Thomas (Erotic Romance) Book 2 (The MacKenzie Brothers Quartet) by Liliana Hart Page A
Authors: Liliana Hart
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shot rang out.
Pain tore through her thigh, and she lost her balance, toppling the twelve feet to the street below. Cat ignored the twisted ankle caused from her fall and the blood soaking her clothes. Adrenaline surged through her veins, and she knew if she didn’t start moving then she was as good as dead. She pushed herself up and forced one foot in front of the other, keeping to the shadows until she reached the car she’d stashed two streets away.
Her body was slicked with sweat and her hands trembled with exhaustion as she slipped behind the driver’s seat. She pulled the cap from her head, letting her hair tumble free around her shoulders, and she grabbed a light jacket from the backseat of the black Audi and used her knife to slit it down the middle. The wound bled freely, and she tied the jacket around it tightly, hoping it would slow the bleeding.
Cat forced her hands to steady and turned the key in the ignition, making her way to a more populated area of town at a sedate pace and merging with the traffic. She had to get to the Montana-Canada border in the next two days. Her contact would be waiting for her there, and she could get rid of her treasure and collect her paycheck. She just had to make sure she didn’t pass out along the way.
***
Two Days Later…
If Thomas MacKenzie hadn’t witnessed the event with his own eyes, he never would have believed it.
He and his brothers had been working on the fence at the front of the MacKenzie property all morning long, repairing loose boards and scraping the peeling white paint. It was a hell of a job since the fence covered more than two acres of the land. The October afternoon was nice and cool, but he’d still worked up a generous sweat. He wiped his brow with the shirt he’d discarded hours before and took a slug of water from the bottle at his feet.
He shook his head in aggravation as his gaze locked with big brown eyes. The O’Neil’s had the land across the street, and they weren’t nearly so diligent about keeping their fence in good repair. Which was why several of the O’Neil’s cows had found their way into the two-lane road that divided the two families’ properties.
Thomas didn’t even have time to curse as he saw the black sedan come over the hill, barreling towards the roving cows. The driver saw them just in time and swerved to avoid a collision. Unfortunately, the twist of the wheel pointed the car at the MacKenzie’s newly repaired fence.
The screech of tires and the crash of metal and wood had Thomas running through the gaping hole in the fence after the runaway car. He heard his brother, Riley, shout after him, but he didn’t slow down. He winced when the car hit an old sycamore tree that had held a tire swing when he and his brothers were boys. His legs were long and it didn’t take him long to reach the accident.
Steam poured from the engine of the hood, and he could see a woman slumped over the wheel of the car. The crash hadn’t been hard enough for the airbags to deploy, so he wouldn’t have to worry about any of those resulting injuries. The biggest concern would be how hard she’d hit her head.
“Grab my bag, would you?” He yelled to Riley. “I’ll take her into the guest bedroom next to my office.”
“I’m on it,” Riley said.
He and Riley were the only two at the house that day. His brother, Dane, had gotten married the month before to Charlotte Munroe, or Charlie as everyone called her. Dane had been in love with for more than ten years, but circumstances had kept them apart until recently. Dane had left Surrender without knowing that Charlie was pregnant, and Charlie had left town soon after.
So needless to say, all the MacKenzies had been excited to welcome Charlie and her son to the family. Dane had moved into Charlie’s house soon after they’d reconnected, but he came by and kept Thomas company every once in a while. Usually when his book was giving him trouble.
His oldest brother,
Pain tore through her thigh, and she lost her balance, toppling the twelve feet to the street below. Cat ignored the twisted ankle caused from her fall and the blood soaking her clothes. Adrenaline surged through her veins, and she knew if she didn’t start moving then she was as good as dead. She pushed herself up and forced one foot in front of the other, keeping to the shadows until she reached the car she’d stashed two streets away.
Her body was slicked with sweat and her hands trembled with exhaustion as she slipped behind the driver’s seat. She pulled the cap from her head, letting her hair tumble free around her shoulders, and she grabbed a light jacket from the backseat of the black Audi and used her knife to slit it down the middle. The wound bled freely, and she tied the jacket around it tightly, hoping it would slow the bleeding.
Cat forced her hands to steady and turned the key in the ignition, making her way to a more populated area of town at a sedate pace and merging with the traffic. She had to get to the Montana-Canada border in the next two days. Her contact would be waiting for her there, and she could get rid of her treasure and collect her paycheck. She just had to make sure she didn’t pass out along the way.
***
Two Days Later…
If Thomas MacKenzie hadn’t witnessed the event with his own eyes, he never would have believed it.
He and his brothers had been working on the fence at the front of the MacKenzie property all morning long, repairing loose boards and scraping the peeling white paint. It was a hell of a job since the fence covered more than two acres of the land. The October afternoon was nice and cool, but he’d still worked up a generous sweat. He wiped his brow with the shirt he’d discarded hours before and took a slug of water from the bottle at his feet.
He shook his head in aggravation as his gaze locked with big brown eyes. The O’Neil’s had the land across the street, and they weren’t nearly so diligent about keeping their fence in good repair. Which was why several of the O’Neil’s cows had found their way into the two-lane road that divided the two families’ properties.
Thomas didn’t even have time to curse as he saw the black sedan come over the hill, barreling towards the roving cows. The driver saw them just in time and swerved to avoid a collision. Unfortunately, the twist of the wheel pointed the car at the MacKenzie’s newly repaired fence.
The screech of tires and the crash of metal and wood had Thomas running through the gaping hole in the fence after the runaway car. He heard his brother, Riley, shout after him, but he didn’t slow down. He winced when the car hit an old sycamore tree that had held a tire swing when he and his brothers were boys. His legs were long and it didn’t take him long to reach the accident.
Steam poured from the engine of the hood, and he could see a woman slumped over the wheel of the car. The crash hadn’t been hard enough for the airbags to deploy, so he wouldn’t have to worry about any of those resulting injuries. The biggest concern would be how hard she’d hit her head.
“Grab my bag, would you?” He yelled to Riley. “I’ll take her into the guest bedroom next to my office.”
“I’m on it,” Riley said.
He and Riley were the only two at the house that day. His brother, Dane, had gotten married the month before to Charlotte Munroe, or Charlie as everyone called her. Dane had been in love with for more than ten years, but circumstances had kept them apart until recently. Dane had left Surrender without knowing that Charlie was pregnant, and Charlie had left town soon after.
So needless to say, all the MacKenzies had been excited to welcome Charlie and her son to the family. Dane had moved into Charlie’s house soon after they’d reconnected, but he came by and kept Thomas company every once in a while. Usually when his book was giving him trouble.
His oldest brother,
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