Read Online Bare Nerve by Katherine Garbera - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Katherine Garbera
Ads: Link
break the tension before a mission.”
“What tension?” she asked. Men had always been a bit of a mystery to her. Even her father had been a shadowy figure. She didn’t understand how her father could just pat her on the head when she’d been returned from the kidnappers in Algiers. But that had been her father’s only outward reaction.
“We’ve been after Andreev for a long time. To know we came so close to him…Well the guys are just jazzed to get out there and catch him. And losing him at the airport…”
“I’m not sure we lost him. I’m tracking two commercial flights and one charter. We’ll find him. We always get our man.”
“Do you?”
There was something in the way he said it that made Anna blush. “Yes. We are the best at what we do.”
“I’ve heard that about your team, but looking at three gals and trying to remember they can kick ass is hard.”
“What’s hard about that?”
“I was raised to protect women.”
“Good. Most women do need someone to protect them.”
“But not you?”
“No, not me. I learned early on that no matter how much someone else might want to help you, there’s really only one person you can rely on.”
“Yourself,” he said.
She nodded.
“Me, too. But you didn’t strike me as the cynical kind.”
“I’m not. I’m the self-preserving kind.”
He gave her a crooked half smile that made him seem very handsome. She didn’t want to think about the fear she’d felt when he’d been brawling with his men. Not because she’d feared for him—Jack Savage wasn’t the kind of man who could be hurt physically—no, she’d been afraid because watching him act like a savage hadn’t made him less attractive to her. It had only strengthened what she felt for him.
She needed him.
She didn’t know why. Didn’t really want to, but there was something about Jack that made chasing Andreev more than just a mission.
For the first time she realized this was what Justine and Charity had experienced. A man had changed their lives.
And she wondered if this mission was her turn. Or was she simply too afraid to be alone? To be the only one of the girls at Liberty Investigations who didn’t find something more on a mission?
She’d always been alone…and looking into Jack’s eyes, she wondered if finally she might find someone who could make her feel safe when she was with him.
Jack was still riding the rush of energy from his fight with Kirk. While it had relieved part of his tension, something new had started to grow as soon as Anna had led him to this secluded room. He’d wanted to be alone with her since the first moment he’d looked into her eyes.
It had changed him, and he wasn’t sure he was happy about that change.
“There’s something about you,” he said under his breath.
“I know. Something annoying, right?”
“Not necessarily.”
“Well, there’s something about you, too. Something that makes me question things I’ve always taken for granted.”
“What things?” he asked.
“Self-knowledge stuff. Nothing you’d be interested in.”
She was wrong. He was interested in everything about Anna Sterling.
There was a loud knock on the door, and Anna gave him a curious half smile before pushing around him to answer it.
“You two okay?” Justine asked
“Fine,” Anna said. “How is Kirk?”
“Good. And believe it or not the men actually seem a bit calmer now.”
“It’s apparently a guy thing,” Anna said, glancing back over her shoulder at Jack.
He fought the urge to grab her waist and pull her back into the bedroom. Fought the urge to slam the door shut and lock it and finish what had never really had the chance to get started.
He wanted that woman. And it wasn’t just lust for her curvy body. The more time he spent with her, the more he realized he was attracted to every fiber of her.
But she was already seated back at her desk, fingers moving rapidly over her keyboard. He suspected she felt safe there at
“What tension?” she asked. Men had always been a bit of a mystery to her. Even her father had been a shadowy figure. She didn’t understand how her father could just pat her on the head when she’d been returned from the kidnappers in Algiers. But that had been her father’s only outward reaction.
“We’ve been after Andreev for a long time. To know we came so close to him…Well the guys are just jazzed to get out there and catch him. And losing him at the airport…”
“I’m not sure we lost him. I’m tracking two commercial flights and one charter. We’ll find him. We always get our man.”
“Do you?”
There was something in the way he said it that made Anna blush. “Yes. We are the best at what we do.”
“I’ve heard that about your team, but looking at three gals and trying to remember they can kick ass is hard.”
“What’s hard about that?”
“I was raised to protect women.”
“Good. Most women do need someone to protect them.”
“But not you?”
“No, not me. I learned early on that no matter how much someone else might want to help you, there’s really only one person you can rely on.”
“Yourself,” he said.
She nodded.
“Me, too. But you didn’t strike me as the cynical kind.”
“I’m not. I’m the self-preserving kind.”
He gave her a crooked half smile that made him seem very handsome. She didn’t want to think about the fear she’d felt when he’d been brawling with his men. Not because she’d feared for him—Jack Savage wasn’t the kind of man who could be hurt physically—no, she’d been afraid because watching him act like a savage hadn’t made him less attractive to her. It had only strengthened what she felt for him.
She needed him.
She didn’t know why. Didn’t really want to, but there was something about Jack that made chasing Andreev more than just a mission.
For the first time she realized this was what Justine and Charity had experienced. A man had changed their lives.
And she wondered if this mission was her turn. Or was she simply too afraid to be alone? To be the only one of the girls at Liberty Investigations who didn’t find something more on a mission?
She’d always been alone…and looking into Jack’s eyes, she wondered if finally she might find someone who could make her feel safe when she was with him.
Jack was still riding the rush of energy from his fight with Kirk. While it had relieved part of his tension, something new had started to grow as soon as Anna had led him to this secluded room. He’d wanted to be alone with her since the first moment he’d looked into her eyes.
It had changed him, and he wasn’t sure he was happy about that change.
“There’s something about you,” he said under his breath.
“I know. Something annoying, right?”
“Not necessarily.”
“Well, there’s something about you, too. Something that makes me question things I’ve always taken for granted.”
“What things?” he asked.
“Self-knowledge stuff. Nothing you’d be interested in.”
She was wrong. He was interested in everything about Anna Sterling.
There was a loud knock on the door, and Anna gave him a curious half smile before pushing around him to answer it.
“You two okay?” Justine asked
“Fine,” Anna said. “How is Kirk?”
“Good. And believe it or not the men actually seem a bit calmer now.”
“It’s apparently a guy thing,” Anna said, glancing back over her shoulder at Jack.
He fought the urge to grab her waist and pull her back into the bedroom. Fought the urge to slam the door shut and lock it and finish what had never really had the chance to get started.
He wanted that woman. And it wasn’t just lust for her curvy body. The more time he spent with her, the more he realized he was attracted to every fiber of her.
But she was already seated back at her desk, fingers moving rapidly over her keyboard. He suspected she felt safe there at
Similar Books
