Beyond the Past by Carly Fall Read Free Book Online Page A

glad you aren’t denying it,” Rachel added, pulling on to the freeway.
    “It’s business, Rachel. He needs a house, I’m a realtor. That’s where it ends.”
    “You keep telling yourself that, Gabby. However, I can tell you that you’re going to be getting the business on top, from behind, and any way you can take it. That long, muscular body is going to be wrapped around you tighter than a Christmas bow.”
    “I’m not sleeping with him, Rachel! Come on!”
    “Well, if you aren’t going to, I wonder how he’d like to dip his vanilla wafer into some hot chocolate.”
    Gabby burst out laughing. “Fine, go ahead,” she said, but immediately regretted the words. She really didn’t have any intentions of sleeping with Jerrod in the near future, but the thought of Rachel getting her claws into him gave her a bad taste in her mouth. Maybe, someday, a long time from now, she’d be ready to sleep with him. Just not now.
    “I’ll see if he’s interested.” Rachel sighed. “I could look into those eyes all damn night.”
    They rode for a while in silence, and then Rachel said, “That better be one hell of a big vanilla wafer. You know I like my men hung.”
     

Chapter 9
    “As I’m sure you can guess, there are people looking for you, Mr. Tate,” Joe said. “The first thing I want you to be made aware of is that if you are to accept this job from me, you will, by all means, disappear. There will be no trace of you left for anyone to find.”
    “And how exactly do you go about doing that?” Lucas asked, thinking of his military records. Granted, he’d been off the grid for six months now, but no one could totally disappear. Well, he’d never heard of it.
    “That’s not for you to worry about at this point,” Joe added. “Your military records will disappear, if that’s what concerns you.”
    He listened as Joe described the ‘job’ he had for him. Basically, Lucas would be tasked to babysit clients in need of protection.
    “There are people all over the world who turn to me for their safety, Mr. Lucas, and they pay me very handsomely. In return, I pass some of that money on to you.”
    Lucas chewed his steak and eyed the platter containing three more. Since four people sat at the table, would it be rude for him to take another one?
    He also let Joe’s words sink in. With his military ability, the job would be a no-brainer for him.
    “And what does that entail?” he asked.
    “Most of the time, nothing at all. I provide you a security conscious place for you to do your job, and as Garrett can attest to, not much goes on beyond that.”
    Lucas glanced over at Garrett, and he nodded. “Except for Brody. He had some action a little while back.”
    “What happened?”
    “Well, he was protecting Margarita Gomez—”
    “ The Margarita Gomez?” Lucas asked. Six months ago, he wouldn’t have had a clue about the woman, but being homeless had allowed for a lot of free time to peruse the magazine racks in the convenience stores. That woman seemed to be everywhere, and she was definitely easy on the eyes.
    “Yeah, that one.” Garrett smiled.
    “So, what happened?” Lucas asked.
    Garrett explained how Brody had been protecting her from a rabid fan who actually turned out to be the son of one of the heads of the biggest drug cartels in Mexico.
    Lucas let out a low whistle. “Wow. That’s some heavy shit.”
    “I know,” Garrett said, taking another bite of steak.
    “It’s not a frequent occurrence,” Joe added, dabbing his mouth with the white linen napkin.
    “I haven’t had any issues,” Garrett said.
    “Where would I be placed?” Brody was on a yacht in the Caribbean, but he didn’t know where Garrett had been stationed. He figured he’d talk to him about it more in depth later.
    “That remains to be seen, Lucas,” Joe said. “I have a few options in mind, but as that old, trite saying goes, let’s not put the cart before the horse, shall we?”
    Lucas nodded, and Garrett