AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Raid just grinned.
He was terrible. She shook her head at him.
“I’d like to stay,” she said shyly.
“Good. Go pack, baby. Get dressed.”
Hannah managed to find her old jeans. She had just gotten dressed and put her hair up when there was a knock on the door. That was weird. Who’d be here this early on a Saturday morning?
She moved toward the door, but before she could get there, Raid had stepped in front of her.
“Let me answer the door.”
He seemed so serious that she nodded.
Turning, he opened the door. “Jake?”
“Hey, sorry for coming so early, but is it okay if we come in?”
We?
She peered around Raid’s shoulders to see Jake standing there. Two huge men stood behind him. One had to stand back on the stairs since there wasn’t enough room for all of them on the landing.
Both of them had big builds and dark hair and eyes.
They had a familiar feel to them. Like she’d seen them before.
“Who are these guys?” Raid demanded.
Jeez. Didn’t he have any manners?
“Morning, Jake,” she said as she stepped around Raid. “Come in.”
As she went to step forward, Raid put an arm out. “Stay behind me.”
“But Raid, it’s just Jake.”
“With two guys who I don’t fucking know. Stay back.”
Whoa. Just when she thought she’d seen all sides of Raid Malone, he showed her another one.
And this one was protective and bossy as heck.
And also sexy as hell.
But she couldn’t let him see that. He already had an enormous ego. So she frowned up at him. “Jake wouldn’t bring anyone here who would hurt me.”
“Damn right, I wouldn’t,” Jake grumbled. “You want to stand down?”
“Not really,” Raid snapped. “Not until you explain who the fuck these guys are.”
She looked to the ceiling, searching for some patience.
“I’m FBI Agent Eli Jones,” the one closest to Jake said. He had shorter hair than the other guy.
“And I’m FBI Agent Kellan Jones.”
She’d heard those names before. And with that last name . . .
“You’re Duncan’s brothers, right?” she asked.
“That’s right,” Kellan said, watching her carefully. Almost as though he was worried about her. But that was weird when he’d never met her.
“Did you come back for a nice family visit?” she asked, even though she knew they hadn’t.
Because if they’d come back to visit Duncan, then they wouldn’t be here at the door to her apartment.
“Can we come in?” Jake watched her worriedly. Like he thought she might shatter at any moment.
Why did everyone think that? She was sick of those looks. Like people thought she would shatter.
Maybe it’s because you’re constantly on the edge of shattering.
Well, she didn’t want to be like that anymore.
“Yes,” she replied. “Would you like coffee?”
“They don’t need coffee,” Raid said as the three men stood in her tiny apartment, making it seem even smaller.
“Raid, that’s rude. These are Duncan’s brothers.”
“Pretty sure that’s not why they’re here, darlin’.”
Yeah, she’d already figured that out.
“We should still be polite. It’s hospitable to offer coffee.”
“If they want coffee, they can go to the diner and get it.”
“We’re fine, sweetheart,” Jake told her. “Maybe you’d like to sit.”
Uh-oh.
Things were never good when someone told you to sit before talking to you.
“Only if all of you do.”
They all nodded and grabbed chairs from the dining table. Oh, that probably wasn’t a good idea. She hoped the chairs didn’t collapse under their weight.
She sat on the sofa with Raid, pressing herself close to him as the three men arranged their chairs across from her.
“What about a cookie?” she asked. “Do you want cookies? Or pancakes? We were on our way out for breakfast. Maybe we should all go get breakfast before we have a chat. Raid can’t go long without eating. I’m not sure what happens if he does, but I have a feeling it’s something Hulk-like.”
Raid turned to look down at her. “Hannah, it’s going to be okay.”
Huh?
“Whatever they have to tell us, it’s going to be all right.”
Shit.
“I’m not nervous.”
She was such a liar.
“Hannah,” Jake said, leaning forward and making his chair creak dangerously. “I did some research into Michael Atwater, the conman who was arrested in Alabama.”
She nodded. “Did he . . . does he look like the description I gave you of Steven?”
“Yeah, sweetheart. He does. In fact, we’re pretty sure that they’re the same person.”
“We?” Raid said, eyeing Duncan’s brothers. “How do you two come into this?”
“While I was doing some research into this guy, I saw that the FBI was in charge of his case,” Jake explained. “And that I knew the names of the two agents in charge.”
“Why would the FBI be in charge of his case?” she asked.
“Because you’re not his first victim,” Eli said in a soft voice. “In fact, we think you’re probably victim number nine.”
“What?” she asked as she placed her hand over Raid’s. He flipped it over, squeezing her hand with his. “There were eight other women he did this to?”
