Good to know, considering apparently Sean, who she’d trusted implicitly, hadn’t felt the same.
“You doing okay?” Austin moved to stand next to her.
Katy wrapped her arms around herself. “I’ll be okay.”
“Want me to hold anything for you? Maybe that USB drive?”
“Leave her alone,” demanded Scott.
Austin stopped talking, but Katy could practically see the wheels turning in his mind. She had a feeling he wasn’t the type who took defeat easily. Any other day, she might feel bad for him, but at this moment she couldn’t bring up much empathy. Katy moved closer to Scott. “So what’s the deal with him now?” She motioned to Austin.
“I can hear you,” said Austin.
“We’re working on it. I have a feeling that if he broke any laws, we can’t prove anything.”
Austin smirked. “Damn right.”
“And since you’re alive and mostly unharmed, I’m guessing your boy toy isn’t going to kill him just for the fun of it.”
Austin stiffened at that, making Katy think it was an honest-to-goodness possibility.
“He was really worried about me?” she asked.
Hart scoffed. “Lady, if you were seriously hurt, I don’t think Nathan would’ve stopped until everyone who ever touched or talked about that damn drive was six feet under.”
Nathan paced back and forth in Katy’s living room. He tried to think of the right words, but for one of the first times in his life, words failed him. He wanted to tell her how happy he was she was safe. How furious he was that he couldn’t get there sooner. How seeing her standing in that water had simultaneously sent a rush of joy and an anger like he’d never experienced through him. If the cops hadn’t gotten there so quickly, he didn’t know whether he would’ve been able to stop himself from firing a few more rounds into the son of a bitch.
And once the cops had arrived, the entire thing had just turned into a giant clusterfuck. Sean was arrested, Katy was taken to the hospital, and he found himself trying to explain the whole situation to every single member of his family—and one very pissed-off brother of Katy’s.
Except for a few details, he’d told the truth. In his story, Austin Miles was just another guest who wasn’t involved at all. Also, he hadn’t told anyone that Katy had found the drive. Hopefully Sean was the only one who knew it was found, and considering he wasn’t going to get paid for it now, Nathan didn’t expect him to cause a problem.
Nathan had been so busy doing damage control he hadn’t seen the ambulance leave with Katy on board. So when he’d gotten her text message asking him to come over to her house, he’d been there in a heartbeat.
Now she was upstairs doing...something and he was pacing like a seventeen-year-old waiting for his prom date.
He heard her steps on the stairs and he stiffened. Katy looked beautiful. Instead of her normal structured dresses or carefully placed hair, she wore loose sweatpants and a Maine t-shirt. She looked the same as she had as when he first met her. Young. Gorgeous. Once again, he was a hundred percent sure he’d made the right decision to come back here for her.
“Sorry to leave you waiting. I’ve wanted to change all day. You want to know what I was thinking the whole time I was at the hospital?”
“What?”
“How embarrassing it would be to die without any panties on.”
Nathan let out a laugh and he rubbed his hand over his eyes. “I forgot about that.”
She raised a brow. “Oh really? You forgot.”
“I mean, I didn’t forget.”
“I got you.” She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall. “It was a long day.”
He stepped closer. “Maybe I should refresh my memory.”
She chuckled. “I almost died today and you want to have sex?”
“No use pretending to be something I’m not.”
She tilted her head and sighed. “So, tell it to me straight, Nathan. No more surprises?”
“I promise I won’t buy your inn again.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“I can’t give you the answer you want. The kind of life I live, the family I have...surprises are all but guaranteed.” He narrowed his eyes to see how she’d react to that bit of honesty.
She bit her lip as she seemed to consider things. “This isn’t going to be easy. I’m not like any other woman you’ve been with.”
“But you’re like Katy and that makes you perfect.”
The corner of her mouth hooked up. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“I would be lying to myself if I said I didn’t love you too. I don’t think I could kick you out of here even if I wanted to, Nathan. I don’t know how this is going to work, but we have to try, don’t we?”
It was Nathan’s turn to smile. “You love me?”
“Nathan, I always loved you. That’s the problem.”
“Doesn’t seem like such a problem now.”
She laughed. “No. I suppose it doesn’t. Kind of sounds like a good thing.”
Nathan couldn’t hold himself away from her any longer, and he crossed the room, setting a hand on either side of the wall, caging her in. “So what do we do now?”
She leaned her head against the wall, softly because of the rough day, and met his eyes. “I think I changed my mind. I’m ready to get out of these panties now.”
“Tell me again how you met,” said Julie.
Katy rolled her eyes. “I’ve told you this story at least ten times already.”
“I know, but I’m now thirty-nine weeks pregnant—thirty-nine. Do you know how many months that is rounded up? Ten. I’m ten months pregnant and this is apparently normal. I’ve been lied to my entire life and if these kicks are any indication, this boy is going to be twice as strong as his father. So please indulge a grumpy pregnant woman with how you met Nathan again.”
