Harlequin Romantic Suspense February 2023--Box Set by Marie Ferrarella

Author:Marie Ferrarella
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

The admission burned, Shayne admitted to herself. As sharp as a hornet sting and twice as deep.

She had no one.

Which was also a nasty knock on her sister, who would do her duty and help, but Shayne couldn’t go there.

Not yet.

Caroline had reached out a few times to see how she was holding up. Her little sister had checked in with her in the initial days, after the kidnapping and before Shayne had gone off the grid with her electronics.

Had Caroline kept asking? Or had the silent treatment been enough to hold her at bay? There was no way of knowing since Shayne had kept her electronics off.

And even as she let that thought turn over in her mind, Shayne knew it for a lie. She’d never let Caroline get close enough. Not since they’d lost their brother to a freak accident at school and their mom had turned in on herself in grief.

Shayne had done the same, unwilling to engage with her sister for longer than simple platitudes or surface conversation. She’d now spent the majority of her life doing it, and the pattern defined their relationship and created the continued anger that perpetually simmered on low between her and Caroline.

It was also her biggest regret, one that had only magnified as she’d spent the past few weeks alone with her thoughts.

“Then we’ll have to come up with plan B.”

The heat and fire that had shot out only moments ago had been fully banked, replaced with the calm, steady version of Noah she recognized.

“You mean you’re not going to do it anyway?”

“Do what?”

“Lock me up in a hotel room for my own good?”

He frowned and she was surprised by the quick hurt that lined his face in the bright afternoon sunshine. “Contrary to popular belief, the FBI isn’t all-powerful. And despite Rick Statler’s behavior, we don’t act above the law. I have a lot of jurisdiction, but you’re not in my custody, Shayne. I hope I haven’t given you the impression that you are.”

“No. You haven’t.”

“That doesn’t mean I’ve ignored your situation. I’ve thought from the beginning that you were one of the keys to solving this. After today, I’m more convinced than ever. I’m not going to apologize for that.”

“I’m not asking you to.”

“Then what are you asking?”

It was a fair question. One she hadn’t actually spent much time thinking about. Oh sure, she was resentful about her situation and her circumstances. Resentful that she seemed to get an outsize set of attention from the FBI, even after being kidnapped and terrorized by a man she thought she cared about.

Thought she loved—

Shayne broke off at that, acknowledging what she hadn’t wanted to for so many months. She had cared about Rick while they were dating. She’d enjoyed being in a relationship after a long period of not being in one, and he had certainly been attentive. But if she were honest, she’d never felt they fully clicked.

Sexually they’d been compatible, and she’d had an enjoyable enough time on dates, but she hadn’t ever really longed for him when they weren’t together.

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