Mistaken Identity (Saved By Desire 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

careless disregard for, well, everything.
    “What?” Ben’s brows lifted as though he hadn’t got a clue what was bothering her.
    “He is going to come back, Ben,” she warned.
    Ben shrugged. “They are all bluster, sis. They won’t be back. Lloyd hasn’t got anything he can pin on me, and he knows it.”
    “Why did they come here in the first place then?” She countered, unwilling to let Ben dismiss what had happened so casually. “If you think they can’t touch you, why did you hide in here like a coward?”
    Ben’s eyes flashed with anger as he stood.
    Jess was too lost in her fury to notice. “I mean it. Think about it. If they don’t have anything on you, why did they not go to Billy’s house, or Craig’s, or Smithers’? Of all of the places in the village, why did they choose to come here?”
    Ben stared at the apple in his hand as though it was going to provide him with the answers he couldn’t give himself.
    Jessica’s frustration grew as she watched him shrug. She knew from the thoughtful expression on his face that he couldn’t be entirely sure if the magistrate had seen him with the pheasants or not. He was trying to bluff his way out of trouble. His response warned her that he had no understanding of what would happen if they got caught either. Nor was he particularly interested in what it felt like to be her, pestered by those horrible letches; Lloyd and Carruthers.
    “Do you give a damn what happens to me?” she asked quietly. “Lloyd came to threaten me – not you – me. I am easy pickings for the likes of him if you are behind bars,” Jessica ground out. “God, you selfish ingrate.”
    Tears gathered on her lashes at the thought of being in the house with the magistrate circling like a vulture outside. She would have to sell the place if that happened because the consequences to her future would be dire if she didn’t.
    She wasn’t usually a violent person but, at that moment, wanted to smack her brother on the head for making her already insecure life even more uncertain.
    “I won’t end up behind bars,” Ben said a little less cockily.
    While the look on his face was doubtful, there was just something in his voice that made her study him a bit more closely. She knew that look and stepped closer. Her voice dipped to a menacing whisper so unlike her natural voice that Ben’s shocked gaze flew up to hers.
    “Seeing as you are so confident in your ability to evade justice, you can meet the magistrate when he returns. I certainly won’t. I am done covering for you.”
    “Jess,” Ben whined, but then leaned back when she pointed one long finger at him.
    “I am telling you now that if you get yourself arrested, you are on your own. I will have no alternative but to sell up, and shall have to leave the area. If you are so selfish that you will not stop to consider the impact your crimes have on me, then I shall not stop to consider you when it comes to choosing somewhere else to live. For now, there are the vegetables to prepare for dinner so get busy. I don’t expect you to go anywhere until Lloyd has returned to speak with you. And get rid of those pheasants.”
    He opened his mouth to speak, but she didn’t stop to listen. She spun on her heel and left the room. Once inside her bedroom, she let the tears fall while she tried to decide what to do next.
     

CHAPTER TWO
     
    Marcus ran until he felt as though his lungs were going to burst. He refused to surrender to the desperate need to rest. Instead, he lengthened his stride just that little bit more and forced himself to go faster. Being taller than his quarry gave him an advantage, and he wasn’t prepared to waste it. Every inch gained brought him closer to being able to capture the man racing through the woods ahead of him.
    Minutes later, they came upon two tethered horses Marcus suspected had been tethered in the trees so the thieves could leave the area quickly. Sure enough, the man vaulted onto one and wheeled it