Free The Echo of Violence by Jordan Dane Page A

did the same.
    When the tarp was stripped from their heads, the shouting began again. They were shoved toward the small rafts and carried to shore by angry masked men with rifles. A lone stretch of beach and a dense jungle with rugged cliffs lay ahead. She looked for any indications of where they had landed, but there was nothing. No civilization in sight.
    Kate had no idea where they were.
    New York’s LaGuardia Airport
Midmorning
    “No, this is my first time here. I’ve never been to New York,” Seth Harper told Alexa as he loaded his bag into the trunk of a car she had rented for the weekend. “I’m looking forward to seeing the city. And maybe we can score some tickets to Regis and Kelly. ”
    She had no idea if he was kidding.
    Jessie would have known, but there was one thing Alexa picked up on. His crooked grin communicated more than he’d probably intended. No doubt Seth felt the awkwardness of their first few minutes together, so it was up to her to break the ice. This was her town and her invitation.
    “I’m sure Regis appreciates the shout-out. I’m glad you’re here.” She touched his arm, and when he fixed his gaze on her, she had a strange reaction to the sudden intimacy she felt between them.
    An electric rush swept through her body. She felt the same link with Garrett Wheeler, but that was only after years of demanding erotic encounters that triggered the feeling. She’d become attuned to the workings of her sensual nature because of Garrett. Yet so far, she had only kissed Seth. The potency of the physical connection she had with him stunned her.
    Perhaps the feeling centered on the prospect of Seth Harper’s accepting her invitation, her first step toward taking on a young lover. She felt naughty, rebellious, and liberated at the same time, yet something else was at play that disturbed her. Seth had triggered an unsettling need—one she had to control for a while longer. She had a hurdle to get around before anything happened between them.
    And that obstacle was Jessie.
    She cleared her throat and grinned. “You look great. Are you hungry?”
    “Yeah, I could eat. What’s on the menu?”
    You, she wanted to say.
    Dressed in jeans, he wore a gray cotton shirt with rolled sleeves and vest. His dark wavy hair looked worthy of attention from her fingers. And as usual, his brown eyes held her in place without mercy. He had no idea what he did to her, but she wasn’t a fool. Anything personal that had happened between them came from her pushing the line with him, not the other way around. She’d given him plenty of signals that she was interested. Unlike most men, he’d never acted on them.
    Some women preferred the bad-boy thing and would have been frustrated by Seth’s shyness. And yes, he was younger. His age, stamina, and naïve innocence played a major part in why she had become the aggressor. Alexa knew what she liked. And her flavor of the day was Seth Harper. The more he played hard to get, the more she wanted him—lust in all its glory. His coy game of cat and mouse only stoked her fire.
    “I’ve got just the place in mind.” She slipped behind the wheel and watched him slide into the passenger seat next to her. When she shut the car door, her cell phone rang. “Marlowe here.”
    “Alexa. I hope I’m not disturbing you.” Garrett’s lowvoice sounded intimate and masculine as if he were in bed next to her. “Are you free to talk?”
    His not-so-perfect timing provoked a feeling of betrayal in her. And she resented the guilt, especially after she knew Garrett had not been faithful during the time they’d shared a bed. When she’d first learned the truth, she was hurt and angry but forced herself to get over it. That hadn’t been easy. Garrett was the kind of man who branded a woman and left his mark.
    She had crossed the line with her boss by having a physical relationship with him, and there had been consequences to her actions. Alexa had hoped to put it all behind