At His Mercy Read Online Free

where
indicated by the sign in front of the converted farm house. The Bed
& Breakfast was charming and would no doubt be doubly so with
more than the parking area's floodlight and that on the front porch
by which to see.
    She hated arriving in the wee hours,
but once she and Nova had gathered their clothes and dressed, he'd
made the call as promised, and she was expected and welcome. Not
that she'd be able to sleep after the events of the last few hours,
but she was still in need of a tire and a place to stay until
morning.
    A chime tinkled above the door when she
pushed it open into a softly lit parlor that smelled of sugar
cookies and clean hardwood floors. Old-fashion postal boxes hung on
the wall behind the check-in desk.
    On a stool at the counter sat not the
weathered farmer or plump farm wife she'd thought she'd find, but a
teenage boy banging to whatever music blasted through his ear buds.
He pulled them out when he saw her and gave a little
wave.
    "Hey. Guess you're the one wanting a
room."
    "Hi, yes. I'm Lise Kimball. I apologize
for waking you."
    "You didn't." He opened a black ledger,
spun it around, and shoved it toward her. "I was up. Late shift at
Micky Ds in Purvis. I'm Wayne, by the way. Wayne
Barrett."
    Smiling, she took the pen he handed her
and signed in. "That makes me feel better."
    "It's all good. Folks'll be happy to
have the night's board. You paying with a card?"
    "No, cash. If that's okay." She
returned the pen, reached for her wallet.
    "Even better," he said, quoting her the
cost. "Breakfast's any time between seven and eight."
    "Perfect." Breakfast, then a tire, then
lunch with the man she still smelled on her skin. A blush heated
her neck and spread to her cheeks. And when the door opened as she
was counting the bills to pay, she was surprised but even more so
relieved by the distraction.
    Looking beyond her, Wayne raised a
hand. "Hey, Nova. Long time no see."
    Lise turned slowly, the flush she'd
been fighting flooding through her. What was he doing here?
Obviously not stalking or following her. Wayne knew him, which
meant … The sneaky, scheming bastard.
    As if reading her thoughts, Nova gave
her a quick wink then said to Wayne, "That's because you're usually
holed up with your music when I get in."
    "I've got a new mix if you want to take
a listen."
    "Sure. How 'bout tomorrow? You can drop
by the Pit after school?"
    "Will do," Wayne said, turning back to
Lise as Nova headed down the hall and out of her sight. "You know
who he is, right? I mean, if he called for your room, I guess you
know him."
    Lise tucked her wallet into her purse,
her thoughts racing, her traitorous pulse, too. "I only met him
earlier. I had a flat tire and he helped change it. He said his
name is Donovan True."
    Wayne waited as if she'd forgotten the
punch line to a joke. "Donovan True? From True Believers? The
suspense novels where the TB team works to free people who've been
wrongly convicted."
    "Oh, right. Donovan True. I hadn't put
two and two together." But now that she had … Scheming aside, why
was an internationally bestselling novelist running a pit of a bar
in Mississippi?
    "He likes it when folks don't know."
Wayne gave her a sheepish shrug, his stringy hair falling into his
face. "I just figured you did or I wouldn't have said
anything."
    "My lips are sealed." She took the room
key the teen offered. "Thanks again for accommodating me on such
short notice."
    "Don't thank me. Thank Nova," he
replied, tucking his ear buds in place as he went about locking
down the front desk.
    Yeah. About that. Lise picked up her
tote and overnighter and headed for the same hallway down which
Donovan had disappeared. Behind her, Wayne pounded up the staircase
to the second floor, and seconds later a door slammed.
    She passed the entrance to the darkened
dining room, then turned to the right. Her room was at the end. So
was Donovan's.
    His door was open, and he stood just
over the threshold, waiting, one forearm on the jamb above