Avenger (Impossible #3) by Julia Sykes Read Free Book Online Page A

black-and-white.  Sean might lead a life of crime, but he was every bit as good as Clayton was.
    My mind spun with these cyclical thoughts as the world passed by the car window in a blur.  Sean allowed me to cry silently as he drove.  Before I knew it, we were pulling up outside my house.  I didn’t move when he got out of the car and came around to open my door.  He unbuckled my seatbelt for me and took me by the hand, tugging insistently.
    “Come on,” he said gently.  “We need to get you inside.  You’re not safe out here.”
    The only movement I could manage was a jerky shake of my head to show my refusal.  My whole body was numb, and I knew that my legs wouldn’t support me.  Sean eyed me warily.
    “I’m taking you inside,” he informed me.  “Don’t fight me.”
    With that, his arms closed around me and he lifted me up, carrying me.  He was careful to grip me so that my arms were pinned to my sides.  I supposed he was worried that I might try to claw his eyes out if he touched me, and I couldn’t deny that the thought crossed my mind.  But most of my anger at him had been redirected towards Bradley as I sorted things out in my mind, so I compliantly allowed him to cradle my body against his.  As we progressed up the walkway, my eyes fell on the spot where Clayton had lain as his life slipped away between my fingers.  There was no evidence that my only friend had bled out there, had given his own life to save mine.  I shuddered and turned my face into Sean’s chest, trying to block out the bloody memories.
    Sean somehow managed to maintain his hold on me while fishing my keys from my purse and unlocking the front door.  My security system blared to life, and he positioned me so that I could disarm it.  Once it was off and the door was locked behind us, he headed straight for the stairs and into my bedroom.  He didn’t release me as he settled me down on the bed, instead moving my body so that I was draped across his lap, my head still leaning against his chest as he sat back against the headboard.  His fingers gently stroked my hair as he held me, allowing me to cry for long minutes.  My mind was still whirring in double-time, but I was getting a headache from pondering which was the worse fate: Clayton dead at Bradley’s hands or Sean dead without my knowledge?  The thought of a world without Sean in it was just so profoundly wrong.
    Growing weary of the questions that had no answers that were swirling in my mind, I forced myself to contemplate my current situation instead.  What did it mean that Sean was here with me now?  I had thought that he would never want to see me again, but here he was, comforting me.  And despite the tumultuous emotions that I felt towards him, I couldn’t deny that the feeling of him holding me was impossibly sweeter than I remembered.
    But how was it that he was even here?  He was supposed to be in prison.  Clayton had said that they had remanded him without bail.  Had he escaped somehow?  No, that couldn’t possibly the case.  That graveyard had been flooded with FBI agents, and I still had a security detail following me everywhere.  They should have taken Sean into custody on sight.
    I shifted in Sean’s grip so that I could look up at him.  The lines of his handsome face were strained, his eyes full of concern and trepidation.
    “How…”  My voice was a croak.  I forced it to be steady.  “How are you here?”
    “I told you that I need to talk to you, Claudia.  There are things that I need to explain.”  He took a deep breath and plowed on.  “When I found out what you had done, that you had been spying on me for the FBI, it tore me apart.  The way that I treated you that day…  It was inexcusable.  You begged me to let you explain, told me that you were just trying to help me.  But I didn’t listen.”  He was studying my face carefully as he spoke, his eyes imploring.  I listened with bated breath, needing to hear