Elude by Rachel van Dyken Read Free Book Online Page A

went faster and faster until you hit the ground so hard you were almost broken.
    But the pain?
    The pain of hitting?
    For a brief second, it makes everything else go away.
    It makes the jump worth it.
    So you climb back up the cliff.
    And repeat the process.
    Yeah, I was an idiot.
    I braced my hands against the sink in the bathroom, my knuckles going completely white as I gripped harder and harder, willing the visions of Andi's face to stop torturing me.
    So maybe I did have a heart, because I felt like shit for what I'd said to her.
    Two loud knocks sounded at the door. "Dipshit, it's time to say your vows!"
    Leave it to Tex to completely ruin any sort of emotional breakdown I was having in that small bathroom.
    I stared at myself in the mirror. "Give me a minute."
    "One minute," he yelled. "I don't care if you're taking a shit, I'm breaking down the door and forcing you at gunpoint down that aisle if I have to."
    "Fine," I snapped.
    "Fine!" He banged the door again.
    At this rate, I was going to have to replace it. Damn Sicilians with their uncontrollable tempers.
    The mirror revealed too much. Dark circles framed beneath my eyes revealed how tired I really was.
    I hadn't actually slept since I had been confronted by the family. Since they'd told me I had no choice but to marry Andi and figure my shit out.
    Sleep only came if it was induced by alcohol. Which sucked because I really hated hangovers, and I'd never been one to drink that much.
    Great start to a marriage!
    My messy dark brown hair looked like I'd just hung my head out the window while driving top speed through a field.
    I tucked the pieces back behind my ears in vain, knowing that in seconds the hair would fall forward, covering part of my face.
    I'd cut it off so I looked the part of professor for my short stint at Eagle Elite, and now that it was growing back, I felt like I resembled more of a drunken pirate than teacher.
    Luckily, the minute my time in the FBI had ended, my time at the school had as well.
    Leaving me… jobless.
    Because, if I was really honest with myself, the FBI wouldn't want any loose ends. They wouldn't want someone they couldn't trust, and, in the end, they'd have to find me in order to interrogate me in the first place.
    And I was extremely good at not being found.
    I'd spent years as a ghost.
    I could do it again.
    Except… Andi.
    I had to wonder if by keeping her alive, I was signing my own death sentence. What was to keep the FBI from silencing me completely?
    If I couldn't disappear… I groaned into my hands. "Focus, Sergio. Marry the girl, say I do, and power through." I chanted it into the mirror. "Six months. Only six months."
    Damn, I was a callous bastard.
    But I had to be, especially when it came to her.
    I took a few deep breaths then jerked open the bathroom door just as Tex was starting to knock. He wasn't looking, so his hand collided with my forehead before I reared back and slammed that same hand against the door, crushing his fingers against the wall.
    He let out a howl then scowled. "Was that necessary?"
    "Completely," I said in a cold voice. "Let's go."
    "Oh, so now you're in a hurry," he grumbled behind me. "Damn it, that hurt. What the hell type of karate you been practicing, Serg?"
    I rolled my eyes.
    "Huh, remember the days you used to threaten me?"
    "Are you under the impression they're over or something?"
    "You're more quiet than you used to be."
    I sighed. "I'm a lot of things now that I never used to be."
    "Guess that's what happens… when you sell your soul to the government, huh?"
    I stopped walking.
    Tex grinned menacingly. "The rest of the guys may be on your side… but remember this. We aren't blood. We've never been blood. If you take one misstep… I'll beat Phoenix to the punch by shooting you myself."
    "So now there's a line?" I nodded. "Good to know."
    "I'd kill him so I could get first shot." Tex popped his knuckles.
    "Save your aggression for the bedroom, Cappo." I shoved past him. "I'm