Proof of Innocence
INNOCENT FUGITIVEErin Eagleton has been on the run for months after her ex-boyfriend was killed in front of her. She escaped from the killer once, but the police consider her a prime suspect. She is determined to prove her innocence and bring down the real criminal…before he finishes the job. Her high school sweetheart, Capitol K-9 officer Chase Zachary, has been searching for her with his trusty police dog. Now that he's found her, he vows to keep her safe at all costs. He'll stop at nothing to reveal the truth–and to protect the woman he's never forgotten.Capitol K-9 Unit: These lawmen solve the toughest cases with the help of their brave canine partners.
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INNOCENT FUGITIVE
Erin Eagleton has been on the run for months after her ex-boyfriend was killed in front of her. She escaped from the killer once, but the police consider her a prime suspect. She is determined to prove her innocence and bring down the real criminalâ¦before he finishes the job. Her high school sweetheart, Capitol K-9 officer Chase Zachary, has been searching for her with his trusty police dog. Now that heâs found her, he vows to keep her safe at all costs. Heâll stop at nothing to reveal the truthâand to protect the woman heâs never forgotten.
Capitol K-9 Unit: These lawmen solve the toughest cases with the help of their brave canine partners.
She heard pounding footsteps coming toward her.
A dogâs woof caused her to stumble. Right into two waiting hands.
Erin started fighting, kicking and screaming as she tried to gain a foothold.
The dog started barking but stood back in a frenzied dance.
And the man holding her did something that surprised her and caused her whole world to tilt.
He shouted âHeelâ at the big dog and then he called her by her name. âErin? Erin? Itâs me. Itâs Chase.â
Erin stopped fighting, her fists relaxing against his solid chest, her gaze halting on the face she remembered so well. Her voice cracked, and she blinked to clear her head. âChase?â
âItâs okay,â he said in a whisper. âYouâre safe now, understand? Youâre with me now, and I wonât let anything happen to you.â
LENORA WORTH writes award-winning romance and romantic suspense. Three of her books finaled in the ACFW Carol Awards, and her Love Inspired Suspense novel Body of Evidence became a New York Times bestseller. Her novella in Mistletoe Kisses made her a USA TODAY bestselling author. With sixty books published and millions in print, she goes on adventures with her retired husband, Don, and enjoys reading, baking and shoppingâ¦especially shoe shopping.
Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty,
And before honor is humility.
âProverbs 18:12
To my fellow authors in this series: Shirlee McCoy, Terri Reed, Lynette Eason, Margaret Daley and Valerie Hansen. I love and appreciate all of you!
Contents
An urgent heartbeat pounded through Erin Eagletonâs temples each time her sneakered feet hit the dry, packed earth. She stumbled, grabbed at a leafy sapling and checked behind her again. The treeâs slender limbs hit at her face and neck when she let go, leaving welts across her cheekbones, but she kept running. The sun slid in a shimmering-gold descent beyond the trees to the west as dusk settled like a vivid red-orange blanket over the sticky, hot Virginia hillside. Soon it would be full dark and she would have to find a safe place to hide.
Winded and damp with a cold sweat that made her shiver as it snaked down her backbone, Erin tried to catch her breath. Did she dare stop and try to find another path?
The sound of approaching footsteps behind her caused Erin to stare through her nonprescription black-framed glasses into the growing darkness. Making a split-second decision, she took off to the right and headed deeper into the woods. She had to keep running until she came to a highway or a hideaway. But she was so tired. Would she ever be free?
Dear Lord, Iâm so lost. I donât know where to turn.
Memories of Chase Zachary moved through her head, causing tears to prick at her eyes. Her first love. Her high school sweetheart who now worked as a K-9 officer with an elite Washington, DC, team. A team that was investigating her.
From what sheâd read on the internet and in the local papers, Chase had been one of the first officers on the scene that horrible night.
Sheâd thought about calling him a hundred times over these past few months, but Erin wasnât sure she could trust even Chase. The last time theyâd seen each other, on the very evening this nightmare had taken place, he hadnât been very friendly. And why should he be kind toward her? He probably hated her for breaking his heart when they were so young.
But then just about everybody else along the Beltway and possibly even in the entire metro area surrounding DC hated her right now. Erin had been on the run for months. She knew running made her look guilty, but sheâd had no other choice since sheâd witnessed the murder of Michael Jeffries, and sheâd almost been killed herself. The authorities thought she was the killer and until she could prove otherwise, Erin had to stay hidden.
The media had already condemned her with a relentless assault that had her face plastered all over television news reports and newspaper headlines. Whole hours of cable news had been dedicated to dissecting her life. How could anyone stand up to such scrutiny?
The reports had at first painted her as an allegedly scorned ex-girlfriend whoâd possibly murdered prominent Washington lawyer Michael Jeffries because heâd broken up with her. None of which was true. Michael had been too caught up in his crusade against corruption to even have time to break up with her, and besides, their relationship was mostly for âshow,â to please their political families. Tired of the ruse,
