Read This Is Love, Baby (War & Peace #2) for Free Online Page A

“Jesus, my Baylee.”
    The man steps into the open doorway of the truck and dips his head down to look at me. Pained, green eyes assess me. I’m so shocked, I simply stare at him with my mouth agape as he shoves the gun into the back of his pants.
    “B-B-Brandon?”
    He drops into the seat and reaches for me. I flinch slightly, still overwhelmed by the events of the last few minutes. Brandon frowns at my reaction.
    “Babe, it’s me.”
    His expression is sad. Tentative. His green eyes are all over me mixed with pity and relief. Brandon’s once perfect hair is a wild mess that hangs in his eyes. His nose is slightly crooked from when Gabe broke it. Dark shadows mar the flesh under his eyes and his eyebrows are pinched together.
    He looks older. Harder. Stronger. Almost frightening.
    But then he smiles. His entire face lights up and my heart patters to life in my chest. He would never hurt one single hair on my head.
    “It’s really you,” I sob.
    His eyes flicker with happiness—something they always did when we were together—and he nods.
    I scramble from my seat and into his arms. His warm, strong arms envelop me and I let him hold me as I wail against his neck. The embrace is familiar and comforting.
    “Shhh, I have you now. This ends today, babe.” He strokes my tangled hair and drops a kiss to the top of my head. After the hell I’ve been through, it feels almost heavenly to be back in Brandon’s arms. I’m safe. This can all be over soon. But it won’t be over until we put some distance between us and Gabe.
    “We have to leave. He’ll be back!” I shriek and jerk my gaze back to the road. I find no sign of Gabe. No sign of bloodshed. Not even the branch he had in his clutches. But I’m not naïve enough to be lulled into any kind of false sense of victory. Not yet. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s run off to get his own gun or his car or God only knows what. Gabe doesn’t give up. Not without a fight.
    Brandon slams the truck door closed while I fall back into the seat right next to him. His body heat warms me and I remember a time when I sat snuggled up to him in this very truck. Back when life was simpler. The tires screech as he puts it into drive and gasses it. But instead of hauling ass up the road like I expect him to, he heads in the wrong direction. In the direction of the cabin. When he pulls into the driveway, I panic.
    “Stop! What are you doing?” My voice is near hysterical.
    “Wait here,” he growls.
    I’m clawing at his arm as he climbs out of the truck and storms off toward the cabin. My heart races in my chest and I’m at a loss as to what to do.
    Gabe will kill him. Just like he killed War.
    I can’t lose Brandon, too.

M Y HEART IS on overdrive.
    I have her.
    I fucking have her.
    And the need to protect what’s mine is overwhelming. I won’t let this asshole hurt her anymore. That’s why this has to end now. He has to end now. I’m going to put a bullet between his eyes. Gabe Sharpe will never have the chance to put his hands on me again. And he’ll never have the power to hurt my girl. Not ever again.
    He is dead.
    I let anger— a newfound aspect of my personality —wash over me in a red, vicious wave. Images of what he did to her. Thoughts of what she went through at his sadistic hand. Nightmarish visions of the horrors she faced. All ripping and clawing at the inside of me, fueling me on. Feeding the rage to pounce on the monster. To fucking destroy him.
    The 9mm is still hot from when I fired it at him moments before. I’d felt invigorated the moment he jerked back when the bullet clipped his shoulder. I may not be the best marksman and I may not have landed my target, but I’d at least hit him. Weakened him. No longer was he the impenetrable force who was impossible to take down. This time, I wouldn’t miss my target. I will kill this motherfucker.
    Baylee grows eerily quiet behind me in the truck as I ascend the front steps of the cabin with the gun