Torrent (Cosmic Forces Book 1) by Elle Thorne Read Free Book Online

could to be a soldier.
    “No problem,” Peter said. “I’m not going to tell anyone that I was knocked unconscious like that. What did he use on me?”
    “I’m not sure.” And where would privateers get it? Leaguers, of course. Alyssa burned anew with hatred and fury at the League of States. They’d ruined Texas, and now they were supporting criminals. Bastards.
    She stopped in front of their building and put a smile on her face for their parents’ sake.
    “Everything okay?” Michelle and Marie’s father asked. “You’re late getting back. We were worried.”
    “All fine.” Alyssa made her smile wider. Her face hurt from the effort and her heart hurt from the deception.
    The kids hustled in, and the parents deposited tokens in her hand. She shoved them into her pocket and took off at a quick pace, eager to find her home, safety, Gillie’s sweet little boy scent.
    And she’d like to get the man off her mind. She couldn’t stop reliving the image of his attack on the privateers. The ease and expertise of the way he moved, like a predator, like a jungle cat in the videos she’d seen when she was younger, when they were still a part of her life. The blue gleam of his eyes, intense and honest, pierced the walls around her heart. Damn him.
    She ran up the steps to her apartment, more flights than she wanted to run up, but it was safer up here, Jesse had always said. Safer not to be on ground level where the apartment would be easily broken into.
    She wanted to hate the stranger. How she wanted to hate him for the way he’d entered her mind and senses, making her trust him, feel a connection to him. Him—a stranger who might be a threat to Gillie.
    She opened the door to the front room and closed it quickly behind her as if she were being pursued by the devil himself. A blue-eyed devil.
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    M orning had already arrived , technically, when she’d entered the apartment, and the alarm that sounded to wake the rest of the family began its irritating beep less than five moments after she’d closed the door behind her. It was Omar’s day off. Everyone else had to go to work. She made them breakfast, then gave Gillie his favorite, soft-boiled egg and toast.
    She couldn’t get blue eyes, full lips, and broad shoulders off her brain. The stranger preyed on her mind. She hoped he was okay, that his wounds weren’t too serious. He’d risked his life to save them. She couldn’t overlook that. No matter how much it worried her that he’d come here asking about Melissa and Gillie, he’d risked his life for them last night.
    She slipped into the room Omar and Jesse shared. “Hey.” She jostled Omar, shaking his shoulder. “I need you to watch Gillie. I’ve got an errand to run.”
    He grumbled, groaning. “What the hell, Alyssa. I’m tired. I need to sleep.”
    “I already fed him. All you’ve got to do is watch him. Come on, grumpy.” She pulled on his arm, bringing him to a sitting position.
    He rubbed his eyes. “You’re a pain in the ass.”
    She caught a glimpse of a tattoo on his forearm. “When did you get that?” She reached for his sleeve.
    “Don’t worry about it.” He pulled his sleeve down, then glanced at the clock. “I need to leave in an hour. Be back by then.”
    “What? You’ve got a business meeting you can’t miss or something?” She laughed at how ridiculous that was.
    Alyssa made short work of returning to the scene where the fight had taken place. The bodies were gone. She glanced around to see if anyone was watching her. Whoever had moved the bodies would be looking to see if anyone came back. She walked past the place where the dead men had lain, and tried to avoid looking at the dark spots on the dirt and concrete fragments. She didn’t want to be seen paying too much attention to it.
    Looking around, she didn’t see any signs of observers. This street was relatively empty, mostly because the buildings weren’t occupied. If anyone was on this street, it was usually