“Mmm.” Collins scrubbed a hand over his salt and pepper goatee. “Well, Ms. Walker’s story corroborates yours, and there was a clear and present threat to her well-being. For now, I’m inclined to let you walk. Provided that you agree not to disclose the details of what Fagan told you to anyone.”
Devon didn’t envy the guy for the investigation he’d have to launch into his own field officers’ conduct, that was for damn sure. “Of course. You don’t think Kylie’s still at risk, do you?”
“On the record, I’ll tell you that I can’t disclose any information pertaining to the case. But off?” Collins paused, one shoulder of his white dress shirt lifting in a half-shrug. “Fagan was the head of the snake. Whoever his informant is will probably hide. Not that it’ll help when I get my hands on him.”
Devon followed the man out of the interrogation room, his pulse doing the hey-now in his veins as he spotted Kellan in the main hallway.
“Hey. Jesus, I thought they were going to keep you in there all month. Is everything okay?”
The entire chain of events kind of turned okay on its ear, but given the fact that he was too hungry, tired, and fried to make like a thesaurus, okay would have to do. “Yeah. How’s Kylie?”
“She’s okay. I sat with her while she got checked out by paramedics and made her statement,” Kellan said, his eyes shifting around the busy corridor. “But she’s tough. And she was definitely adamant about what happened.”
“That sounds like her,” Devon said. His stomach suddenly felt like someone had dropped it in the spin cycle, but the words had to come out. “Listen, about your sister—”
“Is this the part where you tell me you dig her?”
What. The. Fuck. “Uh,” Devon stammered, and seriously, this was not how he’d pictured this going.
Kellan crossed his arms, but the corners of his lips tugged upward into a smile. “Look, I’m not ever going to be wild about my sister seeing anyone, but she told me how she feels about you. What you did to keep her safe. If she’s going to be with anyone, it should at least be a guy who’s good enough for her.”
“Are you sure that guy is me?”
“I trusted you with Kylie’s safety from the beginning, man. Not because you were close by, but because you’re you.” Kellan paused, sliding a hand over the dark stubble covering his chin before continuing. “Look, I know you’ve carried around a lot of guilt over what happened in Afghanistan. But what happened that day wasn’t your fault.”
“I know. I mean, I do now,” Devon said, and damn, it felt good to mean the words.
“Good. Then you also know you’re good enough for my sister.”
Devon blinked, shaking the hand Kellan had extended in his direction. “Thanks. I promise to treat her right.”
“Do yourself a favor,” Kellan said, his blue stare sharpening like razor wire. “Just don’t ever tell me about it, okay?”
“Copy that.” He bit down on his smile. “You headed back to North Carolina?”
Kellan nodded. “Tomorrow. First I’ve got some shit to hash out with Detective Moreno, namely how she vouched for a team that nearly got you and Kylie killed.”
Whoa. Devon wasn’t touching the anger in his voice for all the money in the vault. Somehow, he got the impression that the two of them getting back on board with each other would take more than a conversation. “Got it. I guess I’ll go find Kylie. Make sure she’s okay.”
“I just dropped her off at the Hilton, about six blocks from here,” Kellan said. “There’s a room reserved for you there too.”
“Oh. Okay.” A room he didn’t have to lock down like Leavenworth sounded like a gift right now. “I’ll guess I’ll be there if you need me.”
Devon found the place easily enough, thank you cell phone GPS, and snagged the keys to his room without any trouble. As badly as he wanted to make sure Kylie was okay, he knew Kellan had barely left her an hour ago—probably after a ridiculously extensive room check—and he needed a shower like nobody’s business. Slipping his room key in front of the card reader, he pushed open the door, vowing to take the fastest shower known to man, woman, or child…
Kylie was sitting on the bed, wearing nothing but a robe and a smile.
“Hey,” she said, looking so pretty that Devon’s chest hurt. “I hope it’s okay, but I asked for adjoining rooms.” She pointed to a door over her shoulder, and he lifted one corner of his mouth at the irony.
“Since it saves me from having to track you down, I’d say adjoining rooms are very okay.”
Her smile grew even bigger. “Well, they kept you longer than I expected, but we can have this warmed up if you want.”
Only then did Devon see the room service trays covering the side table across from the bed, and he couldn’t help it. He laughed.
“Let me guess,” he said, moving over to lift one of the silver domes. Yep. “Spaghetti and meatballs.”
“I would’ve made it myself, but my resources are a little limited,” she said, slipping from the bed to close the space between them.
Devon wrapped his arms around her, knowing without question that Kylie was where she belonged, and so was he. “I thought maybe we could look for a kitchen in North Carolina. One that needs an owner. Or two.”
“You want to move with me to Remington?” she gasped.
“Like you said, I don’t have a crystal ball. I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know I want to be wherever you are, Kylie. Starting with right here, right now.”
She pressed up to kiss him, covering his smile with hers. “That sounds perfect to me. After all, there’s no time like the present.”
