Free Jake: The Sinner Saints #3 by Adrienne Bell Page B

We might not even get out of the car.”
    “No?”
    “Not until I am one hundred percent convinced that everything is cool,” he said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Verity.”
    The tightening coil in Verity’s belly eased up a touch.
    She didn’t dare ask what was behind this unexpected display of compassion. Maybe he wasn’t a complete hardass, and he actually cared a little bit about her. Or maybe he’d just been concerned that she was about to freak out and ruin his plans.
    Either way, it didn’t matter. The simple act of holding Jake’s hand was working wonders. Bit by bit, Verity’s heartbeat calmed. Her breathing slowed. Her anxiety didn’t dissipate completely, but at least now she could manage it.
    She turned her palm slightly so that her fingers intertwined with his. He didn’t pull away from the added level of intimacy. If anything, his grip tightened.
    Verity kept her hold on him as the small downtown area of Augustville gave way to mile after mile of rolling, golden hills. She turned her attention outside her window and watched the wide-open countryside pass by. She lost herself in the silence and the scenery as Jake steered the truck through every twist and turn in the road.
    For a moment everything was almost peaceful.
    Then Jake pulled the truck over, slowing to a stop on a wide gravel patch on the shoulder.
    Verity turned her head toward Jake. “Why are you stopping?”
    “Because we’re here,” Jake said. He pulled his hand away from hers just long enough to cut the engine.
    Verity looked out her window. There was a steep embankment just outside her door, leading down to an open pasture below, and, sure enough, a few hundred feet away there was a large, two-story farmhouse right in the center of it.
    “Are you sure this is the place?” she asked.
    Jake nodded. “Positive.”
    But it couldn’t be.
    Sure, the location seemed to fit the satellite maps she’d pulled up. The grounds of the farmhouse certainly matched, and she could see outside the windshield where, about a quarter mile up, the road came to a dead end.
    Still, Verity shook her head.
    “But look at all those cars down there.” She counted four of them parked out front, all of them shiny and new looking. She had no idea how many more were parked behind. “Roman said he and his business partners wouldn’t be out here for another week.”
    “Roman lied,” Jake said flatly. Once again, he didn’t seem at all surprised.
    Her heartbeat kicked up again.
    “Why would he do that?” she asked.
    The line of Jake’s mouth tightened. He leaned across her, popped open the glove compartment, and he pulled out a pair of binoculars.
    “Because whatever is going on here, he didn’t want you to see it.”
    The spring in Verity’s belly started ratcheting tighter again.
    “What do you mean?” Her voice shook as she asked. “What do you think is going on?”
    “I don’t know,” he said, lifting the binoculars to his eyes. “But I’m pretty damned sure it doesn’t have anything to do with a few pieces of stolen art. There are too many cars down there, too many people for such a small operation. Whatever your brother has gotten involved in, it’s much bigger.”
    Verity bit into her lip, trying to slow her breath. “Maybe it’s just a party.”
    Jake didn’t even respond to her desperate try. He just kept his eyes steady on the house below.
    She had no idea what he was looking for. She couldn’t see anyone down there. Not a soul.
    Not until a few moments later, when the front door swung open and someone—a man—stepped out onto the porch. Verity squinted her eyes, and tried to make out his features. Nothing about him seemed familiar though.
    But the man obviously wasn’t a stranger to Jake.
    “Shit,” Jake muttered and tossed the binoculars down onto the floorboard. He turned around to face the steering wheel in a flash.
    “What’s happening?” Verity