Katy had to laugh as she sat down on the library couch next to Julie. She and Logan had come to visit, apparently very much against Logan’s wishes. But Julie had insisted that the baby wasn’t going to come out until the absolute last possible second, and what the mother-to-be wanted, she seemed to get.
Now that they were packing up to go back to the city after their last weekend as a two-person family, Julie seemed to be savoring every last second with Katy. “Okay. So I was a young, completely innocent, impressionable teen and my bestest of best friends started dating this mysterious older bad boy. And from the second I became their third wheel, I was completely taken. But, instead of talking to her about it, I kept everything all bottled up. When I wanted to apply for this prestigious school that he’d graduated from, my best friend had the great idea of him helping me fill out my application. And from the second we were alone together, it was like a constant electric shock, but, like, in a good way.”
Julie laughed. “Yeah... I’ve been there.”
“Of course, he made the first move. Not a move, but he said he wanted more. I said no, but then he broke up with my friend, and I was all set to give in to temptation but my sister-in-law, one of the only people in the city who was as powerful as this bad boy was, warned him away from me. She reminded him that he was a bad boy and I was a good girl. And for once in his life, the bad boy tried to do a good thing by removing himself from my life. But that backfired when he changed his mind a few years later.”
Julie giggled. “It’s so romantic! Someone needs to put that in a book or something. Good grief, the stories in this family. Never a dull moment.”
“I can’t believe you’re still here.” Nathan came into the library and held out a hand to help up Julie. “I thought Logan would’ve had you back in the city by now.”
“Trust me, he tried. I wish we could find a way to move our hospital up here. It’s so peaceful.”
“You’ll have to look into getting a house once things settle down,” said Nathan. “That way you can have more room.”
Julie smiled. “You just miss me now that I
don’t need to keep you in line anymore.”
“I don’t know about that.” Katy stood. “Nathan still has a wild side, trust me.” He raised a brow and Julie giggled. “Not like that!” Okay, maybe like that, but it wasn’t what she meant.
They walked Julie to the entrance, where Logan was waiting with their SUV right up front so she wouldn’t have to walk far. “Are you feeling okay?” he asked as soon as he saw her. “Do you need to go to the bathroom before we leave? Or a snack?”
“We went through this five minutes ago before you got the car,” she reminded him.
“Things change.” He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead and Katy had to fight the urge to swoon. Nathan’s family was always fun to be around.
When they were together in the small town, the crazy attraction between them seemed so out of place and combustible. But when she was around the other Farrells, it was normal. The men just loved hard, and she was one of the women who was willing to hang on for the ride of her life.
Logan gave her and Nathan a quick hug. “It was fun.”
“Liar,” said Katy.
He gave her a quick look. “I tried to have fun.”
“I think that counts,” said Nathan.
“And I appreciate it,” said Julie with a bright smile.
Once again, Katy got goose bumps watching them. “And the next time we see you will be on Logan Jr.’s birthday!”
“That’s not his name,” assured Logan.
“Well, when you name him, I’ll have something better to call him. Now go before Julie changes her mind and refuses to leave.”
They waved once more before Logan finally got Julie into the front seat and they took off.
“So did you tell them?” asked Katy.
Nathan intertwined his fingers with hers. “They were distracted.”
“Julie would’ve been ecstatic.”
“And I was under strict orders not to make her too excited. We’ll tell her I moved in with you when Logan Jr. is born.”
“As long as you’re not ashamed of me.”
Nathan looked down at her skeptically. “Hey, my family was ecstatic to welcome you. Your brother was the one who hasn’t said more than a sentence to me.”
“Which started as a grunt, then a word and now a sentence. So that’s progress.”
“Your optimism is sexy.”
She chuckled and glanced around to make sure no one was in hearing range. By now all the employees knew they were together, but she tried to keep the PDA to a minimum. Not an easy task with Nathan around. “You think everything I do is sexy.”
“Are you complaining?” He leaned in for a kiss.
She shook her head. “I’m just holding on for the ride,” she said right before his lips touched hers.
~~~THE END~~~
(The day the USB drive was found)
Scott knocked on Nathan’s door before looking at his watch. He should’ve been back in the city hours ago, but everyone in the inn wanted to hear his account of what happened, and at this point he’d be relieved if he never saw another Farrell again.
Nathan opened the door and gestured for him to come in before his eyes settled on the duffel bag in his hands. “You’re leaving?”
“I have a job to get back to.”
“That means you’re not taking me up on my job offer?”
It had been tempting. More than tempting. But he couldn’t take the chance that Nathan would change his mind and leave Scott without a job and no closer to finding out what happened to Catherine. “I appreciate the offer, but I have to think long-term. I’ve been trying to look into Catherine’s death for over two years and haven’t gotten anywhere. I could be with you for decades and never get any closer. I can’t back myself into that kind of corner.”
“That’s why I asked you here. I wanted you to have something.” Nathan held out his hand. In the middle of his palm was the USB drive that had caused all the trouble in the first place.
“You’re giving it to me? What do you want me to do with it? Destroy it?”
Nathan shook his head. “I want you to read it. There’s something you need to see.”
