Betrayed: Days of the Rogue Read Online Free

that old tree stump? She squinted, unable to detect
anything, yet the feeling that she was being watched had returned.
Shifting uneasily, she stepped back from the window.
    “Eve? Eve! If you don’t answer me
this minute, I’ll—” Caro’s strident tones had her wincing.
    “Sorry, Caro. I’m a bit distracted.
I have the weirdest feeling that someone’s watching me.” Even as
she spoke the words, she regretted them.
    “Someone’s watching you? Like a
stalker?” Caro’s voice took on a panicky tone. “Oh my God, that’s
what you get for moving to the middle of nowhere. Lock the doors
and I’ll call the police—”
    “Caro, calm down!” Eve hastened to
assure her agent, imagining how the woman was probably dragging her
hands through her hair, sending the frizzy bleached blonde locks
into even greater disarray. “I’m not in imminent danger. There’s no
one out there. It’s just one of those weird feelings.”
    “But how do you know? Maybe some
crazed chain-saw carrying lumberjack plans to murder you in your
sleep! He’s hiding behind the trees and, when you’re not
looking....” Caro ended her sentence with some rather gruesome
sound effects. The woman’s creative mind definitely got the better
of her at times.
    “Gee, thanks Caro. I feel a whole
lot better now.” Eve moved into the living area and grabbed her
sweatshirt from the chair where she’d tossed it earlier. Walking
into the bedroom, she placed it in the laundry hamper, then glanced
about at the disarray. If nothing else, Caro’s over-reaction helped
put things in perspective. “I think you’ve spent too much time
watching horror flicks.” And I’ve spent too much time reading
mystery novels , she thought to herself, noting the stack of
books beside her bed as well as the clothing scattered about. It
was time to get some work done. She started to tidy up as Caro
continued on with her theme.
    “I don’t know, Eve. You always hear
about these ghastly cases in the news. I think you should report
this to someone.” Caro sounded doubtful before suddenly
brightening. “I know. Call that hunky man you’re renting the cabin
from! If nothing else it’ll give you an excuse to talk to him.”
    Caro had encountered Rafe McRae on
her first trip to Eve’s temporary home, having accidentally taken
the wrong turn. According to her description, she’d found the man
nearly stripped naked and chopping firewood. It had taken several
glasses of wine, and considerable patience, before the woman had
quit enthusing about him.
    Eve had to concede on some of
Caro’s points. At over six foot, with a sculpted body, Rafe was the
kind of man who had every woman drooling over him. However, Caro’s
description of him as charming was hard to swallow. Based on her
own meetings with the man, she was inclined to think that a rock
had more personality.
    Making her way to the main living
area, Eve rolled her eyes. “I don’t need an excuse to talk to him,
Caro. I simply rent one of his cabins, nothing more.”
    “That’s what you say, but your
artwork tells a different story. Did you know that each piece
you’ve sent back bears a remarkable likeness to him?”
    “Really? I had no idea.” Eve
feigned innocence while flicking a glance towards the far corner of
the room where she had several sketches of Rafe pinned to the wall.
She had been using him as a model for the males on the book covers
she created to supplement her income as an artist. He certainly
was...inspiring.
    “To a casual observer, maybe. But
remember, I’m an expert on the male form.” Caro’s reputation as a
cougar was a badge she wore proudly.
    “Keep your claws out of him, Caro.”
Eve spoke the words without meaning to, and then winced when she
realized she’d just given the other woman ammunition.
    “Warning me to keep away? I thought
you said he was just your landlord.” Interest flared in the
woman’s voice. It was easy to imagine how Caro would now be leaning
back in her