Leverage: Pt 1 (8 page)

She closed her eyes. “Go away, Boston.”

Satisfied he’d made his point, he spun on his heel and left her in the hospital. A part of him wanted to stay and insist on the tests right this second, no matter the cost, but another part of him desperately needed space and time to think.

A baby. Was it possible? He’d long given up on the dream of being a father. He’d considered adopting but discarded the idea knowing that he didn’t have time to find a w
ife and then start the adoption process. Plus, if he were being honest, he’d wanted to look into the eyes of his child and see a bit of himself staring back. It was his ego, plain and simple. He could admit that. And now that Julianna had a baby growing inside her that was possibly his? He wanted that baby. He wanted it desperately.

But Julianna hated him.
More so now than ever. And he felt something for her. He wasn’t sure what it was — certainly not love, hell, he wasn’t that stupid — but he cared for her. And the sex was phenomenal. He wasn’t ready to give that up.

Everything hinged on the paternity test. He skidded to a halt and did an about face. He couldn’t wait. He had to know.

The fate of three lives hung in the balance of one simple test.

Was he being a fool to hope?

He’d soon find out.

****************

Is Boston the father of Julianna’s baby and if so, how will that affect their relationship? Julianna isn’t too happy about becoming the prospect of becoming a mother. Is it just because of Boston or is there another reason she’s freaking out? Don’t miss the next installment of Leverage and find out!

Dear Reader,

Thank you for going on this new adventure with me as we enter the wealthy world of the Kincaid family. I love men with trust issues! Digging into their troubled heads is always a treat. Boston has some demons to work through and Julianna is just the woman to make him face his fears. But Julianna is no slouch in the baggage department either. These two are a mess and I can’t wait to drag them through one helluva journey. I hope you’ll stick with me as we get to know these two fascinating people!

This story will conclude within three installments (for those needing to know).

As always, I am humbled by the loyalty and enthusiasm of my readers. Without you, I am nothing.

If you haven’t
friended me on Facebook, please do so! I love connecting with my fans. Also if you haven’t already, please sign up for my newsletter so you never miss a new release or contests.

Warmly,

Alexx
Andria

Looking for something more by Alexx Andria? Please check out her Amazon Author Central page for a full list of her releases!

http://www.amazon.com/Alexx-Andria/e/B006OEDHNI

Oh, and did you know that
Alexx Andria is the pseudonym of RITA-nominated romance author, Kimberly Van Meter? Well, now you do!

Check out Kimberly’s Author Central page, too!

http://amzn.to/177YZWA

How about a teaser? Here’s an excerpt from Kimberly’s latest, THE SNIPER.

***

Jaci’s
head throbbed in time with the beat of her heart and her mouth tasted as if someone had stuffed it with an oily rag. She dragged her hand across her mouth, still a bit sluggish in the brain, and tried to get her bearings.

Birds.

She could hear the shrill chatter of birds somewhere. She struggled to open her eyes and when she managed to peer blearily around her surroundings, she realized with a frightening start, she had absolutely no idea where the hell she was.

Bright morning sunlight streamed in through a dusty window and the air in the room smelled musty, as if it’d been closed up for a while and only recently reopened.

Her neck ached as if someone had pinched her and as she rubbed at the sore flesh, she recalled bits and pieces of the previous night with horrifying detail.

Sonia. Dead.

Her hand flew to her mouth and she sucked back a wild sob. How had the evening taken such a devastating turn? One minute they’d been enjoying a nice buzz from too many drinks sent their way and the next her best friend since junior high was dead. It was all too much to take in without dissolving into a moaning, sobbing mess. She wasn’t the kind of woman to break into hysterics under most circumstances but she was fairly certain she was about to have a grand level freak out any moment as the last thread holding her nerves together frayed in spectacular fashion.

Jaci
blindly fumbled around her, searching for her cell phone. She had to call the police and report it. What time was it? Likely, they’d already found Sonia’s body, left behind in that alley like trash. God forgive her, she’d left her best friend behind. Where the hell was her damn phone?

“If you’re looking for your cell, I tossed it,” came Nathan’s voice from the doorway, his tone matter-of-fact and brooking no argument. He held two steaming coffee mugs in his hands but even as his gesture may have appeared kind given the circumstance,
Jaci didn’t know how to accept his offer given their history. She stared, unable to process everything at once. Nathan walked into the room, bare to the waist, wearing faded jeans, offering a short explanation. “Your phone has a GPS and is traceable. Sorry, but I had no choice but to ditch it. Besides, you shouldn’t be contacting anyone until I know it’s safe to do so. In the meantime, you are going off the grid.”

“What the hell is going on?” she whispered, scooting away from him, disdaining his outstretched hand and offer of coffee, though she sorely needed it. She clutched a pillow to her chest, as if that would protect her from him, and glared through
a sheen of tears. “Someone shot my best friend and he was going to shoot me. You show up and k-kill that man and then, kidnap me for some reason when two months ago, you couldn’t stand to be near me another second. I don’t understand what is happening,” she couldn’t help but cry with a pathetic mewl that would’ve embarrassed her if she hadn’t been suffering from shock. “I’m in a nightmare and I can’t wake up. God, help me,” she said, sniffing back tears. “She’s dead. Sonia is dead.” Even as she murmured the words and knew it to be true, the reality felt forced.

“I’m sorry about your friend,” he admitted with genuine remorse that confused her. “I hadn’t realized that the two of you had slipped out the back into the alley or else I would’ve been there sooner.”

She regarded him slowly, recalling a snippet of Sonia’s bawdy comments from that night. Why hadn’t she realized it earlier? The classic jawline, the hard body built with layer upon layer of muscle…“You were the one watching us?”

He offered a curt nod but didn’t deign to explain, which only made her voice go up a shrill notch as she controlled her urge to throw something at his damnably handsome face if only to assuage the helpless rage over Sonia’s senseless death for reasons she didn’t understand.

“Why?” The inscrutable expression etched on the hard planes of his face gave nothing away and she looked away in disgust. “Right. More secrets. That’s you, isn’t it? Always hiding something. Well, as you so clearly stated when we last met, I mean nothing to you so if you please, take me home. The police can protect me from whoever is trying to kill me.”

“
Jaci, you’re not leaving,” he said, shooting her down without apology. “And don’t even try. We’re deep in the Sierra mountains. You’d never make it out alive.”

“How did…”
Jaci stopped in confusion, forcing her brain to work when it remained sluggish from the night before. The last she remembered she was in Los Angeles. Now she was in the mountains? She stared at Nathan, demanding answers but when her hand strayed to the sore spot on her neck she knew the answer and her stare narrowed in indignation. “You drugged me.” Neither a question nor a guess, he didn’t bother denying it. She nearly shook with impotent rage. “You bastard,” she swore softly under her breath. “How dare you. Who do you think you are?”

“Who am I? I’m the man who saved your life. Try to remember that fact when you’re calling me a bastard. You can thank me later. For now we need to lay low. The people who want to kill you won’t stop until they’ve achieved their objective.”

“Why?” she cried, hating all this confusion and subterfuge that she had nothing to do with. “Why is this happening? I’m a graphic designer for crying out loud. I design advertising and t-shirts and coffee mugs. Whatever did I do to deserve this?”

Her impassioned cry elicited a flicker of emotion, regret possibly, she couldn’t be sure, but he shut it down quickly. “This isn’t about you,
Jaci,” he admitted tersely before walking from the room. “It’s about me.”

***

THE SNIPER is available NOW!

http://amzn.to/15NzwI8