Branded by Lust: 4 (Night Seekers) by Desiree Holt Read Free Book Online Page A

hundred souls. A combination restaurant and bar, at
lunchtime it was jammed with wall-to-wall people. But a man tall enough to
tower over Logan and probably twice his girth came out from behind the bar with
a huge smile and enveloped Logan in a hug Rebecca was afraid would crack a few
ribs.
    “Logan Tanner,” he said in a deep, gravelly voice. “Damn if
you’re not a sight to see after all this time. Finally decide to come back to
where the real folks are?”
    Logan managed to extricate himself with a laugh. “Not
exactly. I’m actually here on assignment for the organization I work for.” He
drew Rebecca forward. “This is my partner, Rebecca Black. Bek, meet Moose
Malone, owner and chief cook and bottle washer here.”
    Rebecca found her hand enclosed in one big enough to belong
to Paul Bunyan.
    “So Logan’s finally got himself a woman,” he grinned. “About
damn time.”
    She shook her head, looking to Logan for help.
    “Partner as in business, you idiot,” he said. “We’re team
members, working together.”
    “Uh huh. Uh huh. My eyes aren’t that old. I know what I
see.” He punched Logan in the shoulder. “Let me get a table for you.”
    Rebecca was amazed at how gracefully the man moved as he
waved to a teenager busing tables and shouted orders at him. In what seemed
like just seconds a table had appeared from somewhere and was set up along the
far wall with two chairs. She barely had time to catch her breath before a menu
appeared in her hands and water and silverware were set up for the two of them.
    She leaned across the table. “How does he do that? I didn’t
think you could get another person in here with a shoehorn and grease.”
    “A trade secret,” Logan grinned. “Moose made up his mind a
long time ago never to turn anyone away, even if they had to sit on top of the
bar.”
    The floor was wide wood planking and the walls were paneled
in what Rebecca assumed was more ponderosa pine. As plentiful as it was in the
area, she thought she’d probably see it everywhere. Someone had carved the long
bar against the wall out of the same material and behind it was a long mirror
and shelves of liquor bottles, just like an old-time saloon. It reminded Rebecca
a lot of The Crown in Presque Isle, Maine.
    A woman worked behind the bar filling orders so fast she was
almost a blur, and talking at the same time. Not that Rebecca could hear what
she—or anyone—was saying, what with the noise level of all the other voices. It
seemed as if every person was speaking at the same time. She looked at Logan,
slightly glazed.
    “Is it always like this?”
    He nodded. “As long as anyone can remember. Better decide
what you want to eat. Here comes someone to take our order and about two
seconds after that the parade to our table will start.”
    Rebecca ordered a club sandwich, Logan chose a hamburger
with everything, and the waiter was no sooner gone than two men dressed in the
now-familiar jeans and flannel shirts stopped beside them.
    “Logan.” One of them nodded. “Glad to see you home for a
change. Staying awhile?”
    “Maybe he’s here because of the park ranger,” the other man
interjected. “That right, Logan? The new outfit you work for send you here?”
    Although the men sounded slightly hostile, beneath their
tone Rebecca detected a deep nervousness, almost a fear. Something unknown had
invaded their community for the second time in three years and it was apparent
people were on edge. It seemed to Rebecca that everyone in the place knew
Logan. Maybe everyone in the county. He introduced each person who stopped by
but after a while, even with her training, she began to lose track of them.
    Some of them only stayed for a moment, greeting Logan,
acknowledging Rebecca—many of them with a curious eye—putting in their two
cents worth then moving on. Others managed to steal a chair from a nearby table
as people emptied out of the place and took the time to express their fear
about the