Layers Crossed Read Online Free PDF Page B

one better than me, so why don’t you
tell me what you need?”
    What I need is
to hold you in my arms, center you on top of me, and feel you
contract around my cock. I need to feel and kiss your silky skin
and make you detonate with pleasure like dynamite.
    “Urgm.” I
cleared my throat, grateful that the table was covering how hard
I’d gotten for Emma. I had to stop this nonsense. This girl needed
to be treated with the respect she deserved, and if I didn’t get a
hold of my need to have her, I could lose her before I even got a
chance to know her.
    “I’m looking
for this man.” I pulled out a photograph of the shaggy-bearded
bastard. She took the photo from me, studying it for a moment
before she asked. “Why?”
    “Do you really
want to know?”
    “Yes, I need
to know everything about this case. How you’re connected to him,
why you’re looking for him, and what you expect to do when I find
him.”
    She didn’t say if she found him but when . I adored her
confidence.
    “Number one,
I’m not gonna let you get within a mile of this bastard. Numb…”
    She rolled her
eyes.
    “Please don't
roll your eyes, Emma.”
    “What is it
with you men and me rolling my eyes?”
    “It takes away
from your beauty and intelligence,” I answered.
    “Oh.”
    For the first
time since I’d met her, Emma was speechless, blinking, while her
beautiful long lashes fluttered like fans, outlining her cat-like
eyes. Finally she said, “I will try to stop, but it’s a habit, and
I can’t promise I will. What I was going to say was, please don’t
say ‘number two.’ I can’t stand people listing out their thoughts.
Look, I’m the lead on this case. The more information you give me,
the safer we’ll both be. I can’t help you if you withhold
information from me or treat me like a helpless woman. That’s the
last thing I want or need. If you’re going to hire Cross
Enterprises, you need to trust that we don’t fail. I don’t fail. I
will find this man you’re looking for. Now, from the way the pulse
in your neck speeds up when you mention him, this guy’s dangerous,
right?”
    “Extremely.
Does that scare you?”
    She smirked.
“There isn’t much in this world that scares me. Why do you want to
find him?”
    I took in a
deep breath. It was time to share my story with Emma. This was a
piece of me not many knew about. The idea of retelling one of the
worst weeks of my life to Emma wasn’t as daunting as I’d thought it
would be, though.
    “He kidnapped
my sister when she was young. She’s fine now, but I don’t think
she’s ever been able to go on in peace knowing he’s out there. I
want to put him behind bars for what he did, which means finding
evidence that I’ve never been able to.” That was only half the
truth. I wasn’t ready to share with her about the coward that I was
and how I was connected to him as well. Deep inside, I knew that if
I ever found him, I’d never be able to let the bastard live.
Sending him to spend the rest of his life behind bars wouldn’t be
enough.
    “You’re not
looking for revenge?” She lifted her gaze, studying me. Boy, was
she ever good.
    “I just want
justice,” I lied. “He used to live in our town and disappeared just
after my parents found out he was the one to kidnap Annabelle. This
is the file I have on him.” I passed her the folder full of
newspaper articles, clippings, police reports, and the
investigation that was dropped too soon due to lack of evidence and
a cold trail.
    Emma studied
the papers for over twenty minutes while I watched her with intent.
At times when I knew she’d hit a spot where she wished there was a
greater lead, her lips pursed. When she read over what he’d done,
at least the part I wanted her to know about, her lips formed a
straight line. At the time she was shocked, her mouth opened
slightly, giving me the chance to see that perfect gap and her
tongue that skimmed her lips as they dried.
    And all I
could think about was how