Free Alistair (Golden Streak Series) by Kathi S. Barton

another
insurance scam with a dead wife, somebody might notice something. That’s why he
wants me to go back, so he can marry me again and make a claim when I’m dead.” Ryland
looked at Alistair, who looked as shocked as he felt. “I’m not stupid, and I
can look things up. If he makes another claim, especially on a divorced wife,
someone might look deeper into what he’s done before. And from what you told me
this morning, he can’t afford that.”
    “I didn’t say you were stupid, and
believe me, if I thought so I would tell you.” Bronwyn took a deep breath. “Let’s
get out of here now before some asshole comes along and shoots us for simply
being here.”
    ~~~
    Ally crossed her arms over her chest and
glared at the men and woman staring at her. She was as pissed as she’d ever
been. She moved back when Alistair stood up.
    “I’m not happy with you, either.” He sat
back down. “And just so you know, right now you can all bite my ass. I’m not
going to put any of you in danger. I’m leaving.”
    “So you said. Four times now.” Jules
stood up. “I’m going home. I’ve got three pieces I have to finish before next
week, and arguing with a woman bent on getting herself killed isn’t getting
them done. And just so you know, I would die for you right now. You’re his mate
no matter if you’re here or not; and you dying will kill him.”
    “What do you mean?” Jules turned back to
her and smiled. It wasn’t a smile she thought of as warm and friendly. She took
a step back. He stepped toward her.
    “Like him, I won’t ever harm you, but
that doesn’t mean that I’ll stand in front of you to get shot while you run in
the opposite direction. He will die if you leave him, because he would go and
hunt down your ex just to keep you with him. And he’d do it alone without telling
us, because he knows, like you, that your ex-husband will hurt us. Like we give
a shit where a mate is concerned. We protect what is ours. Period.”
    “Lance will hurt him.” Jules cocked a
brow at her. “Okay, he’ll try to hurt him. What does that have to do with me
leaving now? Lance doesn’t know about any of you.”
    Keith stood up and handed her a large
phone-like object. Jules took it from her and turned it on before giving it to
her again. There they all were standing in front of the store after the shooting.
She looked up at him, not understanding why he had this.
    “It’s on all the social networks. Some
kid must have recorded it and posted it. I can take it down, but it’s gone
viral and been shared by nearly ten million people. I’ll never get them all
taken down before Isaac might see it.” Keith nodded to the device she had in
her hands as he continued. “I found that just simply by putting in mall
shooting. There are nearly a dozen more making the rounds.”
    She sat down. She looked at Bronwyn when
she cleared her throat. The woman was going to tell her something she didn’t
want to hear, so she stood up again and started for the kitchen. She was
pulling out flour and sugar when she heard someone enter.
    “I’m going to bake something. Do you
have any preferences? I have to bake something before I explode.” She heard a
small laugh and looked over at Alistair. “You think this is so fucking funny? That
man shot all those people because he was looking for me. For me.”
    “And you want to bake.” She didn’t even
answer as she opened the refrigerator and began to pull out eggs and milk. The
cook a very nice man by the name of Jed Richards, who looked like a giant of a
bear himself only pointed to where things were when she asked him where they
were.
    “You’re frightening our cook.” Jed
snorted, then looked at Alistair when she did. “You are. He’s afraid you’ll
mess up his lovely kitchen. Isn’t that right, Jed?”
    “Sir, I’ve served you for ten years, and
in all that time I would scream at you for messing in my kitchen, that’s true. You
never put things away the way I