Heavy Metal (A Goddesses Rising Novel) (Entangled Select) by Natalie J. Damschroder Read Free Book Online

The Protectorate was more of the same, and Sam had left because he didn’t want to take care of people anymore.
    And Riley had made it clear she didn’t want anyone taking care of her. But she needed it. Sam knew the Society could help her, but he couldn’t convince her of that by talking. Could he take her up there and leave her without getting sucked back in?
    Movement to the left caught Sam’s eye. When he turned to look, the lot was empty, but a scrape and metallic clink echoed lightly from the rows of cars. The hair on his arms and neck prickled.
    “Shh,” he said, though Riley hadn’t said anything, only turned her head to follow his gaze, her whole body going tense so quickly he felt it from three feet away.
    And there they were. Two of the people from last night, the woman and the guy Sam had fought.

    “Fuck,” Riley breathed, spotting them hunkered behind an old white Oldsmobile.
    Sam grabbed her arm and tugged her toward the driver’s seat. “Get in. Drive away. I’ll—”
    “No.” She was sick of being on the defensive, sick of running, sick of letting everyone else make decisions for her. She pulled her arm out of Sam’s grip and took off, his muttered curse and heavy footsteps following behind. He caught up as she reached the Oldsmobile and slammed her hand down on the trunk of the car. The couple lurking behind it rose, the woman grinning, the man trying to look intimidating.
    But anger drove Riley this time, not fear, and she already had a weapon. This baby was over two decades old, and it was all steel.
    The contact with the metal changed her, cleared her thinking. Her muscles tightened, filling with power. It was like sipping caffeine or stepping into the shower in the morning—that moment when alertness takes over—only magnified by a thousand.
    Her left foot shot out, hooking behind the guy’s right knee, and he sprawled onto the gravel. She set her foot on his abdomen and pushed just enough to hold him still. In the same movement, she caught the woman’s arm before her punch connected with Riley’s head. The woman’s bright eyes widened when she was pulled against her will right up into Riley’s face.
    “Who are you, and what do you want with me?” she ground out.
    The woman sneered. “Like we’d tell you.”
    Riley tightened her fingers. The woman yelped and twisted against the pressure of Riley’s grip. “Who are you, and what do you want with me?” Riley repeated. Some of her anger settled and she became less focused, more aware. Sam stood behind her. He’d followed her but didn’t interfere. He was just there if she needed him.
    It was the first time she’d had someone in her corner since her parents died. For a few seconds, she wasn’t sure if her gratitude made her feel stronger or weaker.
    But now wasn’t the time to contemplate it. Despite the pain and fear in her eyes, the woman sneered again. “We’re pros. We don’t talk.”
    Riley leaned her weight on the guy under her foot. She glanced down at him, not taking her eyes off the woman completely. “Hey, you, on the ground. I can move my heel a few inches south if it will be more comfortable.”
    He keened and pushed at her unmoving foot.
    Riley smirked at the woman. “I think he might talk.”
    “I’ll kill him first.” The woman twisted again, hard, and pulled her foot back as if to kick the man in the head. The movement pulled Riley forward, almost lifting her hand off the car. She reacted instinctively, too powerfully, and yanked them both back so her hand stayed flat. She needed the contact, every cell of it.
    And she’d just revealed her weakness to the enemy. The woman’s sneer became more confident, but before she could act, Sam moved forward.
    “Let’s do this the easy way.” He circled behind the duo and stuck his hand in the woman’s back pocket for her wallet. “Sharla Cannalunis, Georgia,” he read from her driver’s license. “Mean anything?”
    “Not yet.” Riley had never been