Free Renegade Alpha (ALPHA 5) by Carole Mortimer Page A

Lijah drawled dryly, as if he had guessed in exactly which direction her thoughts—and her eyes—were heading.
    “Oh.” Color heated her cheeks.
    “I have another one in my bag in the trunk of the car, but hopefully I won’t need to use either one of them.” He turned to open the door beside him but hesitated before getting out of the car. “Are you going to behave and stay here?”
    “Unless I hear gunshots, in which case—”
    “In which case, you’ll get the hell out of here,” he told her grimly. “Is that understood?”
    “I’m sure that tone of voice usually works on raw recruits and women who like to be dominated by a man, but my father was a major in the British army, remember, and it doesn’t work on me,” she assured him pertly.
    Lijah stared at her incredulously. Something he seemed to do a lot around this particular woman.
    Women who like to be dominated?
    What the hell did Callie think he was? He liked to be in charge as much as the next man, but when it came to going to bed with a woman, he liked the ones who gave as good as they got.
    Women who liked to be dominated ?
    Jesus!
    He gave a disgusted shake of his head. “I’m not your father, and widening those big blue eyes and fluttering your lashes won’t work on me.”
    “Big blue eyes?” She spluttered. “Fluttering my lashes?”
    “Not going to work,” Lijah confirmed. “Now be a good girl and stay here like I told you to.”
    Her eyes glittered. “If someone else doesn’t shoot you first, then I might eventually have to!”
    “You can shoot?”
    “Told you I was more capable than I look.” She gave a tight smile. “My father insisted on teaching me to shoot when I was fourteen.”
    And, as Lijah knew, Peter was a very good teacher. “You would still have to catch me first.” He gave an unconcerned shrug.
    “You have to sleep some time.”
    “Vicious little thing, aren’t you?”
    “Surprising how you seem to bring that trait out in me, isn’t it?” she came back with saccharin sweetness.
    How perverse was it that he was actually chuckling at Callie threatening to shoot him?
    Very, came the answer.
    When had he last given a genuine smile, let alone laughed?
    It had been so long, Lijah actually couldn’t remember.
    He sobered. “I’m not expecting any trouble, but I meant what I said, Callie. If you hear shots or I’m gone longer than ten minutes, then you get the hell out of here. You go to the police and tell them what happened. Are we clear?”
    “Yes, sir!” She gave him a mock salute.
    “Sarcasm too now,” he muttered as he climbed out of the car and closed the door behind him before reaching down to take the gun out of his boot; probably best to leave the .44 Magnum in the trunk of the car for now.
    He looked up at the town house. Security box on the front of the house. Painted white, blinds drawn on all the windows. Three stories high. No lights visible on any of them. Looked as if no one was home.
    But looks, as Lijah knew only too well, could be deceptive.
    Callie hated—absolutely hated—the feeling of helplessness as Lijah moved stealthily to the side of the house before disappearing as his dark clothing blended into the shadows.
    What if she did hear gunshots?
    If Lijah really thought she was going to run off and leave him here, then he was in for a shock. No matter how forcefully he might have instructed her to do exactly that. Her father had a rule for when he went in combat, openly or stealthily, and that rule was “never leave a man behind.” This might not be the sort of combat her father had in mind, but Callie had no intention of saving herself by leaving Lijah behind either.
    Lijah had said his other gun was in his bag in the trunk of the car. Maybe if she crept quietly out of the car and found the other gun, she could follow him—
    And then they might end up shooting each other in the darkness.
    So not helpful, Callie.
    Okay, so she wouldn’t follow Lijah, but she could still get the