“What?”
“I plugged it in when I had a chance and glanced through the contents. There are hundreds of folders, but one caught my attention. But I didn’t look inside. I think that’s something you need to do on your own.”
Scott shifted his weight as he started to become more and more suspicious. “Cut the bullshit. Tell me what you found.”
“I found a folder labeled Catherine Hart. Considering what we know about the people this information was stolen from, I think there’s a good chance Killion Group was involved in your wife’s murder.”
Scott Hart's quest for revenge starts in The Cocky Thief, coming January 2017! Read on for some exclusive details..
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THE COCKY THIEF
Coming in January 17th, 2017
One-click today at: http://amzn.to/2fS6NYu
The best thief in the world has met his match.
Austin Miles can get into any building, safe or vault in the world if he wanted to, but when a former cop obsessed with revenge threatens his most important asset, his reputation, he finds himself accepting a job that even the best would balk at. The only silver lining as he's putting his life on the line is the sexy, mysterious Jennifer Murray. Somehow when he's flirting with her the threat of death doesn't seem quite so bad.
Jennifer Murray thought she was going to her eccentric's mother's wedding. The only thing that made the ordeal bearable was the tall dark and handsome man across the hall from her. But when she learns her mother's true motives for elaborate wedding, it becomes apparent that this isn't a party. It's a job.
With both Jennifer and Austin after the same payday, there can only be one winner. But no one ever said the score of a lifetime would be easy...
To be notified when THE COCKY THIEF is released, sign up for Mallory's Mailing list at: mallorycrowe.com/free/
See an excerpt on the next page.
(A sneak peek at the first book in The Stolen Hearts series)
Copyright 2016 Mallory Crowe
"If someone dies, the deal is off. If someone gets hurt, the deal is off. If anyone finds out I hired you, the deal is off."
"This is going to be fun," said Austin dryly as he brought the shot of whiskey to his mouth.
The wet blanket otherwise known as Scott Hart, took the drink from Austin's hand and slammed it on the counter of the bar, a few of the precious drop swishing over the sides. "I need you to focus."
Austin ran a hand through his slicked back hair and glanced into the mirror behind the bar to scan the room behind him. "I'm more focused than you could ever imagine. The only thing distracting me right now is the payday I'm missing."
"I told you. Once you get the package, you get the USB drive and a portion of the payoff."
The package. Austin didn't remember the last time he worked a job where the item he was supposed to procure wasn't explicitly stated. But Hart was different. Not only did he have major trust issues, but he happened to have something he wanted. Something he was staking his entire career on.
Well if you could call robbing people for a living a career.
Austin once again looked into the mirror and then at his watch.
"The plane is boarding in ten minutes," reminded Hart.
"I'm aware," said Austin as he took a drink of his water glaring at Hart the entire time. As though even as he was following the rules, he was breaking them at the same time.
"So what are you going to do about it?"
"I'm working on it."
Hart glanced around, pointing out Austin's obviou
s inaction. "You're sitting on your ass."
"That is lesson number one. The best plots are the ones where you sit on your ass while everything works just the way you want it to."
As if on cue, the man Austin had been staring at in the mirror suddenly jerked in his seat. A second later, he was throwing some money on the table and picking up his briefcase and suit jacket before he left the bar and made a beeline for the bathroom.
"Looks like I'm on call," said Austin as he stood. "Wish me luck." In one quick motion, he downed the whiskey before Hart could stop him. "See you on the other side."
"This had better work!" called Hart as Austin left the airport bar. He headed across the aisle quickly, but kept his strides measured as to not draw any attention. Airport jobs were some of the easiest jobs. Everyone was so focused on getting to their gate, or getting last minute snacks, or their last minute bathroom breaks that it was almost impossible to not blend in.
When he walked inside the bathroom, it was easy enough to find the stall where Chris Luther was currently emptying the contents of his stomach. The two other guys in the bathroom quickly let to a less disgusting place and soon enough Austin and Luther were alone. He looked at his watch. Five minutes until boarding.
He gently knocked on the stall door. "Sir? I'm with airport security. Do you need assistance?"
"No, I-" The sudden heaving sort of belied the denial.
"Why don't you open the door sir. I want to make sure you get medical attention if required."
The door finally opened and Austin knelt down. "How are you feeling? Did you eat anything questionable? Maybe seafood?"
The man sitting on the floor of the bathroom was pale and a thin sheen of sweat had broken out over his face. "I had the sushi."
Airport sushi. As much as he tried, he'd never fully understand people. "That's probably it. There's been a nasty bacteria coming in on the..."
"Salmon?" asked Luther with a panicked voice.
"Salmon," confirmed Austin.
"Is it deadly?"
Austin let out a deep sigh. "I think you should get down to the medical station. Let me help you up." As the man stood, Austin reached down to pick up the briefcase and jacket. "Right this way." Once they left the bathroom Austin pointed to the left. "The medical office is right down there."
Relentless (Fractured Farrells: A Damaged Billionaire Series Book 5) Page 17