Brody's Vow (Colebrook Siblings Trilogy Book 1) by Kaylea Cross Read Free Book Online Page A

She’d planned to retire by forty, but now she was second-guessing that. This line of work took a toll on her, mentally and physically. She was weary of hunting. Tired of always having to be vigilant, on guard. Maybe it was time she got out of the game entirely and did something above board.
    She’d miss the adrenaline rush, but maybe there was something else that would earn her a decent living, something that wouldn’t require her to leave a trail of bodies behind her and having to watch over her shoulder everywhere she went. While she didn’t regret killing her targets because they’d all been dangerous criminals of one sort or another, each kill took a piece of her soul with it. In all honesty, she was lucky to still be alive after the life she’d led thus far.
    “You can sleep if you want,” Colebrook offered.
    I don’t think so. “Thanks, but I can’t.”
    He eyed her for a second. “Don’t trust me to stand watch?”
    “It’s not that.” Except no, she didn’t, because she’d just met him. “It’s just…ingrained in me not to sleep until after I’ve gone to ground.” Survival instinct overrode everything else. Her training had seen to that.
    “I get it,” he said with a nod.
    Maybe he did. “Did you serve in the military before joining the FBI?”
    “Marines.”
    If he was leader of one of the HRT sniper teams, then he had to be elite. “Are you a scout/sniper like DeLuca?”
    He nodded. “One shot, one kill,” he said, his voice filled with pride. “What about you? You as good with a long gun as Briar and Georgia?”
    She looked at him sharply, narrowing her eyes. “You know Georgia?” Very few people knew her, and fewer still by her real name.
    “Met her and Briar on an op in Miami last fall.”
    Right before Georgia and her new man had disappeared to Cuba together. Interesting. “No, but I can hold my own.” She debated how much she should tell him, decided to go for generic. Being a solo contractor had its advantages. As long as she didn’t tell him anything classified, she could say what she wanted. “I don’t get to kill from afar like she and Georgia do. My specialty is getting up close and personal with my targets.”
    In any way that required.
    Her body and seduction powers were her greatest lures, as well as formidable weapons. She’d learned long ago how to mentally disassociate during the acts of sex and killing, instead focusing on the power reversal her targets were always unaware of until it was too late.
    He shot her a sideways glance but didn’t say anything further. She remained alert for the rest of the drive, even though she was nearly certain no one had followed them. By the time they reached Sugar Hollow she had the mother of all migraines going and her body hurt so badly that all she wanted to do was lie down for a few hours.
    “We’re here,” Colebrook murmured a few moments later as he turned into a long, winding driveway off a quiet road in a rural area.
    Up ahead in the distance a two-story house stood in the darkness, its lower windows glowing with warm yellow lamplight. “This is your family’s place?” She wasn’t going to have to make small talk with his parents, was she?
    “Yeah, my dad lives here. It’s a horse farm. We raise breeding stock.”
    “What kind of horses?”
    “Quarter Horses. They’re good at running short distances and can outrun most other breeds in races of a quarter mile or less. That’s how they got the name.” He parked out front and turned off the truck.
    Trinity stifled a pained groan as she got out of the truck before he could come around to help her. Crickets and frogs sang in the background, the scent of fresh cut grass carrying on the light breeze.
    Ahead of her the pale yellow farmhouse looked like something out of a painting with its inviting wraparound porch. There was even a porch swing on one end of it, and a couple of rocking chairs near the front door. She pictured Colebrook sitting out here in the