Luke: Armed and Dangerous

Luke: Armed and Dangerous Read Free Page A

Book: Luke: Armed and Dangerous Read Free
Author: Cheyenne McCray
Tags: Romance
Ads: Link
impish grin as she waved away the lingering smell of melon-scented
     hairspray. “A redhead in a too-small red dress with no bra?”
    “Turn.” Nevaeh didn’t even crack a smile as Trinity slid around on the polished bench
     to face her friend.
    “Don’t tell me.” Trinity scrunched her nose as though she was seriously considering
     Nevaeh’s question. “A girl with strawberry blond hair and freckles?”
    “I see the same Trinity MacKenna that I’ve known and loved—only with bright, beautiful
     wings.” Nevaeh crouched so that she was eye level with Trinity and rested her hands
     on the bench to either side of Trinity’s hips. “Honey, you’ve always been a butterfly.
     You just finally had a chance to come out of your cocoon.”
    Warmth rushed through Trinity and she bit the inside of her lip before saying, “You’re
     wonderful, you know that? You always know the right things to say.”
    Nevaeh adjusted the spaghetti strap of Trinity’s dress, a no- nonsense look on her
     stunning features. “Hush up and get that tiny ass downstairs. It’s time to soar, Ms.
     Butterfly. Besides, I want to see which of my moneybags charity donors falls all over
     himself first.”

Chapter 3
    Luke hitched one hip against the bar while he nursed his fancy imported beer—twenty
     dollars a mug for charity’s sake—and studied the crowded reception room of Bisbee’s
     best-known bed-and-breakfast.
    According to Skylar MacKenna, Nevaeh always threw one hell of a holiday party in the
     name of toys and medical care for the towns’ orphans. It looked like everyone with
     a sizeable bank account in Bisbee and Douglas had turned out for it again this year.
     Especially the people he was most interested in seeing.
    Skylar played a good ranch “boss” to help his cover, even though she now knew he was
     DEA and not just a damn good foreman. Too bad Zack Hunter had showed back up when
     he did and swept Skylar off her feet. If he hadn’t, Luke would have asked the woman
     out, rules be damned.
    Not going there tonight.
    Not with three dead college kids on his mind, a bunch of blood on the Larson ranch,
     and a turf war exploding along a stretch of border land not big enough to hold that
     level of violence. Time to get down to business. The job had been his life anyway,
     for so long he’d forgotten what it felt like to do something other than work.
    There was no way the Guerrero operation was running so smoothly in a place like Douglas
     without some local help. The DEA had long believed there had to be somebody cooperating,
     somebody with a ranching pedigree and some border land, or another front or cover
     that made it easier for the Guerrero cartel to move their drugs into the United States.
    This person wouldn’t have been born into a drug dynasty like Francisco Guerrero, and
     this person might screw up and leave a trail to follow. Whoever was making Douglas
     hospitable to the cartel might be the key to tearing down Guerrero’s perfect little
     world.
    Luke took another swig of his beer, then strode directly up to the next suspect on
     the list the DEA had developed in its year of research before sending Luke and Rios
     into the field.
    Bull Fenning, wearing pressed jeans and a crisp red flannel shirt despite the more
     formal occasion, claimed his scotch on the rocks from the bartender just as Luke drew
     even with him. He turned toward Luke, and he caught a flicker of surprise in the big
     man’s frost-gray eyes.
    Fenning’s thick white eyebrows lifted, and the lines in his weathered face tightened
     as he said, “Well, now, Mr. Rider. This party’s steep for a ranch hand.”
    “Foreman.” Luke offered his hand for Fenning to shake despite the dig. “But you’re
     right. I’m here representing the Flying M, since Skylar MacKenna couldn’t come.”
    “I forgot. Still on her honeymoon, even though she’s back in town.” Fenning grinned,
     but his expression remained wary.
    Luke gave a smile in

Similar Books

Uncovering Helena

Kamilla Murphy

Seeds of Hate

Melissa Perea

Accepting His Terms

Isabella Kole

Sinful

Victor McGlothin

Arsenic and Old Books

Miranda James

Chasing Fire

Nora Roberts

Jeannie Watt

A Difficult Woman