I'll Never Let You Go (Morgans of Nashville) Read Online Free PDF Page A

changes, and he hated them all.
    She smiled and raised her hand. His gut twisted, imagining the smile for another man. Even with dark hair, she was a pretty woman, and men wanted her. Pretty women like his wife didn’t go to bars unless they wanted to find a man. His sweet wife now consorted like a barhopping slut.
    Jealousy knifed through anger, allowing the sadness to bleed free as images of those perfect first days of their relationship flashed by. She’d once looked at him with such trust and unfailing devotion, as if only he could make her world better. Her love had empowered him, stroked his ego and washed away the demons of his own troubled past.
    Those days had been perfect. And they were gone.
    Now, his wife melted into the crowd, no doubt nestling into another man’s embrace. Kissing him. Touching him. Whispering seductive words in his ear.
    He gripped the edge of the steering wheel and pushed his spine into the seat, grinding hard leather into the fresh tattoo. Pain shot up and down along his spine, firing along all the tender nerves in his back.
    “I gave you everything. And you left me.”
    The men and women who streamed into the bar all had a look. Short hair. Swagger. Frequent glances from left to right before entering. A tug of a jacket over a sidearm. Counting secondary exits. This wasn’t an ordinary bar. It was a cop hangout.
    Took one to know one.
    The badge had attracted her. Her father had died, and she’d been lost and alone. Afraid. She wasn’t a badge bunny, looking for a quick lay. She’d needed a man who could take care of her. Be strong. That sweet young girl had needed his protection. And he’d gladly given it, and his love.
    Regrets swirled, fluttering like buzzing bees. Maybe he’d held on too tightly. Maybe he’d worried too much about where she went or whom she befriended. He’d always asked, pushed for answers, never satisfied and never noticing how she’d chaffed under his love.
    Her abandonment had been devastating and jarring. Anger had receded to desperation and, immediately, he’d set out to prove his love. Flowers, letters, phone calls, visits to her new apartment. All were signs of his love . But the harder he held on, the harder she’d pulled away.
    Regardless of how long they’d been separated, there’d be no surrender. He would never give up on her. Ever.
    “Until death do us part, babe.”
    Yeah, he’d made mistakes, but the vows they’d spoken had been clear.
    “Until death.”

Chapter Three
    Saturday, January 14, 9:15 P.M.
     
    No should have been the operative word. No, thank you. Thanks, but no thanks . Maybe another time would have worked. But Special Agent Alex Morgan had caught Leah Carson off guard when he’d asked her out. With no excuses in her back pocket, she’d fallen into a yes before she could think twice.
    Leah had sworn she’d never date a cop again, and here she was on the brink. She’d recognized the signs that he was a cop when he’d first entered the vet hospital. The way he moved. His dark, crisp suit. The controlled, careful gaze, always assessing. A cop through and through. She had known. Should have run.
    His visits to the clinic all made sense of course. He’d been checking up on his cop brother’s retired canine cop dog that was boarding for a couple of days. According to the clinic staff, the Morgan siblings were all cops. A sister worked forensics. Two brothers worked Nashville homicide. And Alex was an agent with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
    She inhaled and exhaled. This was a date. Not a relationship. Shouldn’t be a big deal to go on a date with a cop. Once. But it was a big deal. Everyone assumed cops kept you safe, right? They were the good guys, right? Sometimes. Most times. But not always.
    “Come along,” Alex had challenged. “It’ll be fun.”
    Fun . The word hadn’t fit Alex Morgan. Straitlaced. His sharp, assessing gaze devoured details and nuances. And his even, controlled voice gave away