Page 11 of Marked

“Yeah. It took me a while to get it exactly the way I wanted, but I’m happy with the results.”

“You should be.”

We exited my green Jeep and climbed the steps side by side. After holding my thumb to the scanner on the biometric lock, I pushed the door handle down and ushered her quickly inside. Within seconds, a high-pitched beeping filled the air from my security system, which was located to the right of the entryway. Moving to the panel, I keyed in the six-digit code to disarm the alarm.

“Noah,” Lanie gasped when I flicked on the lights. “This is incredible.”

A senseof pride and accomplishment washed over me as I watched her take in my house. Enormous white pine beams crisscrossed the twenty-foot ceilings—all reclaimed wood used from the original cabin. The first level was completely open with a large living room to the left, kitchen on the right, and a staircase straight ahead, which went to the three bedrooms and full bath on the second floor. There was also a hallway tucked behind the stairs, which led to another bathroom and the deck out back.

“Thanks. Feel free to look around while I pack.”

I’d busted my ass rebuilding this house, but until Lanie stepped through the door, it had never felt like a home.

In my room, I hastily threw together a large duffel filled with clothes and toiletries. Not knowing who or what we might come up against, I opened my gun safe, withdrawing my personal Glock, three extra clips, and six boxes of ammo, stuffing them inside the bag.

When I got back downstairs, Lanie was staring intently at the wall of photos, which hung on the far side of my living room. They were mostly candid shots taken of our friends over the years at get-togethers, but there was one person in the center of them all I knew she wouldn’t recognize.

“That’s Juliette.” I moved to stand beside her.

“Your sister?”

“Yeah.”

“She’s beautiful.”

“She is,” I agreed.

Memories flooded my mind. Memories of a time when Juliette and I were close. She drifted away from me after what that motherfucker did to her. Same with my parents, although the reasoning was different and completely my doing. Lengthy phone calls became less frequent until theyeventually turned into the occasional text message on holidays or birthdays. The worst part was I’d let her pull away. I didn’t fight to keep my sister because in my own twisted mind, I didn’t deserve her.

“You don’t talk about your family,” she stated the obvious.

“It’s complicated. Besides, I could say the same about you.”

“Touché, Agent Anderson.” She chuckled, breaking the tension which had started to creep in.

“We should get going.”

Placing my hand on the small of her back, I steered us toward the door. Desire bloomed deep inside when I felt the way her body reacted to my touch. The small shudder was enough to give me hope. There was still a conversation to be had, but all was not lost.

Alaina Biggs was my future. I just needed to keep us both alive.

3FUCKING TERRIFIED

Lanie

As soon as I opened the door to my townhouse, I sprinted up the stairs to my bedroom, taking them two at a time, leaving Noah to rummage through the cabinets in search of food for our trip. I needed to get far away from him to clear my head, even if only for a few minutes.

Dancing with Noah at the wedding, being held in his strong arms, messed with my resolve. There was a reason I’d gone out of my way to avoid being in public with him for months. We had chemistry; the undeniable, tingling-in-the-lady-bits kind of chemistry between us, and my fragile heart wouldn’t survive a second rejection. It was much easier on my pride to deny the truth than face the reality I’d fallen for Noah Anderson. It was inconvenient and annoying as shit.

I’d been close to pushing him away when the DEA agents showed up. Their bit of news only complicated an already confusing situation. Then Hendricks suggested protective custody, and I wanted to rage against the injustice of it all. Hiding away went against every instinct I’d sharpened over the years as an FBI agent; however, I wasn’tconceited enough to think I was invincible. Being pissed off was one thing, risking the lives of my friends was something else altogether.

When Noah opened his big, sexy mouth and insisted on coming with me, it was on the tip of my tongue to tell him no. Except that’s not what happened. For some crazy reason, he was the only person I wanted by my side, especially where we were going.

Between the dance, the Bratva, and the inevitable conversation Noah and I would be having, I was beyond distracted when I reached for the closet door. Had I not been, I would’ve noticed the light breeze coming from the open window I knew for a fact was closed.Shit.My hand was hovering over the knob when I heard it; the slight creak of the floorboard directly behind me. I wasn’t alone.

Bracing for a fight, I twisted around a second too late to avoid the large body barreling into my side. The momentum from the brutal impact sent me flying, and I cried out when my forehead collided with the corner of my bedside table. The asshole was on top of me an instant later, trapping my legs between thick thighs and wrapping glove-covered hands around my throat.

“Cyka,” a thickly accented, male voice spat while his grip tightened. I knew enough from my time undercover to not only recognize his accent as Russian, but to know he’d just called me a bitch.

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