was kissing her. “You’d be such an easy mark, Margaret.” He was kissing her again. “You want to believe me. Against all the odds.”
“Yes.” She instinctively moved closer to him. “I always did, even when I thought I couldn’t trust you.”
“And do you think I’d ever give that up? No one has ever given me a gift like that.” He held her eyes. “So go and study your pink dolphins. Go and see your friend Eve. Have an adventure or two and let yourself heal. But don’t ever think that I’m going to let you go. I tracked you for over a year and I found you when I didn’t even know you. Do you think I won’t find you when I have a reason like this?” He kissed her again and then let her go. “No way.” He turned her around and gave her a gentle push toward the taxi stand. “Call me if you need me. Otherwise, I’ll hold out as long as I can and then come after you. Good-bye, Margaret.”
“Good-bye, Lassiter.” She walked slowly to the closest taxi. She felt dazed and confused, and something less identifiable that was gradually rising to the surface. Then, as the taxi driver opened the door for her, she realized what it was.
Sunlight. Warmth. Joy.
Filling both her and the world with radiance.
And why was she running away from it, when she had sworn she was through with running?
She turned and looked back at Lassiter. “Hey, you sound like some kind of stalker. All that high drama and mega effort.” Her brilliant smile held a touch of mischief. “Don’t you know that all you’d really have to do is find out from Patrick when I’m going to come to pick up Juno and the pups?”
ALSO BY IRIS JOHANSEN
Night Watch
Night and Day
Hide Away
Shadow Play
The Naked Eye (with Roy Johansen)
Your Next Breath
Sight Unseen (with Roy Johansen)
Live to See Tomorrow
Silencing Eve
Hunting Eve
Taking Eve
Sleep No More
Close Your Eyes (with Roy Johansen)
What Doesn’t Kill You
Bonnie
Quinn
Eve
Chasing the Night
Shadow Zone (with Roy Johansen)
Eight Days to Live
Deadlock
Dark Summer
Quicksand
Silent Thunder (with Roy Johansen)
Pandora’s Daughter
Stalemate
An Unexpected Song
Killer Dreams
On the Run
Countdown
Blind Alley
Firestorm
Fatal Tide
Dead Aim
No One to Trust
Body of Lies
Final Target
The Search
The Killing Game
The Face of Deception
And Then You Die
Long After Midnight
The Ugly Duckling
Lion’s Bride
Dark Rider
Midnight Warrior
The Beloved Scoundrel
The Magnificent Rogue
The Tiger Prince
Last Bridge Home
The Golden Barbarian
Reap the Wind
Storm Winds
The Wind Dancer
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
IRIS JOHANSEN is the New York Times bestselling author of Night and Day, Hide Away, Shadow Play, Your Next Breath, The Perfect Witness, Live to See Tomorrow, Silencing Eve, Hunting Eve, Taking Eve, Sleep No More, What Doesn’t Kill You, Bonnie, Quinn, Eve, Chasing the Night, Eight Days to Live, Blood Game, Deadlock, Dark Summer, Pandora’s Daughter, Quicksand, Killer Dreams, On the Run, and more. And with her son Roy Johansen, she has coauthored Night Watch, The Naked Eye, Sight Unseen, Close Your Eyes, Shadow Zone, Storm Cycle, and Silent Thunder. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Also by Iris Johansen
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All o
f the characters, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
NO EASY TARGET. Copyright © 2017 by Johansen Publishing LLLP. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover photographs: woman © Stephen Mulcahey / Arcangel; dog © Galyna Andrushko / Shutterstock.com; trees © Jens Ottoson / Shutterstock.com
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-07584-0 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4668-8722-0 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781466887220
Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at
[email protected] First Edition: April 2017
Iris Johansen, No Easy Target
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