Bitten By Deceit Read Online Free Page B

more could she say? Kiss me again? Forgive me? But she couldn’t think straight with him so close.
    He let her go and quickly added space between them again. Her sigh emerged as a soft moan. The fire in her hadn’t died, but did he still desire her the way she did him?
    From the corner of her eye, she noticed his gaze drifted to her breasts where the nipples poked through her thin shirt. “I know where we can face them a few miles outside of town. But I need time to prepare.”
    His voice was hoarse with need, but Kyle was all business again. Of course. She searched his eyes and wondered if he’d forgiven her. But a single kiss wouldn’t guarantee such a thing. Not after he’d left town banished and shamed by his own pack.  
    They had a job to do. And then he’d probably leave her behind again.
    After switching to Kyle’s SUV, they headed out of town. The road toward Hadley seemed to stretch forever. Each mile made her anxious. He’d packed the back of his SUV full of weapons. She didn’t recognize half of them. He’d been adamant about about one thing, “Don’t touch the explosives if you value your body parts.”
    In the backseat, he’d added a few things from the trailer: water, food, and blankets.
    “Where are we going?” she asked.
    “An abandoned ranch twenty miles outside of town. We’ll leave a trail for them to follow us, then we’ll face them.”
    Emma.
    She glanced in the backseat before peeking out the window. The voice had skittered down her spine like black ants. Unsettling and creepy.
    “What’s wrong?” she asked. “Did you say something?”
    “We’re headed for the Sawyer place.” Kyle’s eyes narrowed. “What’s got you spooked?”
    Her mouth went dry, but she couldn’t explain what happened. “I thought I heard something, but it’s nothing.” She touched the gauze and looked at her arm. The discoloration had crept up toward her elbow.
    Oh, shit. The infection was spreading. How long did she have before she’d succumb to Liam’s will?
    “Get some rest. We have a long night ahead of us,” he said.
    She nodded and turned to face the window. She closed her eyes as the tiny voice murmured again and again. Fluttering over her skin in relentless waves.
    Kill him, Emma. Kill him.

Chapter 3

    By the time they drove through the tattered gates to the Sawyer ranch, Kyle wasn’t sure about his plan. Everything was based on Liam picking up the trail off the highway. And now he noticed Emma acting strangely again.
    She didn’t speak as he pulled onto the gravel road leading to the house. The Sawyers had abandoned this property before he’d moved here—and it showed. The wooden planks haphazardly hammered together could barely be called a fence, weeds poked out between rocks along the driveway, and the sign marking the property was about two feet from falling over. But the ranch was the perfect place for a final stand. Kyle would see them coming before they saw him.
    He glanced at Em, then the soft lips he’d kissed. Still ached to kiss. He should’ve just checked her face. Made sure she was okay. Wasn’t that what nice guys did? But he couldn’t help himself, merely thinking about that bastard’s hands on her brought back a possessiveness he thought he’d buried. Evidently, he hadn’t buried his feelings deep enough.
    Damn, he needed to focus on the task at hand. He had a lot to plan before Liam knocked on his door.
    “The inside doesn’t have much,” he said, “but you can rest for a while. I need to place these explosives and leave the car along the highway.”
    Emma chuckled. “You mean you plan to leave the car by the road and piss on a few trees to leave your mark?”
    “Hey, this is my territory now.”
    She had such smart ass tendencies . She smiled briefly, and Kyle recognized the old Emma who came to his father’s motorbike shop every week to hang out with the guys. Those had been better times. In a small desert town, there wasn’t much to do except party