Lightbringer by Frankie Robertson Read Free Book Online Page A

but she couldn’t find the strength to pull away. She tried to focus, but his breath feathered against her cheek and her concentration faltered.
    “Your house and phone are bugged.” He whispered in her ear, his lips close, but not touching her flesh. “There are cameras too.” In a louder voice he said, “Why don’t you stay at my place tonight?”
    Cameras? Cassie stiffened and her pulse jumped with alarm. Not again! Her vision narrowed. She couldn’t breathe.
    It couldn’t be Andy again, could it? He’d moved to Denver when he’d left her. She’d heard he’d married, had a kid. He wouldn’t be bothering her now. And she would have recognized the feel of him if he’d been here. Wouldn’t she?
    The thought of cameras in her house, in her bedroom , made her shake. Someone was probably watching her right now. She was glad she hadn’t undressed for bed. Her knees shook, but Jared held her steady.
    “Take a deep breath,” he whispered, rubbing her back in slow circles. “Come and sit down.” He started to lead her toward the sofa.
    The rest of what he’d said filtered through. Stay at my place tonight .
    It shocked her how much she wanted to say yes.
    Or was he handing her a line? The old “your place is bugged” ploy . But Jared couldn’t know the effect that would have on her…unless he’d seen the pictures. Cassie felt sick to her stomach. She’d thought that was all in the past.
    She remembered how Jared felt about the truth. He wouldn’t lie. She was certain of that. But he’d known she was going to the hotel first with Linda. He had time to plant the cameras himself.
    “Did you put them there?” she asked, her voice harsh and low. She knew he’d tell her the truth, and she dreaded the answer.
    Jared drew back, his eyes wide with surprise. “No. Absolutely not.” He sounded offended.
    Cassie almost sagged with relief, but Jared’s strong hands still held her. “Then let’s get rid of them!” she whispered, pressing her cheek to his. She needed skin contact to read him more fully. It was an invasion of privacy, but she didn’t care. She had to know more about this man who was making her want things, who was pushing his way into her life when her life was turning upside down. She felt the slight scratch of his stubble at the same time her searching mind bounced off a mental barrier so rigid the impact fell like a blow. Cassie pulled back, but Jared held her close and whispered into her ear as if he wasn’t aware of her attempted invasion.
    “We’d better not. If he doesn’t know we’re onto him, he might get careless and give himself away.”
    Cassie had never encountered a mental fortification like Jared’s. He had to be deliberately shielding. No one had natural barriers that tight. What was he hiding from her? He had to be a psychic, and a powerful one at that. Powerful enough to lie with his mind? Is that even possible?
    He hadn’t been this closed off when she’d read him in the parking lot. But she hadn’t seen he was psychic, either. And why does a man who values the truth so highly need to hide behind a shield that tight?
    “Give himself away? You mean like you just did?” she whispered sharply.
    Jared tilted his head, the question in his eyes clear.
    It took an act of will to keep her voice soft. “You’re psychic. Why hide it from me?”
    Surprise flashed across Jared’s face, which was quickly suppressed and replaced with a small chagrined smile. “We shouldn’t have this conversation here. Let’s get out of here.”
    “I’m not going anywhere with you until I get some answers.”
    “Fine.” His low voice rumbled in her ear. “I’ll follow you to the Hilton. Or would you rather stay here with the cameras?”
    He might be handing her a line, despite what she’d read in him. She hadn’t foreseen what Andy had done, after all. Or there might really be bugs and cameras secreted throughout her house. Someone had been in her house, after all. But how could