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 But why?
He grabbed the keys from her.  Watch her for me, please, he yelled over his
shoulder.
He had an asshole to catch.
 Luke. Wait. The strain in Susie s voice pulled at his heart.
That any man would do this to her, make her feel this way, made his blood boil.
Rick Angsthworth would pay for the heartache he d put Susie through. He d pay
dearly. Allowing him another minute in this town thinking he d pulled off some victory
by intimidating and terrifying Susie was simply unacceptable.
Her small car cramped his legs. Fiddling with the driver s seat, he glanced up to see
Susie dart out of the café after him. She pulled on the passenger door.
 Let me in, she yelled.
 You re staying here, he told her after he d unlocked the door.
Susie climbed into the car. She adjusted herself in the passenger seat, clutching her
purse to her chest. He hated her tearstained cheeks, the way her lips were pursed as she
struggled to look strong.
 Where are you going? she asked, managing to pull the seat belt over her purse.
 Just going to take care of some things. He didn t like taking her with him. But
convincing her to stay with Beaux and Betty would take too much time.
He didn t want the asshole to get too far ahead of him. Backing out of the stall, he
hightailed it out of there and headed for the bed-and-breakfast. His cell phone rang and
he cursed.
 Where the hell do you think you re going? Officer Bentley shouted into his ear.
 Just going to go have a chat. I ll keep it cool. Unless that asshole decided to make
a scene. But that wouldn t be Luke s fault.
God. Luke prayed he would make a scene.
 You know I m going to call backup in on this. Bentley sighed, sounding more
than irritated.
 Do what you have to do, Luke told him.
When he parked at the bed-and-breakfast, Susie jumped out before he had the
engine off. Her being here would make matters even harder. If he could tie her down
and keep her out of harm s way, he d do it in a second.
 I don t want you here. He grabbed her arm before she could head for the door.
The torment in her eyes ate at his gut.
105
Lorie O Clare
She looked away from him, focusing on the two cars parked next to them. Rick and
his thugs cars.
 This is my fight, she murmured.
 This isn t just your fight. He gripped her arm harder, pulling her around to face
him.  Rick will leave town. And he ll leave without you.
Her lower lip trembled, just for a moment, before she set her jaw with
determination. Large green eyes stared up at him, not blinking. There were no more
tears. She was so beautiful and craved happiness enough to fight for it. No way in hell
would she head into that bed-and-breakfast in front of him. He had to make sure she
stayed safe.
He let go of her arm, brushing his knuckles over her cheek. She sucked in her lower
lip. Susie was a fighter. She viewed coming to Windy Hills as running, hiding, and saw
that as cowardice. That s not how it was at all. She was an incredible woman, and one
he wouldn t let get away.
Her lips were soft when he brushed his finger over them.  You ll stay behind me
and stay quiet, he told her.
More than anything he needed to kiss her, needed to be inside her. Taking her away
from this nightmare and burying himself inside her sounded a hell of a lot more
appealing than what he would do instead. But it had to be done. For Susie. For them.
And the sooner he ended this for her, the better.
They walked inside the bed-and-breakfast.
 How you doing today, Millie? It took some effort not to appear ready to spring
when he smiled at Millie Cartwright, the owner of the Windy Hills Bed-and-Breakfast.
 Well, Luke Roge, I ll be darned. Millie smiled, her long dark hair showing streaks
of gray that weren t there the last time he d seen her. She glanced past him at Susie and
her smile faded.  What brings you here?
His grin was sincere when he realized what she thought. They weren t here to get a
room, although it was a damned good idea.
He put a protective hand on Susie s shoulder.  You ve met Susie, haven t you?
Millie shook her head, her gaze traveling down Susie while Susie stiffened,
obviously feeling like she was being judged. He gave her shoulder a reassuring
squeeze.
 I don t believe I have, Millie said.
 Susie and her aunt moved here recently. Good people. They ve worked hard to
help after the tornado took out so many homes.
 Oh yes. Terrible storm. We had some roof damage here. That old spruce out back
might have to get cut down now. Not sure. Storm about took it out by the roots. Millie
would have gone on, shared all the troubles of the place with him, but there wasn t time
for that. He managed a word in when she took a breath.
 You ve got Rick Angsthworth staying here. Can you tell us what room?
106
Penance
 Sure. Millie gestured toward the stairs at the end of the entryway.  Second door
on the right at the top of the stairs. Although he rented all of my rooms. I worried for a
minute you wanted a room here. You wouldn t want anything like that though, would
you?
He gave her a pat on her arm, forcing her smile to broaden.  No room needed. Just
visiting for a few. You call me if you need any help with anything.
 Always nice to see you, Luke, she said when he d turned Susie to the stairs.  And
it was nice meeting you, miss.
Susie said something over her shoulder, mumbled gratitude. But Luke already had
her hand and was leading the way up the stairs.
After one solid knock, the door opened and one of Rick s thugs filled the doorway.
Susie seemed to shrink behind him. Luke glared at the guy.
 Boss. It s your wife. The creep is with her.
Luke wanted to correct the intentional oversight but heard Rick from beyond the
door.
 Let her in. He can leave.
Luke held her firmly behind him, gripping her arm to keep her from walking
around him.
 You scared of me? he called past the thug.
The thug grinned, showing a few gold teeth that he must have thought added to his
fierceness. Made him butt ugly, Luke thought.
He missed what Rick said then. But the thug stepped out of the doorway, allowing
them both to enter.
 What kind of fools do they raise in this town? Rick sat in an upright chair at a
desk with a black laptop in front of him. His intentionally bored look didn t sway Luke
in the least. He d give the guy credit for being alert and ready to defend himself. Like
that would help.
The thug shut the door behind them and then stood there. Luke had to pull Susie
beside him so that she wouldn t be stuck behind him with Rick s guard dog.
Another man stood next to the bed, his expression unreadable. What surprised
Luke was the young, dark-haired woman who wore a halter top that showed off a bit
too much cleavage and shorts that hugged hips narrow enough to show that she
couldn t be more than twenty-something years old. The woman looked up from her
crossword puzzle curiously. Her gaze narrowed on Susie.
Ignoring the girl and Rick s intentional insult, he cut to the chase. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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