Harlequin Intrigue January 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 by Elle James

Author:Elle James
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

“Gotta hand it to you, Foster. When you’re trying to piss someone off, you go for the knockout,” a familiar voice said. “It’s amazing you’re still alive. Thanks to me.”

Beckett slid back into consciousness breath by slow, agonizing breath. Waves of soft light cascaded over the pale wood paneling overhead, one side of his body cold from the floor-to-ceiling windows stretching along one wall. He shot upright on the modern sofa—the kind with angles rather than cushions—automatically searching the space as his nervous system vaulted into his fight-or-flight response. He’d recognized the voice, but the man perched in one of those ridiculous wicker satellite chairs looked as though he’d aged years in the span of only a few days. Or maybe Beckett was superimposing what he felt like over the marshal who’d obviously saved his life. But where did that leave Raleigh? If she’d brought him here, she’d put herself at risk for arrest. “Reed.”

“Yes?” Finnick Reed, former combat medical specialist turned US marshal, clutched a bag of cookies in one hand, rooting through the contents until he found one good enough for his particular tastes. Blue eyes lightened with the help of the firelight dancing on the television screen built into the side of a kitchen island across the room. Despite everything he’d seen, everything he’d been through, the ex-soldier fit perfectly with the stainless-steel, modern feel of the cabin.

Beckett’s head pounded as he settled back against the awkward, uncomfortable sofa. Stars peppered the night sky through the windows. How long had he been out? Bits and pieces filtered through the haze clouding his memories. The barn, Raleigh leading them into the woods. Emily Cline’s eyes widening seconds before she hit the ground. All of it fought for his focus as he listened for movement throughout the rest of the house. No movement. No sign of her. He clutched the edges of the sofa, his clothing stiff with patches of blood. “Where’s Raleigh?”

“You mean the fugitive you told to contact me to save your life so you could put not only your entire career with the Marshals on the line but mine, as well?” Reed dived his hand into the bag for another cookie, crumbs catching in the clean-cut beard around his jaw and mouth. “That Raleigh?”

Blistering rage exploded through him while the deputy sat there as if nothing in the world mattered but those damn cookies. “If you handed her over to the feds, I swear to spend the rest of my life—”

“Relax, Foster. You trusted me for a reason.” Reed tossed the bag onto the coffee table between them, mouthing something that looked a whole lot like “wow” as he leaned forward. “She’s on the bed upstairs asleep. The woman could barely stand on her own, let alone carry your sorry hide up those stairs by herself, but she stood by you until I gave her doctor’s orders to rest after a transfusion of her own. You’ve only been unconscious for four hours.” Reed motioned to the other end of the sofa, where the barest of impressions dipped in the cushion.

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