Amber Fire by Lisa Renée Jones Read Free Book Online Page B

with long, determined steps. A hero for saving Chris. Or was he? She didn’t want to believe this was a setup, but she couldn’t dismiss how well this situation suited Jareth’s desire to keep them all away from this place. She would lose her grant and never manage to get another to return here considering that a cat had been shot.
    Jareth might not have pulled the trigger, but did he order the cats to attack? Everything inside her screamed to reject that idea. He’d come to her. He’d told her the truth. But then, maybe he wanted her to have a reason to believe her crew would actually shoot a cat for reasons beyond protection. They had bullets, though, she reminded herself, not tranquilizers. Those men were out there with the intention to kill. Far from camp. They were not protecting the perimeter. They must have been hunting.
    Her gaze lifted to Mike at the same moment that he spit at one of the officers. She cringed. This was not the Mike she’d thought she knew. Her father had kept the reason for his falling out with Mike quiet, despite her prodding. Today she had seen a side of Mike that made that falling out more understandable. Was Mike a Hunter? She had a bad feeling the answer was yes. But—then again, Chris was in an ambulance. How could Amber justify completely dismissing any guilt on Jareth’s part?
    She was confused. Mike was the closest thing to family she had left, yet now he felt like the enemy. But she had to face the fact that the real enemy might be the one she was sleeping with.
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    Hours had passed since Amber left for the hospital, and Jareth stood on the porch outside a county jail where seven of Amber’s crew had been taken; they’d been released minutes before, Mike and his wife, Evelyn, included. Their release had been compliments of a high-powered attorney who Mike should not have been able to afford—funded, no doubt, by the Hunters’ hierarchy.
    â€œYou’re certain she isn’t a Hunter?” The question came from Chase Bradley, a fellow Sentinel, and Game Warden. At least for now. Until the slow aging process of the Yaguara forced him to move on.
    Jareth leaned on the wooden rail and crossed one booted foot over the other. Thanks to Chase, he’d shed his bloody clothes for a pair of Game Warden fatigues and a tan T-shirt. “I’m certain,” Jareth said.
    Chase studied Jareth, his legs set in a V, hands on his narrow hips. “Because we have to be certain.”
    â€œWhat part of ‘I’m certain’ did you not understand?” he asked sharply. He did not care that Chase was the son of one of the seven high council members, and was destined to lead one day. He was still a kid, barely a century old compared to Jareth’s three hundred years.
    â€œBut her father—”
    â€œFor the last time,” Jareth said, making no effort to hide his irritation. “She’s not a Hunter. Until tonight, she believed her father was an archaeologist with a dream of finding Yaguara.”
    Chase crossed his arms over his broad chest. “She knows the truth now?”
    â€œI told her what was necessary,” he said. “No names. I don’t want her acting nervous around the people who are involved.”
    Chase considered a moment, and then ran a hand over his clean-shaven jaw, which was complemented by his short, dark hair.
    â€œDo you trust her?” Chase finally asked.
    Jareth noted the familiar look on Chase’s face. The one that said he had a brilliant idea that would not seem brilliant to Jareth. “No,” Jareth said.
    â€œNo,” Chase said, his brows dipping. “You don’t trust her?”
    â€œNo, to whatever you are planning,” Jareth replied. “And yes. I trust her.”
    Chase threw his hands out to his sides. “You haven’t even heard my idea, and already you say no?”
    â€œI never like your ideas.”
    Chase snorted. “You