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...
But he couldn’t seem to forget about her and go to his own room. He wanted to slip under the covers with her, curve his body around hers. If he was being honest, he wanted to make love to her, too. But he was tired enough that sex was a secondary consideration, less important than just holding her against him. If he could feel her chest rise and fall as she breathed there’d be no question that she was okay and he could rest easier himself.
He doubted she’d kick him out if he tried to sleep with her. Still, considering how difficult it’d been not to touch her since he’d brought her home, he knew where it would lead. And he’d just decided that he’d play it safe, use some caution before giving his heart away. He’d taken an emotional beating when he lost Amber Rose. Why ask for more?
He didn’t want to get serious about anyone right now, not so soon and not so fast. Vivian least of all. Because he instinctively understood that a relationship with her would not only be intense, it would move at the speed of light. They’d been in a holding pattern too long already, first refusing to acknowledge the attraction, then refusing to let it take its normal course.
Which had left them waiting, watching and wanting. The way they felt about each other was kindling, just waiting for the lighted match, and he wasn’t going to be the one to throw it on.
So why was he standing here in the hall? Tempting himself to start that fire?
Because I’m being an idiot. Determined to control himself, he went to his own room but stayed there only briefly before coming back out. He couldn’t stop his mind from churning. Pat’s murder. Vivian’s mother’s death. Virgil, the previously unknown brother. Rex, the previously unknown boyfriend. The kids. The responsibility he felt to find the bastards who’d already caused so much heartache.
He needed a sleeping pill but couldn’t take one. He didn’t dare dull his mind. Ink and Lloyd were driving around in a truck that looked almost identical to the majority of trucks in Lincoln County, which meant they could pretty much come and go as they pleased despite the flyers posted in every establishment. He had to remain cautious and ready to act, just in case…?.
A cup of tea was about the strongest sleep aid he could use.
With another glance at the closed door that separated him from Vivian, he headed downstairs. He was haphazardly digging through the cupboard above the stove, looking for the box of tea he’d purchased on his last trip to the grocery store, when he suddenly felt that something was wrong.
His scalp prickled as he turned. Then he knew what the problem was. A light burned in Vivian’s house—a light that hadn’t been on when he’d made breakfast for her only thirty minutes earlier.
Shit! Lloyd and Eugene had found Vivian’s address. That had to be it. The sons of bitches had come for her in spite of the incident at Trudie’s store just hours earlier, in spite of the fact that they must have realized everyone in town was looking for them.
God, they were brazen. Fearless.
Feeling as if he had a knot in his windpipe, Myles crossed to the switch plate and turned off the light in his own kitchen so he could look out without being seen. He’d asked his deputies to drive by every hour or so, and he was sure they’d been doing that, but even if they’d made a pass recently, this couldn’t be spotted from the street. It was an upstairs back bedroom.
He was so afraid Ink and Lloyd would get away, he didn’t want to take the time to call for backup. But he didn’t want to be stupid, either. He had a daughter to raise. So he grabbed the phone and dialed 9-1-1 regardless of his desire to get over there as quickly as possible.
“Operator. What is your emergency?”
It was Kimberly Hannah. He knew all the people who worked dispatch.
He told her he’d found the suspects they’d been looking for and asked her to send two squad cars to the house next to his.
“Haney called in sick. Only Botha’s in the area and he just took off to deal with a brawl at the Kicking Horse, but I’ll get him over there as soon as possible,” she said. “Sit tight and wait for him, okay?”
She was scared for him. Their little county didn’t see many homicidal maniacs. But he couldn’t wait another second. If he let these men escape, it would endanger the whole community.
“Just tell him to hurry,” he said. “And call the others.” Then he hung up and dashed upstairs to get his gun.
Virgil’s eyelids felt like sandpaper against his eyeballs. The flight from Buffalo had been cramped and hot and sleepless. His head pounded as he managed to retrieve his carry-on from the overhead bin while wedged between all the other people standing in the aisle. That one bag was all he’d brought. He didn’t plan on staying in Los Angeles more than a day or two—just long enough to finish what he should’ve done four years ago.
With any luck, he’d be on a flight home by morning.
If he wasn’t lucky, he’d be going back in a box.
“Excuse me.”
A soft, female voice came from behind him. A woman wanted to get to the same bin he’d used. He stepped aside to accommodate her, but her bag was too heavy for her to lift, so he got it down for her.
“Thank you.” She smiled at him with enough appreciation to let him know she found him attractive, but he wasn’t interested. Since he’d found Peyton, he never was. His wife, son and his other loved ones were all that mattered to him.
With a curt nod, he put his back to her and turned on his cell, which rang almost as soon as he hit the Power button. “Yeah?”
“Rex is here with the kids. I just wanted you to know.”
It was Peyton. She’d dropped him off at the airport, then had to wait another hour before she could pick up Rex and Jake and Mia.
Head bent, he lowered his voice so he wouldn’t disturb the other passengers. “How are they?”
“The kids? Great. Excited. This is a party for them.”
“And Rex?”
She took a deep breath; he could hear it through the phone. “I think he needs a doctor.”
Virgil would’ve cursed if he’d had any space to himself. This wasn’t a good time for Rex to be ill. “It’s that bad, huh?”
“It’s that bad.”
“God, if anything happens to him…” Rex was the brother he’d never had. The only person he’d ever really trusted, other than Laurel and Peyton.
“He’ll be fine. I just… I wanted to tell you that I’m not letting him go back to Montana. Not if I can stop him. I’m going to take him to the hospital.”
Peyton didn’t need any additional worries. The pressure of everything already going on was bad enough. “Laurel tried to tell me,” he said.
“She was right. But if he won’t cooperate, there won’t be a lot I can do.”
Virgil imagined the concern on her face, feared what the stress of this was doing to her and the baby. “Pey, don’t let any of this upset you, okay?”
“How can I avoid that with you in L.A., heading straight back to the people who want to kill you?”
Hearing the tears in her voice, he began to knead his forehead. He wished he could be in two places at once.
“I don’t even know if you’ll survive,” she added.
“Have I ever let you down before?”
“You’ll come through if you can, Virgil. There’s no question about that. It’s just—”
“Quit thinking the worst,” he broke in. “I need you to have faith.”
There was a brief moment of silence during which she seemed to muster her strength, and he prayed she’d be able to hang on—and keep all the children safe. “Okay. I can do that. I’m with you. You know that, don’t you?”
“You’re always with me, babe. Just take it easy until I get back.”
“I understand.”