The MacKenzie Family 7 - Shadows And Silk - Liliana Hart,
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//-->SHADOWS AND SILKA MacKenzie NovelBy Liliana HartCopyright 2012 by Liliana HartBarnes and Noble EditionTable of ContentsChapter OneChapter TwoChapter ThreeChapter FourChapter FiveChapter SixChapter SevenChapter EightChapter NineChapter TenChapter ElevenChapter TwelveChapter ThirteenChapter FourteenChapter FifteenChapter SixteenChapter SeventeenChapter EighteenChapter NineteenEpilogueChapter OneSurrender, MontanaThe frigid wind howled with fury, cutting through clothes and skin like a knife, and laying claim to anormally peaceful landscape. It was the first storm of what promised to be a long and turbulentwinter. Gray clouds—pregnant with snow—roiled across the sky, and a blanket of white, soft powderwould cover everything before morning.The ground was bitter with cold, and the smell of fresh dirt and gunpowder lingered in the air longafter the final shots had been fired. Dusk loomed on the horizon and Darcy MacKenzie watched as thelast of the DEA cleanup team removed the bodies of Miguel del Fuego’s men, wiping the violentscene from existence with the expertise of men who were good at making things disappear.They loaded the remaining bodies into a black panel van and disappeared down the long, paveddriveway that led off her property, and she was left alone with nothing but fading adrenaline and theone man put on this Earth to make her crazy.Darcy shivered and hugged her arms across her chest. Her white cable knit sweater and jeansweren’t enough protection against the weather, and added with the shock of what had just happened,she couldn’t seem to control the shivers that wracked her body. She shifted on her bare feet, rubbingone foot on top of the other as she tried to warm them.There hadn’t been time to stop and put on shoes once the gunfire started, which was damnedinconsiderate of del Fuego’s men, considering they’d interrupted a cozy dinner by the fireplace and awhole hell of a lot of sexual tension. Brant had been a hairsbreadth away from finally giving intotemptation and kissing her brainless, and though he’d landed on top of her once the first shots werefired, it hadn’t been in the way she wanted. The way she craved.“There are bullet holes in my house,” she said, assessing the damage to her home.The big farmhouse was made of gray stone and heavy timber, the porch going around on all sides.It was a postcard in the middle of acres of green fields, rolling hills and white fences. Except nowthere were bullet holes lodged in the mortar, the hanging baskets of winter ivy hung in broken clumpsof wire and dirt, and the white curtains billowed from the shot out windows. Her parents were goingto have kittens if this wasn’t fixed by the time they got back from their trip.“The agency will send a construction crew out to make repairs,” Brant said. “It might be best ifyou go and stay with one of your cousins for a while until the mess is cleared away.”If he hadn’t spoken, she wouldn’t have even known he was there. He never made a sound when hemoved—like a big jungle cat stalking its prey—only he’d made it very clear he had no interest incoming after her.“Yeah, right,” she said, laughing. “They all have so many kids thattheycan barely fit in theirhouses. The MacKenzies have no problems with fertility. At least on that side of the family. I’ll justput plastic over the windows and make do. I’ve got an extra heater I can use in the bedroom.”Darcy finally turned to face him, remembering vividly how close she’d come to tasting him. She’dbeen in love with him since she was sixteen years old, and damned if it had faded like she’d been toldthose first infatuations would. She had a sinking feeling it was the real thing. If she hadn’t beenabsolutely certain he was attracted to her in return then she wouldn’t have pressed so hard.But she’d seen him watching her when he thought she wasn’t looking, and she’d seen the way hiseyes had darkened with lust and his breathing had changed whenever she happened to stand too close.And she made it a point of standing too close often. None of the men she’d met in the last ten yearshad made her want like Brant Scott had. It was his face she dreamed of when she pleasured herself inthe loneliness of her own bed, and his name that escaped her lips when she finally found satisfaction.Even now, she was drawn to the magnetism of the sheer maleness of him. The gun at his side wasas much a part of the man as the vivid green of his eyes or the slightly crooked tilt to his nose he’dreceived after a game of football with her brothers. His black cargo pants and shirt were dusted withplaster and small pieces of glass from the bullets that had ripped through the walls and windows. Hisblond hair was buzzed close to his scalp and the stubble of his beard was close to the same length.She also noticed he had a pair of her tennis shoes in his hand.Death had come too close today. If Brant hadn’t had one of those infamous moments of intuition hewas famous for and thrown his body over hers in the nick of time, then she knew with certainty she’dbe as dead as del Fuego’s men. Nothing had ever scared her more than watching as he’d headedtowards danger with his weapon drawn, and wondering if he’d return to her in one piece.“It’s your ass that’s going to be freezing, sugar. If you want to stay here that’s fine with me. I’vealready been called to another assignment.” He smirked at her with superiority like he had when shewas a teenager, trying to keep the distance between them. “I’ll be soaking up the sun while you’refreezing in the middle of nowhere by this time tomorrow.”Pain ripped through her at his declaration. Just once she wanted it to seem like it was hard for himto walk away from her. It could be months before she saw him again. But she’d known Brant for along time and he wouldn’t welcome her worry, so she covered the fear with false bravado and a lotof attitude, fisting a hand to her hip and giving him a sneer that was bound to ignite his temper. Sheloved to see that flash of wildness in his eyes, especially since he held himself so rigidly in check allthe time. This was the last chance she’d have for a while. She wasn’t going to let him walk awaywithout breaking past that wall he’d built between them.“Just make sure you get that crew here before you go basking in the sun. If this house isn’t fixed bythe time my mother gets home things aren’t going to be pretty. She’s no one to mess with.”“What’s wrong, sugar? Afraid she’s going to ground you for misbehaving?”Darcy narrowed her eyes before she realized he was baiting her. He never stopped trying toremind her that there were too many years between them. At barely twenty-four, she was just finishingup her second Master’s Degree—this one in Mayan Civilization—and she was about to start work onher PhD in the spring. And at eight years her senior, Brant had been an agent for Homeland Security
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