Enjoy the following excerpt for Devil's Playground:
“Did you see anyone on your way out?” The urgency in his voice sent a shiver down her spine. She had to tell him about the car now.
“Not exactly.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well, earlier today when I was out shopping, I noticed a red Honda following me, so I hopped onto the highway and ditched him. Just now I could have sworn I saw the same car driving down the street.”
“Shit. Why didn’t you tell me before? I’ve got to get out of here before I put you in even more danger.” Mac tried to push up off the floor but his arms shook with the strain and he couldn’t get his feet under him before he collapsed.
“That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you. You’re in no condition to run out on your own.”
“I’ll manage.” His sky blue eyes were defiant.
“How? Please tell me how you are going to go running around chasing bad guys with a hole in your gut and an IV dripping from your arm? Do you want gangrene? If you take that IV out and stop the flow of antibiotics, that’s what will happen. Those stitches can’t come out for three weeks and it’s going to take at least that long for you to begin to recover your strength.”
“Tom will never forgive me if I put you in danger. Any more danger. You don’t know what these people are like. They won’t ask how much you know, they’ll just assume it’s too much and kill you.”
“Then it really doesn’t matter if you leave now or not, they’ll kill me regardless. And let me handle Tom. I’m a big girl. He isn’t in charge of me, my decisions, or my safety.”
“You don’t understand—”
“No, you don’t understand. You aren’t going anywhere and it’s time you realized it. I’m going to roll you onto your back and help you get onto the bed. Don’t pull away from me, I don’t want you to rip any more stitches.”
He grumbled something incoherently but did as she asked. Caitlyn tried not to think about how much pain he must be in right now. Rolling off the futon would have been painful enough but the effort it took to get himself under the bed had to have been excruciating. Once she got him back on the bed she peeled the gauze back to check the stitches.
“Well, you only pulled them, you didn’t rip them out so I guess I can forgive you. But just this once. Don’t do it again.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a weak smile.
“That’s the second time today I’ve been ma’amed. Do I really look old enough to be a ma’am?”
“It must be an authority thing, because you look barely out of high school.”
“Flatterer. But don’t stop, I like it.” Caitlyn laughed as she wrapped new gauze around his waist, doing her best not to touch his skin.
“I can’t believe you don’t know how beautiful you are.”
“Yeah, that’s me. Femme fatale.” She rolled her eyes and snorted.
“Honestly, you are one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen.” Mac held her chin in his hand before she could turn away.
“You’re just buttering me up so that I’ll let you out of bed again.” He looked right into her eyes, like he could make her believe his words by will alone. His hand felt hot on her face, and his breath caressed her cheek. He was so close, if she leaned in just a little her lips would meet his. Caitlyn’s pulse raced at the thought and she licked her lips in anticipation.
The phone by the bed rang, breaking the spell. Mac dropped his hand back to the mattress. She was going to kill whoever was on the other end of the phone.
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