Click here to discover more of Liliana Hart’s MacKenzie Family.
If you enjoyed your sneak peek at Kellan and Isabella in DEEP TROUBLE and want to check out their story, it’s coming in September 2016! Make sure to subscribe to Kimberly’s newsletter right here for preorder information and to keep up with the debut of the sexy firefighters of Station Seventeen.
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Trouble Maker
A MacKenzie Family Novel
by Liliana Hart
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Marnie Whitlock has never known what it’s like to be normal. She and her family moved from place to place, hiding from reporters and psychologists, all because of her gift. A curse was more like it. Seeing a victim, feeling his pain as the last of his life ebbed away, and being helpless to save him. It was torture. And then one day it disappeared and she was free. Until those who hunted her for her gift tried to kill her. And then the gift came back with a vengeance.
Beckett Hamilton leads a simple life. His ranch is profitable and a legacy he’ll be proud to pass onto his children one day, work fills his time from sunup to sundown, and his romances are short and sweet. He wouldn’t have it any other way. And then he runs into quiet and reserved Marnie Whitlock just after she moves to town. She intrigues him like no woman ever has. And she’s hiding something. His hope is that she begins to trust him before it’s too late.
Rush
A MacKenzie Family Novella
by Robin Covington
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From Liliana Hart’s New York Times bestselling MacKenzie family comes a new story by USA Today bestselling author Robin Covington…
Atticus Rush doesn’t really like people. Years in Special Ops and law enforcement showed him the worst of humanity, making his mountain hideaway the ideal place to live. But when his colleagues at MacKenzie Security need him to save the kidnapped young daughter of a U.S. Senator, he’ll do it, even if it means working with the woman who broke his heart …his ex-wife.
Lady Olivia Rutledge-Cairn likes to steal things. Raised with a silver spoon and the glass slipper she
spent years cultivating a cadre of acquaintances in the highest places. She parlayed her natural gift for theft into a career of locating and illegally retrieving hard-to-find items of value for the ridiculously wealthy. Rush was the one man who tempted her to change her ways…until he caught her and threatened to turn her in.
MacKenzie Security has vowed to save the girl. Olivia can find anything or anyone. Rush can get anyone out. As the clock winds down on the girl’s life, can they fight the past, a ruthless madman and their explosive passion to get the job done?
Bullet Proof
A MacKenzie Family Novella
by Avery Flynn
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“Being one of the good guys is not my thing.”
Bianca Sutherland isn’t at an exclusive Eyes-Wide-Shut style orgy for the orgasms. She’s there because the only clue to her friend’s disappearance is a photo of a painting hanging somewhere in Bisu Manor. Determined to find her missing friend when no one else will, she expects trouble when she cons her way into the party—but not in the form of a so-hot-he-turns-your-panties-to-ash former boxer.
Taz Hazard’s only concern is looking out for himself and he has no intention of changing his ways until he finds sexy-as-sin Bianca at the most notorious mansion in Ft. Worth. Now, he’s tangled up in a missing person case tied into a powerful new drug about to flood the streets, if they can’t find a way to stop it before its too late. Taking on a drug cartel isn’t safe, but when passion ignites between them Taz and Bianca discover their hearts aren’t bulletproof either.
Delta Rescue
A MacKenzie Family Novella
by Cristin Harber
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When Luke Brenner takes an off-the-books job on the MacKenzie-Delta joint task force, he has one goal: shut down sex traffickers on his personal hunt for retribution. This operation brings him closer than he’s ever been to avenge his first love, who was taken, sold, and likely dead.
Madeleine Mercier is the daughter of an infamous cartel conglomerate. Their family bleeds money, they sell pleasure, they sell people. She knows no other life, sees no escape, except for one. Maddy is the only person who can take down Papa, when every branch of law enforcement in every country, is on her father’s payroll.
It’s evil. To want to ruin, to murder, her family. But that’s what she is. Ruined for a life outside of destroying her father. She can’t feel arousal. Has never been kissed. Never felt anything other than disgust for the world that she perpetuates. Until she clashes with a possible mercenary who gives her hope.
The hunter versus the virgin. The predator and his prey. When forced together, can enemies resist the urge to run away or destroy one another?
Desire & Ice
A MacKenzie Family Novella
by Christopher Rice
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Danny Patterson isn’t a teenager anymore. He’s the newest and youngest sheriff’s deputy in Surrender, Montana. A chance encounter with his former schoolteacher on the eve of the biggest snowstorm to hit Surrender in years shows him that some schoolboy crushes never fade. Sometimes they mature into grown-up desire.
It’s been years since Eliza Brightwell set foot in Surrender. So why is she back now? And why does she seem like she’s running from something? To solve this mystery, Danny disobeys a direct order from Sheriff Cooper MacKenzie and sets out into a fierce blizzard, where his courage and his desire might be the only things capable of saving Eliza from a dark force out of her own past.
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Table of Contents
Book Description
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Deep Trouble: A MacKenzie Family Novella (The MacKenzie Family) Page 10