In Seconds
- Автор: Новак Бренда
- Серия: Bulletproof #2
- Год: 2011
- Язык: французский
- Жанр: Остросюжетные любовные романы
Электронная книга - «In Seconds». Краткое содержание книги:
Laurel Hodges has changed her identity twice. She's been on the run for the past four years, trying to outdistance the gang members who blame her for the death of one of their own. She's finally found peace and stability in the small town of Pineview, Montana. But just when Laurel thinks she and her children are safe...the nightmare starts all over again.
The Crew, a ruthless prison gang with ties to Laurel's brother, will never forget and they'll never forgive. And now that they've finally tracked her down, they'll stop at nothing.
Sheriff Myles King, who happens to live next door with his thirteen-year-old daughter, appoints himself Laurel's personal guardian. His growing attraction to her could change his life—Myles is beginning to picture marriage and family. But it could also end his life. If he can't save her, everything he's built, everything he wants, could be destroyed. In seconds...
“No, he’s on a business trip. That’s why Mom wanted to get out. He’s been traveling, and she’s been stuck here doing laundry and dishes.”
“I see. So you’re babysitting?”
“No, my brothers are at camp this week.”
Alexis was home alone, wearing next to nothing and spending the evening with a boy who, at sixteen, probably had more hormones than brains. Myles’s father-instinct was buzzing like crazy, urging him to warn her to be careful. He knew her parents would freak out if she got pregnant. They were hoping she’d win a scholarship for softball, had big plans for their oldest daughter. But as protective as he felt toward everyone in the community, especially Elizabeth’s family because he knew them so well and they had so much influence over Marley, it wasn’t his place to get involved.
“What time will the girls be home, do you know?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No. Sorry.”
Resting his hands on his utility belt, he turned to look out over the front yard. He liked this property. The cabin was more modern than rustic, but the convenience of having a big, gourmet kitchen and plenty of bathrooms added to its appeal. The Rogers family got to live out in the wilds without missing any of the conveniences of city life—except when it snowed. Then it was hard getting out to the main road, but they always managed.
“If I know Marley and Elizabeth, they’re going to call you up and beg to have Marley stay over again,” Alexis said. “Why don’t you just pick her up in the morning?”
Myles preferred she come home tonight. He hated having her out of his sight when there were dangerous men floating around. But after what he’d learned about Vivian—or Laurel—maybe it was for the best if Marley wasn’t at home while he tried to track down the fugitives. Surely she’d be safer here, sequestered in the mountains with her friend’s family, than sleeping next door to the woman The Crew had come to kill.
“Okay, that’s fine,” he said. “Tell her to call me when she gets home, and we’ll make arrangements for tomorrow.”
A voice issued from somewhere inside the house. “Alexis? Where are you?”
Jett was growing impatient. “I’ll let you get back to your, um, company,” Myles said.
“Thanks.” She sent him a fleeting smile and closed the door.
Trudie’s Grocery was a mom-and-pop establishment with elevator music playing in the background, the kind of place that sold homemade pie and jellies and reminded L.J. of the store his grandparents used to own when they were alive. He lived with them during the summers between his fifth-and seventh-grade years. Those six months before he went into foster care were the happiest of his life, so he liked the feel of this place, the neat rows of cans and snacks, the freezer section at the back with the ice cream and frozen foods. He used to help stock that stuff.
This was one of the rare occasions he’d been away from Ink since Ink was transferred to the California Men’s Colony and became his cellie. Because he really needed the break, he took his time meandering through the aisles before approaching the birdlike woman perched on a stool behind the cash register.
Preoccupied by a show on the small TV behind the counter, she barely looked at him. “That all for tonight, honey?”
“Yeah, that’s it. Thanks.”
She wore a badge that read Trudie and although he’d never met another Trudie her name somehow fit. With her hair dyed an awful orange color and teased up the way his grandma used to do hers, she wore a purple smock and bright red lipstick with matching nail polish. She wasn’t bad-looking despite the terrible dye job, not for someone in her seventies. He liked that she took care of herself. He could smell her perfume from the other side of the counter. It didn’t smell particularly expensive, but he thought if he ever got married, he’d like to be with a woman who always tried to look her best.
The cash register beeped as she scanned his chocolate milk, pork rinds, whiskey and condoms he threw down at the last second.
He glanced out the window to see Ink sitting in the white Dodge Ram that had belonged to the men they’d killed. Ink had taken to driving. He stayed behind the wheel and left the engine idling while L.J. ducked into one place after another to ask about Laurel Hodges. At this point, L.J. was in as much of a hurry to find her as Ink was. He wanted to finish whatever they had to do in Montana and get the hell on the road. Pineview was so small, he felt they stood out, especially with Ink tatted up the way he was.
Seeming anxious not to miss a minute of her program, Trudie handed him his bag with an absentminded, “Thank you. Come again,” and returned to her stool.
It was time to launch into his spiel. “Excuse me, but… I’m hoping you can help me.”
She looked at him for the first time.
“I’m searching for my sister,” he began. “She’s about five-ten and—”
He didn’t get any farther before Trudie’s gaze flicked toward a flyer taped to the side of her register. Then her eyes widened and she nearly fell off her stool.
Almost as surprised as she was, L.J. checked the flyer to see what was wrong—and saw a picture of him and Ink beneath the heading Sheriff’s Notice. A phone number and an explanation had been printed on there, as well, but he didn’t take the time to read it. He didn’t need to. He knew what that flyer was, just as he knew Trudie had recognized him.
Leaving the snacks and the condoms, he bolted out the door and jumped into the passenger seat of the truck. “Go! Go! Go!”
Ink didn’t pause to question him. Evidently the terror on his face was enough to get an immediate response. Heedless of any back pain he might be suffering, Ink shoved the gearshift into Reverse and launched the vehicle backward, only to shift again before they could even come to a stop.
Positive that they were about to have an accident, L.J. closed his eyes. He knew Ink couldn’t be watching for oncoming traffic. He was too busy putting some distance between them and that store. L.J. was more afraid of getting arrested than crashing, anyway. He’d bought and sold drugs, and he’d beat up a few people, but he’d never considered doing the shit Ink had gotten him into. Shooting those hunters. Beating that real-estate agent to death. Getting that woman in L.A. killed. If they got busted, he’d go down for all of it.
Rocks smacked the undercarriage like machine-gun fire as their backend fishtailed and their tires spun gravel. But once they reached the pavement, they had traction and lurched forward with greater power. Miraculously, Ink managed to bring the truck under control, and they hurtled away from the little grocery store without hitting anything. But only because the road was clear.
Grabbing the rearview mirror, L.J. turned it so he could see if Trudie had come out of the store. He didn’t want her to jot down their license plate number. Then the sheriff would be able to trace the plate and figure out it belonged to the men they’d killed.
All he could see was a big cloud of dust; that was probably all she could see, too.
“What happened in there?” Ink asked once Pineview had disappeared from sight.
“She recognized me!” He hadn’t bothered with his seat belt. He braced himself with one hand on the door and the other on the dash, eyeing the rearview mirror to see if a cop car would come racing up from behind.
Ink smacked the seat between them. “How? What the hell happened?”
L.J.’s heart seemed to be chugging harder than the pistons in the engine. “How should I know? I went in and asked about my long-lost sister, like usual. At first the woman seemed fine, but then she stared at me as if she’d swallowed a marble. I wasn’t sure what was going on until I saw the flyer.”
“What flyer?”
“A sheriff’s bulletin with my picture on it. Yours, too.”
Ink cursed. He was so worked up he didn’t seem to be slowing down.