Caressed By Ice by Nalini Singh Read Free Book Online

Even if Brenna Kincaid’s brain somehow survives the pressure, she’ll be dead soon enough—along with the rest of her pack.”

CHAPTER 6
    It wasn’t until the morning of the fifth day after the murder that Judd saw Brenna again. He was on his way to speak to Hawke when she walked into him from the opposite direction, destroying his decision to keep her at a distance—Brenna might look soft and harmless, but she had a way of turning his behavior treacherously unpredictable. Like now.
    Catching her by her upper arms was reflex. Continuing to hold on afterward was a small but significant deviation from the Protocol. And he didn’t care. “Where are—” He cut himself off when she lifted her face.
    Her skin was drawn, her eyes almost sunken.
    â€œTalk to me.” An order.
    Where she would’ve normally sharpened her claws on him for daring to give her one, today she shot a nervous glance over her shoulder before putting her fisted hands on his chest. “I was looking for you,” she whispered, while he was still trying to assimilate the impact of her touch. “Drew and Riley haven’t let me leave the apartment since after I returned from talking to you—someone saw us together. I only got out now by sheer luck.”
    Judd felt ice spread through his veins but it was a cold that burned. “I’ll talk to them.” No one was going to lock Brenna in again.
    â€œJust take me outside, far enough away that they can’t track my scent.” A ragged plea. “Please get me out before I lose my mind.”
    â€œFollow me.” Releasing his hold on her, he turned to lead her out. A feminine hand curved around his upper left arm, over the leather-synth of his jacket.
    It if had been any other woman, he would’ve broken the contact and made very sure it wouldn’t be repeated. But this wasn’t another woman. “How far?” He asked because she’d become almost agoraphobic since the abduction—though she did sometimes venture a small distance beyond the den, she’d stopped attending college and never went for runs with her packmates.
    â€œFar.” Her voice was resolute but her hand a vise around his arm.
    He took her through several back tunnels to an exit that he knew was kept less well guarded than others because it opened directly into a garden in the White Zone. That zone was the closest section of the inner perimeter and was considered safe enough for pups to play in unattended. “Wait here while I check the area.”
    It took a few seconds for her to let go. “Sorry I’m—”
    â€œIf I had wanted an apology, I would have asked for it.”
    Her mouth snapped shut. “Where did you learn your charm—the gulag?”
    â€œSomething like that.” He stepped out to find the garden empty. The pups had probably been herded inside when the sky grew heavy with the promise of more snow. Completing the visual scan, he did a telepathic one to confirm his findings. “It’s clear.”
    Brenna emerged from the door with a confident expression, but the second she hit open air, her breathing went from smooth to rocky. He could sense her fear as if it were a physical wave smashing repeatedly into his body. Reaching back, he took her hand. Changelings craved touch. It centered them as much as it did the opposite to those of his race.
    â€œStay with me.” Refusing to think about why he’d done something so alien to his nature, he pulled her through the garden and toward a narrow pathway. “Farther?”
    â€œYes.” Her husky voice took on a hard edge. “I’m sick of being afraid. He’s not going to win.”
    â€œYou’re too strong for that to ever be a possibility.” After learning of what Enrique had done to her, Judd had expected Brenna’s to be a shattered mind twisted through with madness. But not only had she survived, she was sane.
    Her