Free The Renegade Hunter by Lynsay Sands

heard Sam ask quietly, and frowned at the worry in her voice.
    "Yes," Lucian said. "Which works in our favor."
    "How?" Mortimer asked quietly.
     
    "He won't be able to stay away from her."
    Jo's eyes widened at that proclamation. She felt a moment's excitement at the prospect of possibly seeing Nicholas again, but it was quickly washed away and replaced with alarm when Lucian added, "Put two men on her when she leaves here tomorrow, Mortimer. He'll show up eventually."
    "You want to use my sister as bait?" Sam asked in a voice that was suddenly steel with anger. Jo was actually glad to hear it. Sam had seemed a bit alarmed and uncertain during the last few minutes, which was unusual for her. She was normally the "most efficient and iron-willed lawyer chick." The uncertain and anxious Sam had been rather worrying to Jo, and she would have given her sister a high five if she could have when Sam said, "I won't have it."
    "You'd rather we wipe her memory and refuse to allow you to see her?"
    Lucian asked, annoying Jo all over again. Who
    the hell did this guy think he was? No one was going to keep her from seeing her sister.
    Jo heard Sam curse and then Lucian said, "Let's move this conversation into the library. Jo's heard more than enough of it already."
    Her eyebrows flew up at those words, and she couldn't resist easing up to the rail to peer down into the hall. Three pairs of eyes stared back.
    "Go to bed," Lucian said firmly. "You are very tired."
    And suddenly Jo was tired, and bed seemed the most desirable place in the world. Turning dutifully away, she moved up the hall to the door to her guest bedroom and went inside. She was undressed and in bed before it occurred to her to wonder how she could have gone from wired and tense one moment to relaxed and exhausted the next. Jo fell asleep before she could worry about it too much.

Chapter Five
    The sun was shining bright and cheerful when Jo woke up. It made her groan and cover her eyes with the hope of easing the ache in her head. Damn, she had the mother of all hangovers. Too bad she hadn't had the good time to earn it. She hadn't had that much to drink last night, which meant the headache was probably thanks to the head banging she'd
    taken... or possibly the result of getting her memory back, she supposed, recalling the agony that had shot through her skull as the memories had come rushing into her mind.
    Sighing, Jo removed her hand and forced her eyes open, grimacing and breathing deeply until the first stab of pain eased.
    She'd say one thing for her sister, Jo thought as she shifted to a sitting position and then got out of bed. Sam certainly threw memorable parties. Not necessarily memorable in a good way though.
    Jo suspected this headache was going to
    stay with her for the rest of the day. Here was hoping her memories stayed with her as well.
    Jo grimaced at the thought and then moved to the bathroom. She needed to shower, dress, and get out of this house.
    She didn't trust that Lucian guy not to try to "wipe" her memories. The idea of anyone messing with her head was rather alarming. She counted on her brain as everyone did, and the idea of pieces of it somehow being "veiled," as Nicholas had put it, was just scary to consider.
    Jo turned on the water and took a quick shower, grimacing with pain the whole while. She'd hoped a shower would ease her headache, but instead the sound of the rushing water seemed to make it worse. She was glad to finish and step out, but less glad when she had to dry herself with a bath towel rather than the much larger beach towel she liked to use at home.
    The thought of home made her sigh. Jo wished she was in her little apartment right now. She'd close the blinds, put a cold cloth on her head, and sleep until her head felt better. Eager to be able to do that, Jo left the bathroom as quickly as she'd entered. She dressed in record time, stuffed the overlarge T-shirt she'd slept in and the clothes she'd worn the night before into