San Antonio Secret. Robin Perini

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ dampness. She stood and fought to smile down at her daughter. “It’s okay. Be brave. No matter what happens. I love you, Button. Always remember that.”

      Chloe whimpered, clinging to her mother.

      Prying her daughter’s fingers off her arm, and with one last kiss on Chloe’s cheek, Mallory straightened and stepped away from the bed. “I’m ready.”

      Her captor smiled, his eyes cold and dead. “I doubt that. But if you tell the boss what he wants to know, he might be lenient.”

      She took one last look at Chloe, sent up a prayer and followed her captor through the narrow hallway into a living room. She glanced through the crack between the curtains at the front of the trailer. Night had fallen, but a bright spotlight illuminated the chaotic yard, strewed with trash and unidentifiable junk alongside several rusted-out car bodies. The place appeared abandoned, with a sea of darkness as far as the eye could see. No sign of civilization. No clue as to where they were.

      A police car pulled up. The passenger-side window lowered.

      “Judson. Get out here,” a voice called.

      “Damn,” the guy muttered. He nodded at the man at her side, his weapon resting in the crook of his arm. “Watch her.”

      Judson walked down the stairs. With tentative steps he approached the car. What kind of monster made a man who would kidnap a child that nervous?

      One second later, a bullet slammed through Judson’s head and he fell backward.

      Mallory froze in horror. She turned her face away from the dead body. “Why?”

      The cowboy turned to Mallory, his face grim. “Judson let your friend escape.”

      Did that mean Sierra was alive? Please let her be alive. Please let her find us.

      The car door opened. The man beside her clutched his weapon with shaking hands. “Lady, if you want to stay alive, do exactly what he says and tell him what he wants to hear. If you don’t, you and your kid won’t make it out of here in one piece.”

      * * *

      THE LONELY WHISTLE of a locomotive chugging through town pierced the night. Rafe handed Elena the last two cans of chili and directions to CTC before the exhausted women disappeared into her room.

      Rafe locked his motel-room door and flopped onto the bed, not bothering to remove his boots. He took a long swig of beer and flicked on the television.

      Charlie didn’t know it, but he’d given Rafe a gift. A welcome interruption. Because today would have been his fifth anniversary.

      Except Gabriella had died a month before the wedding.

      The mission had gone so wrong so fast. Gabriella had taken a spray of bullets. She’d had no chance. Because Rafe hadn’t seen the betrayal coming. He hadn’t protected her. He’d let emotions overrule his judgment.

      It wouldn’t happen again.

      Rafe’s knuckles whitened around the beer bottle. Never again.

      Regret for what had happened would never leave him. He’d learned his lesson. A lesson he should’ve learned as a kid, but hadn’t. A lesson he prayed Charlie would never have to learn. Never let your heart rule your head. You’ll get your head bashed in and your heart crushed.

      Words he lived by. Except for one night. With Sierra Bradford.

      It had taken one kiss for him to forget the lessons of the past. He still couldn’t believe he’d loved her, like he’d dreamed of from the moment he’d met her.

      That one intimate encounter with Sierra had scared the hell out of him. He couldn’t risk caring for her. Caring meant allowing his emotions to rule him once more. He couldn’t do that. Sierra deserved someone who would give her everything. Heart, mind, body and soul. Not a man who not only didn’t know how to be a part of a family but whose heart had been used up and destroyed.

      Yeah, Sierra deserved someone whole, but that didn’t stop him from dreaming about each kiss, every caress, or the way she’d held him tight against her as if she’d never let him go.

      He dug into a pocket of his jeans and pulled out a small velvet pouch. He opened his hand, and a thin gold chain fell into his palm.

      Sierra’s. It had broken during their night together. A very passionate night he would never forget.

      Don’t go there. He tucked the chain back into his pocket.

      He didn’t need another night of dreaming about her.

      He flipped channels, searching for another distraction. His cell phone rang. Blocked number. Hopefully a CTC job. No one else called him. “Vargas.”

      “It’s Noah. I need your help.”

      It would have to be Noah. One of the few people he trusted. One of the few people who trusted Rafe. At least Noah would trust him until he found out Rafe had seduced his sister. And worse, run out on her. Even if it was for her own good.

      Bracing himself, Rafe took a swig of beer. “What’s up? I thought you hung up your spy suit.”

      Noah had been CTC’s best of the best. Now he worked as a consultant, making cool gadgets to use in covert ops. He’d been almost as quixotic as Rafe—until he’d found someone to love him and a reason not to risk his life.

      “Sierra’s disappeared.”

       Chapter Two

      Fighting the adrenaline rush, Rafe carefully set the bottle on the rickety nightstand. This wasn’t happening. Not again. Right before Thanksgiving he’d searched for her. He’d barely gotten her out alive. He didn’t like the twisting in his gut, the uncomfortable panic driving his heart to race.

      “When did you last see her?” He fought to stay calm.

      “A couple days ago. She left a cryptic message about not making it to Sunday lunch. She’s been so reclusive since the attack, we gave her the space, but I went by her house to check on her. She’s gone with at least one suitcase, bed unmade, dishes in the sink. That’s not like her. I’m worried about her, Rafe. She hasn’t been the same since—”

      “Archimedes. Damn him.” His teeth ground together. Good thing Archimedes was dead. Rafe would have taken great satisfaction in killing the psycho for what he’d done to Sierra. “You tracked her cell phone?”

      “She knows how to block her signal. Or someone else does. That’s what I get for having a sister who’s better than I am at electronics. Even if she doesn’t believe it.”

      “Zane might be able to hone in on her location.”

      “He’s at CTC headquarters. I don’t want the boss thinking she’s gone off the deep end.” Noah hesitated. “I know we don’t want her working for CTC, but when Ransom put her on indefinite leave after Archimedes—at our insistence, if you remember—the light went out of her eyes. We screwed up there.”

СКАЧАТЬ