Fatal Pursuit (The Aegis Series) by Elisabeth Naughton Read Free Book Online Page B

are you still doing here, Jake? I thought you were leaving.”
    “I decided to stay. As you said last night, we’re on vacation.”
    “ We aren’t on anything together,” Marley clarified, circling the spoon in her cup. She braced her elbows on the table, lifted the cup with both hands, and took a deep drink. Warmth flooded her tongue and immediately eased the pressure behind her skull. “You were taking your plane and leaving.”
    “That’s where you’re wrong.”
    “No, that’s where I’m right.” The waiter rushed over again and handed each of them a menu. Marley set her coffee down and looked up. “ Gracias . We have one more coming.”
    “Actually, we don’t.”
    Marley’s gaze snapped Jake’s way. “Excuse me?”
    Jake smiled at the waiter. The guy glanced curiously between the two of them and scurried off. Jake took another sip of his coffee, looking smug and victorious all over again. “Hamilton left.”
    “Left?” Marley’s eyes flew wide. “What the hell did you do to my brother?”
    “Nothing. I just explained to him that—” Jake’s self-righteous smile faded. “Whoa. Wait. Your brother ?”
    “Yes, my brother, you idiot. Who did you think he was?”
    Jake’s mouth dropped open, and his gaze scanned her face. She could almost see the little wheels trying to catch in his brain. “But you don’t have a brother.”
    “Half brother. And you don’t know everything there is to know about me. Where is he?”
    Jake stared at her another long beat, then seemed to relax even more. “He’s fine. I told him he didn’t need to stick around now that I’m here.”
    “And he believed you?”
    One side of Jake’s mouth curled. “I can be very convincing when I want to be.”
    Marley sat back and stared at him. No, he wasn’t convincing. He was obnoxious as hell, and he bullied people until he got what he wanted. Though why he wanted to weasel his way into her business now, she didn’t know.
    “I don’t need or want your help, Jake.”
    He eased back in his chair once more and laid his arm across the chair beside him, cocky as always. “Well, you’re not getting rid of me. People are tortured and murdered every day down here. You were smart enough to know not to come down on your own. I think we both know you’re smart enough to see I’m your only option at this point.”
    She clenched her jaw. She was going to strangle Ronan the next time she saw him. And right now Jake wasn’t safe either.
    The waiter came back to take their order. Marley’s frustration shot up while she listened to Jake mutilate the Spanish language. When the waiter looked her way, she pointed to the first thing she saw on her menu, not caring what she even ordered.
    As soon as the waiter was gone, Jake rested both muscular forearms on the table and pinned her with a hard look. One that was sexy and aggravating and made her want to slam her fist right between his eyes. “Now. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on. Who called that made you drop everything, steal my plane, and jet all the way to Colombia.”
    She leaned forward. “You checked my cell phone records?”
    “Relax. I pay your cell bill. It’s no big deal.”
    No, it was a huge deal. A giant deal. And just the fact he thought it was no biggie sent her temper right back to red-hot. “That’s called invasion of privacy, Jake. Did you hack into my credit card records too?”
    He winced and glanced around as if to see who had heard her. “I’d never do that.”
    “No, I’m sure you had Eve do it.”
    He exhaled a long breath and frowned at her.
    Marley crossed her arms over her chest and sat back. “I really hate you sometimes.”
    “I know.” A slow grin worked its way across his face. The big jerk actually grinned . “Start talking.”
    Exasperated, Marley debated her options. She could refuse to tell him anything, but that would only tick him off, and the hard truth was if Ronan had truly left, then she really was alone and needed