Kissed by Moonlight by Shéa MacLeod Read Free Book Online Page B

niggling at the back of my brain. "It's odd, though."
    "What is?"
    "Jade was the one who called us to Area 51. Jade gave us the note."
    "Jade has no connection to Darroch as far as I've been able to ascertain."
    "She doesn't," I said. "But there's someone who might."
    Our gazes locked, and I saw the moment the thought hit Trevor's brain. "Crap. Alister Jones. But he doesn't have any sort of psychic or telekinetic abilities."
    "No, he doesn't." My tone was grim. "But Alister Jones has connections in very low places."

Chapter 8
    It was raining when Trevor dropped me off at home; that steady, constant light rain Portland is known for. My lightweight jacket was waterproof, but the rest of me was soaked. Frankly, I couldn't have cared less.
    The entire flight home on the SRA's private plane, I'd been turning Darroch's escape over and over in my mind. It was painfully obvious the whole thing with Jade had been Alister's idea of a joke, a way to prove he had the upper hand. But beyond that, I didn't have a clue why Alister Jones or anyone else would help Darroch escape Area 51. But while I chewed on the latest mystery, the Darkness had once again started up its insistent chant.
    Hunt. Kill. Hunt. Kill. I'd told it to shut up, but it only laughed. The closer we got to Portland, the more insistent it became. Now that I stood at my back door, keys in hand, it was suddenly overwhelming.
    I spun on my heel and marched to the car. A hunt would burn off some of this excess energy. Help me think more clearly.
    I guess I was feeling reckless, because I was only wearing two of my usual blades. Lately, I had been giving my powers a lot more free rein. Those things that lived inside me, always wanting out. Well, tonight, I'd let them. I didn't care how dangerous it was. I didn't even care if they took over. I just wanted to fight and forget everything else for awhile.
    As I pulled my car out of the drive, I forced myself to focus on the hunt. If I let my mind wander, it would go to maudlin places. That was the last thing I needed.
    I was only two blocks from the house when I realized I was being followed. Maybe I was being paranoid. After all, plenty of people drive the streets of Portland at night for various reasons. But there hadn't been any cars on my street other than parked ones, and the lights suddenly flashing in my rearview mirror were too much of a coincidence to my already overly-suspicious brain. Besides, every instinct I had was screaming at me.
    I'd learned a long time ago not to ignore my gut. I wasn't about to stop listening now, especially with a bounty on my head and Brent Darroch on the loose. Could he be after me already?
    I was going the speed limit, which was twenty-five, so I took the next right without slowing down. Pressing down on the gas, I sped up a bit before careening around the next corner. The car was still on my ass. I was definitely being followed, and by someone who had no idea what subtlety was.
    Hawthorne Street was nearly deserted, which was a good thing. The speedometer told me I was going fifty as I blew through a red light. Crossing my fingers that there weren't any cops around, I sped up the hill toward Mt. Tabor. It hadn't been my original destination, but it seemed like the best place to get away from everyone and take care of business.
    The other car was hot on my tail as I cut left onto 60th and then right onto Reservoir. A hard left, and I was circling the park that covered the top of the hill. I slid to a stop in a small tree-lined parking lot with a squeal of tires and was out of the car almost before it stopped rolling.
    The other driver jammed on his brakes, nearly sending his car into a tailspin. He managed to correct before he crashed his vehicle into mine. The guy was one hell of a driver.
    The car was black and sleek and powerful. It looked like a Mercedes, but someone had removed everything from the license plates to the little icon doodad that usually sat on the hood. I guess I wasn't the