Lawman's Redemption Read Online Free Page A
Author: Marilyn Pappano
Theyâd known other kids at school, of course, but theyâd kept to themselves. It had seemed safer that way.
Then Logan had disappeared without a trace nearly seventeen years ago. Brady had gone to bed one night and Logan was there in the next room, and heâd awakened the next morning and his brother was gone. Heâd taken his clothes and left a note, one line that had just about killed Brady.
He didnât let himself think about Logan very often, but tonight it somehow seemed appropriate. Where was he? Had he even survived the last seventeen years? Had he managed to make himself over into someone who could live a normal life, have friends, laugh, be happy? Had he ever married, had kids? Did he ever think about looking up his older brother?
Probably no more often than Brady thought about trying to find him. He had run a nationwide driverâs license check a few years ago and come up with a number of Logan Marshalls, but none whose birth date matched his brotherâs. Heâd even considered hiring a private investigator, but had discarded the idea. Logan had had his reasons for taking off the way he did. The least Brady could do was respect them.
He flipped through the channels, watched the clock and told himself that, barring any emergencies, he was home for the night. Bored with television, he went in and took a shower, then went into the bedroom to get a pair of boxers. He wasnât getting dressed, he told himself, even as he took a clean pair of Leviâs from the closet, and he repeated it as he pulled a T-shirt fromthe dresser drawer. He absolutely wasnât going anywhere, he insisted as he picked up his wallet, pager and keys from the dresser, then started toward the front door.
He wasnât going to the motel.
Wasnât parking beside her Mercedes in the back lot.
Wasnât climbing the stairs.
Wasnât standing in front of Room 22.
He stood there, trying desperately to talk himself out of knocking. But damn it, being accustomed to being alone didnât mean it didnât eat at him sometimes. Some days the need for somebody got under his skin and damn near drove him mad until heâd satisfied it. That was what had sent him to the bar Thursday nightâwhat had made him come back to the motel with Hallie. Usually that one night would have been enough to fill the emptiness that sometimes consumed him and would enable him to go back to his life for a few more months.
But this time, God help him, he wanted more, and Hallie Madison was the perfect person to give it. Theyâd already filled each otherâs needs once. He liked her, and she⦠He didnât know whether she liked him, but at least she wasnât intimidated by him.
And most important of allâshe was leaving town the next morning. He would probably see her again, but not until she came back to visit Neely, and that could be monthsâeven years. By then she might not even remember his name.
Raising his hand, he hesitated, then rapped sharply on the door.
Seconds ticked past with no sound from inside the room. He wouldnât blame her if she refused to open the doorâhalf wished she would do exactly that so he would have no choice but to go home. But after a minute, maybe two, there was a rustle inside, then the door swung open.
Sheâd obviously showered since the party. Her face was free of makeup and her hair, still damp, was slicked back from her face, and damned if she didnât look as pretty as she had all dressed up. She was wearing something thin and satiny held upby tiny straps and ending somewhere around midthigh, and she was naked underneath it. She looked sexy and innocent and vulnerable, and he knew if he touched her again, he would be damned to hell with no way to redeem himself.
Even knowing that, he reached out.
And he touched her.
Chapter 2
H allie knew why heâd come.
It was in the hunger that made his blue gaze intense, in the tension that
Then Logan had disappeared without a trace nearly seventeen years ago. Brady had gone to bed one night and Logan was there in the next room, and heâd awakened the next morning and his brother was gone. Heâd taken his clothes and left a note, one line that had just about killed Brady.
He didnât let himself think about Logan very often, but tonight it somehow seemed appropriate. Where was he? Had he even survived the last seventeen years? Had he managed to make himself over into someone who could live a normal life, have friends, laugh, be happy? Had he ever married, had kids? Did he ever think about looking up his older brother?
Probably no more often than Brady thought about trying to find him. He had run a nationwide driverâs license check a few years ago and come up with a number of Logan Marshalls, but none whose birth date matched his brotherâs. Heâd even considered hiring a private investigator, but had discarded the idea. Logan had had his reasons for taking off the way he did. The least Brady could do was respect them.
He flipped through the channels, watched the clock and told himself that, barring any emergencies, he was home for the night. Bored with television, he went in and took a shower, then went into the bedroom to get a pair of boxers. He wasnât getting dressed, he told himself, even as he took a clean pair of Leviâs from the closet, and he repeated it as he pulled a T-shirt fromthe dresser drawer. He absolutely wasnât going anywhere, he insisted as he picked up his wallet, pager and keys from the dresser, then started toward the front door.
He wasnât going to the motel.
Wasnât parking beside her Mercedes in the back lot.
Wasnât climbing the stairs.
Wasnât standing in front of Room 22.
He stood there, trying desperately to talk himself out of knocking. But damn it, being accustomed to being alone didnât mean it didnât eat at him sometimes. Some days the need for somebody got under his skin and damn near drove him mad until heâd satisfied it. That was what had sent him to the bar Thursday nightâwhat had made him come back to the motel with Hallie. Usually that one night would have been enough to fill the emptiness that sometimes consumed him and would enable him to go back to his life for a few more months.
But this time, God help him, he wanted more, and Hallie Madison was the perfect person to give it. Theyâd already filled each otherâs needs once. He liked her, and she⦠He didnât know whether she liked him, but at least she wasnât intimidated by him.
And most important of allâshe was leaving town the next morning. He would probably see her again, but not until she came back to visit Neely, and that could be monthsâeven years. By then she might not even remember his name.
Raising his hand, he hesitated, then rapped sharply on the door.
Seconds ticked past with no sound from inside the room. He wouldnât blame her if she refused to open the doorâhalf wished she would do exactly that so he would have no choice but to go home. But after a minute, maybe two, there was a rustle inside, then the door swung open.
Sheâd obviously showered since the party. Her face was free of makeup and her hair, still damp, was slicked back from her face, and damned if she didnât look as pretty as she had all dressed up. She was wearing something thin and satiny held upby tiny straps and ending somewhere around midthigh, and she was naked underneath it. She looked sexy and innocent and vulnerable, and he knew if he touched her again, he would be damned to hell with no way to redeem himself.
Even knowing that, he reached out.
And he touched her.
Chapter 2
H allie knew why heâd come.
It was in the hunger that made his blue gaze intense, in the tension that
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