Free At Any Cost by Mandy Baxter Page A

were darker pink and inviting, making her skin seem even more creamy and fair. Jesus, snap the hell out of it! She was a person of interest, not a date. It didn’t matter what she looked like. Even unofficially, Nick was still on the job.
    A few moments of companionable silence followed, each of them lost in their own thoughts. The connection between Livy and Joel was the ultimate puzzle, one with too many pieces for him to easily put it back together. The informant had been adamant that Joel was looking for his ex, a woman he hadn’t been able to get out of his head. He wanted her back at any cost and had put the word out to MCs across the country to keep an eye out for her.
    Currently, there were multiple federal warrants out for Joel’s arrest. Every law enforcement agency in the country was looking for him. A smart man—one with Joel’s extensive local and international connections—wouldn’t have wasted any time finding someone to smuggle him into Mexico. He had dealings with the cartel; it would have been relatively easy for him to slip over the border undetected. But according to their informant, Joel wasn’t going anywhere until he got his old lady back.
    Why? Why was Joel’s safety and freedom less important that getting his hands on Livy? She was beautiful, intelligent, funny.... It would have been enough to keep Nick by her side. Was it enough for Joel Meecum as well?
    â€œLooks like I’m not the only one zoning out today,” Livy remarked. “And you don’t even have a cat at home who’s more than likely plotting your demise because you forgot to feed him.”
    The comment tumbled from her lips with such ease. Nick wondered how long it had taken Livy to buy into her own lies and this life she’d fabricated for herself. “I think the cold weather is freezing my brain.”
    Livy laughed. The sound washed over him, warmed him from the inside out. Nick chided himself for allowing her to affect him in anyway. He was investigating her, for shit’s sake. This wasn’t a date.
    â€œWinter is the price we pay for amazing summers.” Livy’s tone changed, no longer playful, but sad. “The summers in McCall are spectacular. Not too hot, not cold. The lake is amazing. I kayak, paddleboard, swim. I bet even you could get into those types of activities,” she added with a wry grin. “It’s a great place to live.”
    Goddamn it. She was getting ready to run.
    Livy spoke about the town as though in mourning. Regret shone in her eyes and tugged her mouth downward. The gears cranked in Nick’s brain and he fought to keep his expression impassive, the conversation light, when what he really wanted to do was grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. Running wouldn’t solve anything. It would only make matters worse. “It sucks that I won’t get a chance to see it. Maybe I’ll have to drive up for a week in July or something.”
    She averted her gaze. Livy wouldn’t be here in July. “That would be great. You’d probably have a lot of fun. There’s more to do here in the summer anyway.”
    â€œLivy—” Nick snapped his jaw shut before he said something he’d regret. It was too soon to show his hand. She was as spooked as a rabbit caught in a snare and he still didn’t know her history with Joel. Livy appeared soft and innocent but looks could be deceiving. If he backed her into a corner, pushed her, she might show her teeth. He couldn’t afford to lose the one lead they’d had on Meecum in over a year.
    â€œWhat?” Her wide hazel eyes drank him in. Nick swallowed past the lump that rose in his throat. God, she was beautiful.
    â€œWhy don’t I feed Simon for you?” It was an excuse to get into her house while she wasn’t home. She’d all but put the suggestion out there when she’d used her cat as the reason for her wandering