Safe and Sound (The Safe House Series Book 3) Read Online Free Page B

to her sides, allowing nothing in the way of wiggle room. The gun was a no-go at this point, but she stood a chance of picking up the phone and shouting down into the receiver if Jack called again. She had to try.
    Lola had just rocked herself sideways onto two legs, with the intention of putting her full weight behind an assault on the kitchen table, when her captors reentered the room.
    Her head jerked up in horrified surprise. Aborting the move at the last minute proved too late to regain her balance. She tipped sideways, falling through space in what felt like slow motion. Eyes shut, she braced herself for impact.
    An impact that never came.
    Lola hazarded a glance through her disheveled hair.
    Max Sterling stood over her. His hand gripped the back of the chair, holding it in place to keep her from toppling over. She blinked.
    "Nice try." He spoke in a low voice, perhaps an attempt to keep Baudin from overhearing. He sounded almost impressed. Lola's face felt hot, but it was only from the frustration of failure. At least, that was what she told herself.
    The slick sheering noise of a pocket knife opening snagged her attention. Any additional blood pooled in her cheeks drained instantly.
    “Ohmygosh, ohhhhmygosh, please —!” A knot in her throat tied her words into something beyond decipherable.
    Max's free hand—the hand not gripping the back of her chair—came up in a sudden sweep from beneath her.
    The bite of the rope that bound her wrists relented.
    Lola raised her arms in shock as her bonds fell away. He hadn't intended to use the knife against her but rather to release her. She massaged some of the circulation back into her bare, tingling arms, darting a wary look between the two men. She didn't know what letting her go meant, didn't know how she was supposed to relate to her captors now that she wasn't so obviously being held hostage.
    Max flipped the knife closed and pocketed it before turning back to the kitchen table. He swept her .357 off the table and stowed it in his waistband at the base of his spine. Her cell phone went through the same disappearing act—this time, the right front pocket of his jeans.
    "Gather your things." He indicated what remained of her possessions with a nod. “You’re staying here tonight.”
    Lola froze. " What ?"
    For a moment, she thought Max intended to let her go. Then the reality of her situation pulled her under like a riptide: not only did she not have a car, but he had taken her cell phone. Calling for a ride was out of the question. What had she expected to do if she walked out of there? Walk thirty, forty, however many miles she had driven back to civilization?
    Lola glanced out the window, and noticed for the first time that the blue sky outside the house had dimmed to nondescript gray. Night was coming, and apparently no one residing in the household believed in outdoor lighting. Another detail to add to her steadily expanding list of things she found unnerving about her situation.
    "I still haven't decided what I'm going to do about you." Max crossed his arms. Still, he struggled to meet her gaze. "But I might have… overreacted earlier."
    "You think?" Lola snapped before she could stop herself. She finished gathering her things and settled her handbag on her shoulder.
    Max's eyes narrowed. "Given who you seem to be, yes. But I had no way of knowing your identity at the outset. The circumstances surrounding you finding your way out here still don't add up. I'll be in contact with my boss tomorrow, and he'll advise me on how to proceed. For now, I'm sticking to protocol."
    "There is a protocol for a sexy woman crashing into your tree?” Baudin inquired, his snarky tone like a dull blade severing her final intact nerve.
    She wasn’t the only one. Max didn't so much as glance back over his shoulder at the man, but Lola knew from his tense posture that Baudin wore on his patience. Wait —did Baudin just call her sexy ? Points. She’d give him points for sexy