Resurrection River: Men of Mercy, Book 2 by Lindsay Cross Read Free Book Online Page B

had ever made him lose control like that. When they kissed, he felt like a king. But after, when she opened her mouth and spoke, he felt like a fool.
    And now, all he felt was rage. Santos had sealed his fate. The man would die. It was just a matter of when. But Amy didn’t want Ranger there, at her house, at night. Part of him realized she was running scared and needed time. Needed soothing.
    But the other part. The caveman part, wanted to beat down her door and scream mine.
    “What the hell?” Hunter walked into the kitchen.
    “What?” Ranger half-growled the word.
    “Where is your shirt? Why aren’t you doing recon on the Lobellos? And what the fuck is that smell?” Hunter filled up the doorway from the living room to the kitchen. His brother, black hair, black eyes. And up until last year, Ranger had almost been convinced, a black soul.
    But then Hunter found Evie. And the big grizzly bear tamed into a cub in her hands.
    Ranger briefly considered lying, but there was no point. He’d not only completely neglected his mission, but he’d almost blown it.
    “Grab me a beer.” Ranger moved to the table, pulled out a hand carved wooden chair and sat.
    “Sure.” Hunter strode to the stainless steel fridge, pulled out a couple of beers, passed one to Ranger, and took a seat opposite. “Spill.”
    Ranger twisted the cap off his beer, downing half the bottle in one swallow. The cold liquid cooled his temper to about a half a degree below boiling. “I stopped on the way to McGehee.”
    “What was so important you detoured from the Lobello’s home town?”
    “Amy Carter.”
    “Jesus H. Christ. You do like your torture don’t you?”
    Ranger knew his brother thought he lost his mind. Hell, sometimes Ranger even thought he lost his mind. “Yep.”
    “And what, you thought if you showed her your muscles she’d change her mind and jump your bones?” Hunter leaned back in his chair, his amused grin growing wider, and crossed his hands behind his head.
    “I had a shirt on when I saw her.” Ranger took another swig, needing the liquid courage.
    “And?”
    “And I stopped by the field she was spraying, hoping to catch her for a minute, and she doused me in goddamn herbicide.”
    Hunter tipped back in his chair and roared with laughter. Ranger gave serious thought to kicking his brother’s chair backwards. He planted a booted foot on the edge and gave Hunter a nudge. His brother stopped laughing. “Do it and die.”
    “I’m glad I can provide so much entertainment, brother.” Ranger eased back, letting Hunter’s chair back down flat on the kitchen tile.
    “Just tell me the next time you plan to visit her. So I can provide back up. Evie’s gonna be pissed you stank up the new house.”
    “Sure. Right after you help me over a cliff.” Ranger paced to the trash, tossed the empty beer, and grabbed a new one. “She’s driving me nuts.”
    “All the best ones do,” Hunter said.
    “Yeah easy for you to say, yours didn’t twist you up into knots. Blow hot and cold.”
    “Were you here last year? Are we talking about the same woman? My wife? The one that ran from me at every opportunity?”
    Ranger nodded and sat back down. “Yeah. That one. She’s an amateur compared to Amy.”
    Hunter’s stare probed too deep, his silence telling. Hunter had almost lost Evie to her own psychopath stalker. And Ranger knew, if his brother had lost Evie, Hunter wouldn’t have made it. He would have lived, as is took oxygen in and out of his lungs, but Hunter would have shut down, and what little edge of peace he’d gained, would disappear.
    “So quit then. Give her up.”
    “Okay. I’ll give up when you give Evie up.” Same thing. Ranger felt for Amy deep beyond his heart. Into his soul.
    “You’ve got it bad. Man. And no way Mavis is gonna let her move on, that woman will flay her alive and eat her for lunch.” Hunter leaned forward, rested his arms on the matching heavy wood table.
    Ranger cringed. Shane’s