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quickly toward the gun still lying on the floor. Brayden flew to him. He caught Brunes by the back of
his long hair, then made his face kiss the floor hard. He did it again. One for the death of Sarina s
mother, another for Daniel, one for the guard he d murdered, and twice as many for taking Vanessa
and hurting her. He wasn t finished, but arms flew around his chest pulling him away. He growled at
them and launched one brutal kicked to Brunes head. The old lykaen s head whipped back, then he
slumped to the ground.
 Never touch my woman, Brayden growled.
 Relax, man, relax. Dmetri s slightly accented voice penetrated through the raging fog in his
mind.
He watched Brunes try to lift himself back up, then slump again to the floor.
 We got him. We heard his confession.
That sent Brayden whirling around.  You were here this whole time?
 Nah, the butler called the Justicars in. Then they called me. Needed another higher up on the
case. Dmetri grinned, then clapped him on the back.  No way was I going to intrude on his
confession.
A small hand cupped his. He looked down at Vanessa s face and something inside him broke.
He pulled her into his arms, holding her close. She clenched her arms around him as if she needed to
be holding onto him as much as he did her. God, it felt good. Almost beautiful.
 Why didn t you crash in when you heard the first gunshot, asshole?
Dmetri sobered.  They found Joseph Harrington s body in a ditch along the highway halfway
between here and Justicar s headquarters. Figured they d taken her. Figured she was here. We didn t
want to act to soon and cause...any unnecessary problems.
Meaning, he didn t want to act too soon and have someone pull the trigger on Vanessa before
they d even stormed in.  Yeah, I got it. Now I m going home.
He didn t even make it to the front door before he lifted Vanessa s face, looked into her deep
brown eyes and kissed her. His heart pounded loudly in his chest.
 I m so glad you came, she said brokenly. She gave him a wobbly smile that pulled at all his
heartstrings.
 I love you, he said.
Her eyes flew wide. She gasped.
Then he kissed her again.
Chapter 16
Two weeks later
 And now, this one.
The pen flew across the black line as she signed her signature on the last page of the document.
The behemoth stack of divorce papers had looked so intimidating, but with Brayden by her side, it d
felt like nothing. In fact, she d smiled the whole way through and happily scribbled her signature and
dated the lines where necessary. She was now free.
The clerk looked over the last signature then nodded. He slammed a big stamp over the last
page, then stuffed them into a big manila envelope.
 Congratulations. Once these are made official, you can consider yourself divorced, Ms.
Kategan.
Vanessa s smile was so huge her cheeks hurt her. She turned into Brayden and gave him a big
hug. He laughed at her and she liked that too.
 When will I know? she turned back to ask the clerk.
He glanced at a calendar.  It generally can take up to two weeks for it to go through.
She lost her smile. Two whole weeks. Two more weeks that she d still be considered mated to
Joseph.
 Come on. Brayden tugged her hand and led her outside.
The sun looked brighter, the air smelled fresher. Everything was good. Everything except her
nagging conscious.
Brayden glanced down at her.  What s wrong?
 Well, I feel guilty.
 About what?
She took a deep breath and let it out.  I feel guilty because I don t feel bad that he s dead. Isn t
that horrible? I mean, here I am making the divorce official, just so I can get my old name back. But, I
don t feel bad about it. Shouldn t I?
She didn t know what his answer would be, but she certainly didn t expect him to lean down
and kiss her in full display of the Justicars heading in and out of their headquarters. It was a warm,
tantalizing kiss that brought her blood to a simmer, causing her heart to race. He pulled back just as
she started to think of all the nearest locations she could get his clothes off.
 No, you shouldn t. He deserved what he got. I just wished I could have done it.
Her jaw dropped.  What? You would have killed him?
His eyes darkened so fast it scared her.  In a heartbeat. He hurt you for two long years... his
voice trailed off as a finger skimmed down her cheek.  Come on, let s go.
With her heart bursting in her chest, she couldn t stop smiling. God, she loved him. Like really,
madly, deeply, insane kind of love.  You never did tell me where we re going.
 That s because I said it s a surprise.
Not put off in the least she replied,  It doesn t have to be a surprise. They re totally overrated
anyway.
He chuckled, then helped to lift her in his SUV at the curb.  Nothing you could do could
convince me.
Her eyebrow arched and he looked at her and winced.  Don t even.
She relaxed into her seat and parted her legs.  Oh, really? Nothing I could do...could convince
you to tell me?
 Baby, don't; it s a surprise.
 But, I really want to know, she said, breathless. She honestly didn t even care about the
secret, but now she was getting hot and by the look in his eyes, so was he. She wet her dry lips and
his eyes tracked the movement.
 Baby, stop that. I m going to start this car, then we re leaving. That s it, okay? No games.
She smiled devilishly at him.  Aye, aye, Captain.
He narrowed his eyes on her then shook his head, started the car, and peeled away from the
curb. Still, she watched him and still, he cast furtive, watchful glances at her.
She scooted closer to him. He tensed. He must be out of it, because he hadn t even made sure
she buckled her seatbelt. Watching the road ahead, as if nothing in the world was happening, she
casually lifted the armrest separating them then scooted closer.
His jaw slid left. His hands curled hard over the steering wheel.
 Don t do it, he warned in that dark, sexy voice that gave her shivers.
She looked up at him with wide eyes.  Talking to me like that doesn t help, you know.
He exhaled a long, long breath.
What was with her desires going wild every time she was in close confines with him,
specifically in this car? The last time they d gotten all hot and bothered, he d pulled over to the side
of the road and things had just been about to get really, really good when they d been struck by a car.
 Don t even think about it, he warned.
 Don t think about what? she whispered, her panties already wet between her thighs.
 About that day on the side of the road. I can see every wicked thought that scatters across your
face. You re like a book, beautiful.
She sighed then curled around him. He hesitated at first, but then he wrapped his arm around her [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]