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...
“She’s not happy here. There are too many memories. She’s wanted to leave for a long time.”
“Why doesn’t she?”
“Leanne.” A speculative expression settled over her face. “Do you think her stepfather killed her mother, Myles?”
He was surprised she’d ask in the middle of her own crisis, but he supposed it was a distraction of sorts, easier to deal with than the danger she faced. So many people had asked him the same question since he’d come to Pine view. For Leanne and Claire’s sake, he’d always said no. He didn’t want the truth to get back to them, to make their lives any more difficult—especially because he could be wrong. “I can’t answer honestly. And I think you know why.”
She tilted her head. “You thought I should trust you with my identity, my life.”
And yet he wouldn’t trust her with something as small as his opinion on this matter. “Fine. Just between you and me?”
She nodded.
“I think it’s more likely than any other scenario.”
She chuckled without mirth. “It’s always the husband.”
“Almost always,” he corrected.
“That’s especially sad in this case. Claire worships her stepfather.”
“If she suspected him, she’d lose both parents, because then she couldn’t love him. It’s classic denial.”
“I’ve had a bit of experience with that. Some people are capable of terrible things.”
He wanted to shed the weight of his utility belt, get out of his uniform, but he hadn’t decided how he was going to handle keeping her safe. He knew what he wanted to do, but he wasn’t sure Vivian would cooperate. “How’d Claire let you out of her sight?”
“I insisted. And then Leanne came over and needed her.”
“That’s about the only thing that would do it. She puts Leanne above all else. But she cares about you.”
“She has to stay away from me until this is over.” She finally seemed recovered enough to move. “Shall we go upstairs or down?”
“Excuse me?”
“We have to get off the ground floor.” She waved around them. “We’ll be safer without all these windows.”
“Up would be better.” Then he could see out, but whoever was looking in couldn’t get to them without coming up the stairs.
“Up, it is.”
He followed her to her bedroom. Decorated in beige and black, it contained a canopy-style bed made of iron and surrounded by sheer black fabric held back with big, drooping beige ties. Aside from the bed, there was the kind of chair usually found in a garden, paired with an antique dresser. Probably twenty old clocks covered one wall. But it was the elaborate chandelier hanging from the ceiling that somehow brought it all together.
As different as it was, he liked it. “I’m surprised Rex was willing to leave you here alone.” He stood in the doorway because he wasn’t too sure about venturing inside.
“You saw him.” She put her gun on the bed before kicking off her shoes. “He had no choice.”
“What’s wrong with him? Besides his drug addiction?”
“Nothing’s wrong with him, other than that.” She held up a hand in the classic stop position. “And don’t judge him, please. He’s had a hard life. I…I owe him a lot.”
“Are you still in love with him?” Myles couldn’t believe he’d asked that question. He’d told himself he wouldn’t go anywhere near her relationship with Rex, because it didn’t matter one way or the other. She wasn’t the right person for him. He needed someone with whom he could feel a bit more…indifferent. Someone nice, pleasant, a reliable companion but no one who could steal his breath with just a look.
She seemed intent on formulating her answer. Sitting on her bed, she crossed her legs. “Maybe a little.”
He wished he hadn’t asked. Her answer was too honest not to hurt. And how she felt was none of his business, especially since he still didn’t know whether he was ready to let go of Amber Rose to the point that falling in love with someone else would require. “He needs to get some help.”
“My brother will take care of that, if Rex will let him. If he won’t, there’s nothing anyone can do. Trust me. But I wasn’t finished answering your question.”
“You said yes,” he reminded her.
“I said a little. I think I’ll always feel something for him. If you knew what we’ve been through, what he’s done for both me and my brother, you’d understand. But I’ll never go back to him. What we had is over.”
“Getting serious with someone like that would be trouble. But that’s just a piece of friendly advice.” He leaned against the door frame. “It doesn’t matter to me one way or another.”
Her forehead creased. “Is that so?”
Unable to meet her gaze, he bent to pick up a penny he saw on the carpet. “Yes.”
“You’re putting me on notice that you’re no longer interested?”
“Just keeping the promise you made me give you at the cabin.”
“To find someone else for your next sexual encounter.”
He knew the reason she’d required that promise was no longer valid. Her secret was out; as far as he knew she had nothing left to hide. But that was just the point. Now that she had no reason to deny him, he was afraid of how hard he might fall if she started saying yes. “If you want to spell it out.”
“Fine.” She cleared her throat. “You—you’re not why I stayed, in case you were wondering. There are a lot of other things here in Pineview. Good things.”
“I agree.”
A hard lump had formed in the pit of his stomach, but he forced himself to move on. “So what’s your plan? Don’t tell me you’re just going to hang around and wait for the worst.”
“That’s about my only option, isn’t it?” She shrugged but there was a tension in her body that hadn’t been there before. He could see it in the way she held herself. “I’m the bait that’ll draw them out.”
He felt his eyebrows shoot up. “And then what?”
“As far as plans go, it’s not complicated. I try to kill them before they kill me.”
“Have you ever killed anyone before?”
“No. But I’ve seen men killed.” Her voice fell until he could scarcely hear her. “And I’ve been the reason others have died.”
As terrible as that must have been, it wasn’t the same. That was outside her control. This wouldn’t be. She’d have to squeeze the trigger herself. But he didn’t see the point in trying to differentiate. “That doesn’t matter. If you think I’m going to let you go it alone, you’re crazy.”
“You don’t have any choice. I don’t want you involved. These men…nothing deters them. I couldn’t take it if someone else was killed. Maybe you don’t think much of me after everything that’s happened, but I…I don’t want to see you hurt.”
He ignored her reference to what he thought of her. He thought more of her than she realized, but it wouldn’t help him maintain any emotional distance to admit it. “No one’s going to get hurt. Not on my watch. Grab whatever you’re going to need. Tonight we’re staying at my place.”
She hopped off the bed. “I can’t do that!”
He finally came inside the room. “Why not?”
“For the same reason I wouldn’t stay with Claire. If you’re not worried about your own safety, what about Marley?”
“She’s not home. She’s with a friend.”
She reached out to grab his arm, but caught herself before making contact. “Please, don’t. Every time I think of you trying to stop them, I see…I see the U.S. marshal who…” She choked up so much she couldn’t finish.
He wanted to relent and hold her. But he couldn’t, not without rekindling the desire he’d experienced at the cabin. And doing that would only make the rest of the night too difficult to get through. Not to mention the rest of the week, the month, the year.