Free Worth the Risk by Savannah Stuart Page A

satisfaction and something else he
    couldn’t quite put his finger on.
    They needed to clean up and he had a lot of explaining to do before he left her with
    his family, but he didn’t want to tear himself away from her just yet. And he really
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    didn’t want to leave her alone tonight. His job meant a lot to him, but this case paled in
    comparison to finding out what had caused her so much pain.
    He’d give up taking down Perez for her and that thought alone terrified the holy
    hell out of him.
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    Savannah Stuart

Chapter Six
    Marisol tried to control the anticipation humming through her. She didn’t want
    Stephan’s brother to sense what she had planned. It wasn’t as if he could read her
    thoughts, but Stephan had sensed her emotions in the vehicle earlier and she had no
    doubt his brother, Thomas, was just as astute. Maybe more so.
    She was smart enough to realize that Stephan was blinded by his lust enough that
    he hadn’t wanted to push her by asking questions about her family. She’d overheard his
    conversation earlier with Thomas and she knew her grace period was coming to an end.
    After tonight he’d no doubt want answers, but it probably wouldn’t matter after what
    she was about to do.
    She quickly shoved her cocktail dress, stilettos, phone, gun and purse into her
    backpack then tossed it out the bedroom window. Thomas had already canvassed the
    yard once so she crossed her fingers that he wouldn’t see her bag lying in the bushes.
    Once she’d shut and locked the window, she hurried downstairs. Luckily, she
    found Thomas in the kitchen. “Hi.” She hovered by the doorway, unsure how he’d react
    to her request.
    He nodded politely at her as he pulled a beer from the refrigerator. “Hi. Would you
    like a drink or something?”
    She shook her head. “No, uh, I was wondering…would you mind if I went for a
    quick run along the beach?” He frowned so she rushed on. “I ran with Stephan earlier
    and he said it’s private, right?”
    “My family owns most of the houses for miles in each direction.”
    “I’m just a little worried about Stephan. He obviously couldn’t tell me what he was
    doing tonight, so I thought it would be okay if I just stretched my legs and worked off
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    some of my tension.” Lord, she was rambling and couldn’t seem to stop herself. He was going
    to say no. She could feel it in her bones.
    “All right. Just don’t go far.”
    Surprise bowled her over, but before he could change his mind, she hurried toward
    the back door. “Thanks. And uh, would you mind not looking while I uh…” Most
    wolves were unabashed in their nudity, but she didn’t relish the thought of Stephan’s
    brother seeing her nude.
    He frowned for a moment until understanding dawned on his face. “Oh right. Of
    course. I’ll give you privacy.” He cleared his throat and strode from the room.
    She rushed out the back door and changed as soon as she’d stripped. The pain
    rushed over her as her bones cracked and realigned, but the adrenaline pumping
    through her overrode most of her normal discomfort. She scanned the back of the house
    just to make sure Thomas wasn’t watching through one of the windows—not that she’d
    actually expected him to—before grabbing her backpack between her teeth and
    bounding across the yard.
    Her time was limited and she had to hurry or her friends wouldn’t wait for her.
    * * * * *
    Thomas cursed as he glanced at his watch. Marisol had been gone long enough that
    he knew she wasn’t coming back. Something had been off about her, but he’d pushed
    his instinct aside because she was his brother’s mate.
    He wasn’t sure what she was up to, but if she planned to hurt his brother, he’d take
    care of her himself. He tucked his clothes and cell phone into a small bag before
    changing.
    Picking up her scent wasn’t hard. She wore a distinctive jasmine perfume and there
    was something else about her that was solely