Brody's Vow (Colebrook Siblings Trilogy Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

night wasn’t going at all the way he’d hoped. “You hurt?”
    “I’m fine.” Her voice was every bit as cold as her skin had been.
    “You’re bleeding,” he pointed out.
    She didn’t answer, just swept past him on her way to the foot of the stairs. “Since Briar’s not in town, I’ll just borrow another change of clothes for the road and leave.”
    “But he’s still out there, looking for you.”
    Trinity paused on the lower stair and turned her head to meet his gaze. The weak light coming in from either side of the door showed her delicate features. And dammit, he might not know who she was but he couldn’t just let her leave if she was in danger. Not if she was a friend of Briar’s and DeLuca’s. His boss had asked him to look out for her and Brody wasn’t about to abandon her.
    “Where will you go?” he pressed when she didn’t say anything.
    She gave a tight shrug that told him it was none of his business. “I’ll manage.”
    Annoyed by the brushoff when he was just trying to help, he followed her up the stairs. “Trinity.”
    She stopped, her posture stiff, and didn’t turn to look at him.
    “I don’t know what the hell you’re into here, but if you came looking for Briar then you obviously need help. DeLuca asked me to do what I can, so—”
    “I don’t need your help.” And with that, the ice-princess swept up the stairs, leaving a trail of frost behind her.
    The smart thing to do was just turn around and walk away. Head out to the street, climb into his truck and drive for the Shenandoah without looking back, leaving her and whatever mess she was in behind him.
    Except dammit, he didn’t work that way.
    “Damn stubborn woman,” he muttered to himself, climbing the last of the stairs just as Trinity disappeared into the master bedroom. His thigh was beyond pissed at him, the ache bone-deep. He stayed in the hallway, leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. “What’s a Valkyrie?”
    A soft snort answered him, from the depths of the walk-in closet. “That’s above your pay grade and security clearance.”
    Nice . He scowled. Who the hell was she? Why had she come for Briar’s help, specifically? Trinity obviously trusted her a lot. Damn, it stung his pride to have her refuse his offer of assistance. If she knew he was one of DeLuca’s guys, then she knew what sort of training he had. It was as though she didn’t trust his abilities.
    “You know, as far as help goes, I’m not a bad guy to have around in a tight spot.” Even with a bum leg he was a hell of a lot better protection for her than nothing.
    Hushed footsteps came toward him. A moment later Trinity appeared in the bedroom doorway, dressed in that snug sweater, the jeans looking like she’d painted them on, a pair of running shoes on her feet. Her short, inky hair was tucked back behind her ears and she’d rubbed away most of the blood from her face and neck but some still trickled down from her hairline.
    “Look, it’s nothing personal, but I don’t know you.” She wiped absently at the blood on her temple and he frowned, reached out to catch her wrist when he saw how much blood was on her fingers. She was bleeding worse than he’d realized.
    Trinity froze at his touch, and goose bumps rose on her forearm. Her skin was freezing.
    This was ridiculous and he wasn’t going to stand here and let her bleed or pass out from hypothermia. “Come here,” he ordered, and began dragging her toward the hall bathroom. She resisted at first but he just pulled harder and she gave in with an annoyed huff.
    In the bathroom he shut the door then flipped on the lights. She winced and squinted at the sudden brightness. When she opened her eyes and stared up at him, Brody got his first good look at her.
    She appeared to be in her early to mid-thirties. Her eyes were a vivid, dark blue, surrounded by inky black lashes. Her hair was blue-black, cut into a sharp, jaw-length bob. The top of her head came up