Broken Shadows by AJ Larrieu Read Free Book Online

robe.”
    “It’s okay.” I didn’t know where to put my eyes. I settled on the crown molding above his head, thinking this was one more reason I needed to leave. Knowing he was a bad idea didn’t make him any less pleasant to look at. “You aren’t used to having someone else in your space.” At least I thought he wasn’t. For all I knew, when he didn’t have houseguests, he brought home a new woman every night.
    “I don’t mind,” he said, and I glanced at his face. His mouth quirked and I flushed crimson, wondering if he’d heard me.
    “Still. I—whoa.” My eyes strayed to his chest. It was marred with a row of angry red marks. “Are you okay? What are those?”
    Jackson stretched his neck and frowned, looking down at himself. “I dunno. Hadn’t even noticed.”
    I took another step toward him. He didn’t move. Memory fired in my brain—the mugger. The blisters on his hand. Jackson holding my wrists as I came out of the dream.
    “What?” he said.
    I raised my hand and fit my fingers over the marks. His skin was warm and damp from the shower, and my fingers were cold, but he didn’t flinch. My palm matched the pattern on the marks almost perfectly. I looked up and met his eyes.
    “I hurt you.” They didn’t look like bruises. They looked like burns. But that wasn’t possible.
    “Nah. Shower must’ve been too hot.”
    “If it was hot enough to do that, it would’ve cooked you.”
    “I’m sure it’s nothing.” His muscles rippled under my palm, and I dropped my hand. The back of my fingers grazed his abs, and I blushed and stepped back.
    “I’m, uh, gonna go put some clothes on.”
    “Right, yeah, of course.” I retreated into the spare room. He turned to go into his room, and I saw that on his back was a series of numbers. They weren’t tattoos—they looked more like brands. I’d never noticed them before. Then again, this was only the second time I’d seen him half-naked.
    I went into the bathroom to pee and brush my teeth. The spot where the mugger had backhanded me had developed into a purple smudge overnight. I pressed the place gingerly. It was tender but not too bad. When I came out, Jackson was in the hallway in full corporate armor, reading something on his phone.
    “Going to work on a Saturday?” I said.
    “No rest for the wicked. There’s cereal if you want it.”
    “Right. Thanks. I’ll chip in for the grocery bill.”
    He waved me off. “Don’t worry about it.”
    “No, really.”
    He chose not to respond to this. “You have the extra key?”
    I nodded.
    “I’ll be back around six. Call if you need me.” He jiggled his phone.
    “Sure.”
    “See you tonight.”
    “I may be gone,” I felt compelled to say. You never knew. A miracle could happen.
    Jackson nodded and looked down at his briefcase. The strap wavered up and fell back down again. He frowned a little and bent to pick it up. “Weird.” He shook his head. “Powers are fuzzy.” He rubbed his temples. “Anyway, stay as long as you want.”
    He left through the front door, and I leaned my head against the wall in the hallway and banged it three times.
    Okay, so he was attractive. I mean, what woman wouldn’t be attracted to the man? He had those bright green eyes and those cut biceps. And he was nice. And he had this fancy bachelor pad with the thick white rug in front of the fireplace. But I was not interested. He was not interested. And a relationship with a shadowmind was the last thing I needed. I banged my head on the wall once more. Time to go and see about getting a new key to my soon-to-be-ex-apartment.
    * * *
    “You were
mugged?
” Doc’s voice was thick with sleep even though it was after noon. I’d called her from the DMV. Even though I’d gotten there the second it opened, the wait to get my license replaced was hours long.
    “I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”
    “Oh, Mina.” I could almost see her pacing. “I thought you were staying with Avery. I told the new buyers they