Whatever It Takes Read Online Free PDF Page A

satisfy.
    That would require her giving over control, however, which was something she couldn’t permit. The idea heralded unwelcome memories of a time when she’d never had a choice . . . when she was forced to perform at the whim of another . . . degrading, disgusting acts. Panic wrapped itself around her heart. She liked Nate . . . too much maybe . . . but she didn’t know him. What if he couldn’t be trusted either?
    Rage tore through her, and her breath caught in her throat. She pushed against him and drew back. For an instant, she registered the question in his eyes, but it was too late. Her full concentration was on escaping his grasp. She raised her hand and swung with all the force she could muster, meeting his bristled cheek with a resounding slap.
    His gaze snapped back and something like sympathy darkened his eyes. In that instant, she hated him, and she drew her hand back to hit him again.
    Nate caught her wrist just short of her mark. “Stop, Alex. There are other ways to say no.”
    Alex held her breath. What would he do to her? She’d sensed his barely controlled anger when he’d pulled the bike over suddenly and started in on her. She didn’t know what to expect from him, but certainly nothing in her life had given her reason to expect kindness. So when his cockeyed grin appeared—­the one she’d grown so fond of when they’d first met—­and he released her wrist, she wasn’t sure how to react.
    He leaned close to her ear. “Now that I think about it, it wasn’t that good for me either.” Grabbing the helmet from her hand, he shoved it down over her ears again.
    She bit her lower lip and swallowed the words that flew to her tongue.
    Nate threw his leg over and settled on the seat. “I could use some coffee. How about you?”
    The last thing Alex needed was coffee. She really just wanted to go home—­back to Nate’s house—­and face Joe. He’d be upset with her again. She was only supposed to have found Nate and then called Joe. What was it she didn’t understand about those instructions? Joe would be better off without her on the team, but she couldn’t let that happen.
    She hopped on behind Nate’s broad back and hesitated before fisting her hands in the leather of his jacket. He accelerated to the end of the alley and turned left. A few blocks later he pulled over in front of an all-­night diner and waited for her to step off before he cut the engine.
    “This isn’t the best neighborhood, but they’ve got good food if you’re hungry.” He took the helmet from her and hung it on the handlebars. “Ready?”
    Alex swallowed her impatience, stepped up on the curb, and followed him into the diner. Fried bacon and burnt toast assailed her senses. One booth held two men who appeared half asleep, a man with a cook’s hat peeked out from the back of the restaurant, and an older, tough-­looking waitress glanced up. She followed Nate two-­thirds of the way to the back before they slid into a booth.
    When the waitress appeared beside them, she filled both their cups with coffee, and at the last second, Alex asked for a piece of blueberry pie. It still seemed surreal to eat whatever she wanted, whenever she chose. She couldn’t help a glance at Nate to make sure it was okay with him, and then she hated herself for giving his opinion that much importance. For the three years of her life she was able to remember before Joe rescued her, that was the most innocuous of the freedoms she’d been denied.
    She was convinced she’d been forever changed by her captivity—­and not in a good way.
    Still, her new life with Joe’s team was almost perfect. If she could manage to stay out of trouble, he might even let her stay around. They understood her. Some of them feared her, but she could be herself around them. She didn’t have to pretend. To a man, and woman, they watched out for her, and she did the same for them.
    But it wasn’t until Nate that she’d run across anyone else