Death is the only exit .... Kelly Martin is a frightened teenage runaway who made a scandalous accusation, then vanished, leaving Los Angeles prosecutor Tessa Jacobi with a ticking time bomb of a case on her hands. When the investigation leads her to chic nightclubs, shadowy business deals and whispers of sexual slavery, Tessa understands that she's out of her league. So she asks for help from a man whose contacts and experience can help her bring Kelly home. Burned by the system in the past, private investigator Luke Novak plays by his own rules and he's not about to change them to accommodate a smart, classy blonde from the DA's office. But when a killer strikes frighteningly close to home, Tessa has nowhere to turn except to Luke. Because somewhere in a neon underworld, a young girl is running for her life. And Tessa is determined to get her out, even if it means placing her own life in the hands of a renegade she has no choice but to trust...

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No Escape

Chapter One

Hollywood, California
Saturday, February 20
2:00 A.M.

If being raped by a hulking professional football playerwas the price she had to pay to make it big in Hollywood,Kelly Martin figured she should pull up stakes and headback to Kansas. Even working the Blizzard machine atDairy Queen had to be better than what she had enduredover the last few hours.

With a sideways glance at the huge man driving her homein his Hummer, Kelly pressed a hand low on her abdomen toquiet the burning, grinding pain there.

She was positive Britney never had to do anything likethis to get her first recording contract.

Kelly felt tears well in her eyes and pushed the thoughtaway. When that didn't work, she bit her lip hard. I will notlet this jerk see me cry. At least not again.

Without turning her head, Kelly checked the position ofthe man next to her in the front seat, then decided shecouldn't move farther away from him without opening the door and bailing out. Which she would do if he made a singlemove toward her.

She almost laughed out loud. All of her friends at CentralHigh School in Hays, Kansas, would probably kill to be inher position -- being driven home in a luxury car after anevening spent in Hollywood with an all-American hero.Sledge Aiken was the most sought-after celebrity quarterbackin the country, especially after his team's dramatic SuperBowl win last month in New Orleans.

With his slow Southern drawl, light brown hair, and wildgreen eyes, he would be considered a catch anywhere. Whenthose were paired with six-feet-one inch of heavily muscledphysique and a talent for football handed straight down fromGod, Sledge was the kind of man most girls dreamed of atnight.

When Kelly had been offered a chance to go on a datewith him, she'd taken it in a heartbeat. After all, every girl inthe club was after him. And Jerry had told her going out withSledge would increase her chances of being seen bycelebrity photographers -- which in turn would boost herprospects for getting a recording contract.

But Kelly hadn't known the price she would have to pay.She flashed back to an hour earlier, to the terror and helplessnessshe'd felt when she realized that Sledge wasn'tgoing to be stopped by her tears and pleas. When she'd realizedthat he was going to continue to press her slenderbody into his velvet couch and take away from her somethingshe would never get back. Something he had no rightto take.

Kelly's lip trembled, even though she still had her teethclamped around it hard enough to draw blood.The car turned into a residential area and slowed to a stopin front of a modest single-level home.

"So, are you free next weekend?" Sledge's voice came outof the darkness, causing Kelly to jump visibly. She had hopedto go inside without having to say another word to him.

She shrugged her shoulders and brought her thumb up toher mouth, chewing on its lacerated cuticle.

Sledge took her silence for agreement. "Then I'll setthings up with Jerry again, okay?"

Kelly shrugged once more and reached for the door handle.It was locked.

"Hey, wait a sec. I got something for you, sugar." At onetime, Sledge's thick Alabama accent would have made herheart turn over. Right now, it made her skin crawl. If she'dhad anything at all in her stomach, she was sure it wouldhave come up right then. But she'd been so ill at Sledge'shouse after ... she bit harder on her cuticle, then tuggedagain on the door handle.

Sledge released the locks and held something out to her,causing her to flinch away from him.

"It's for you. And there's a lot more where that camefrom. You're a gen-u-ine firecracker, darlin'."

Kelly looked at the crisp hundred-dollar bill in Sledge'sbeefy hand. Then she raised her wounded gaze to his for thefirst time since they'd gotten into the Hummer. She lookedinto his eyes for guilt, apology -- anything. But when hesmiled and winked at her she pulled the door open andbolted.

"Aren't you going inside?" Sledge called through his openwindow.

Kelly ignored him. She passed the house and continuedrunning down the street in her high heels and cocktail dress,until she disappeared into the darkness of the night.

Excerpted from No Escape by Heather Lowell
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.