Mackenzie's Pleasure by Linda Howard Read Free Book Online Page B

that had lain dormant for most of her rife.
    From now on, though, things were going to change.
    Perhaps they already had. The incandescent anger that had taken hold of her when
    she'd lain naked and trussed on that bare cot still burned within her, a small, white-hot core that
    even her mind-numbing fatigue couldn't extinguish. Because of it, she refused to give in to
    her weakness, refused to do anything that might hinder Mackenzie in any way. Instead she
    braced herself, forcing her knees to lock and her shoulders to square. "What are we going to
    do?" she whispered. "What can I do to help?"
    Because there were no heavy blackout curtains on this grimy window, she was able to see
    part of his features as he looked at her. Half his face was in shadow, but the scant light
    gleamed on the slant of one high, chiseled cheekbone, revealed the strong cut of his jaw,
    played along a mouth that was as clearly defined as that of an ancient Greek statue.
    "I'll have to leave you here alone for a little while," he said. "Will you be all right?"
    Panic exploded in her stomach, her chest. She barely choked back the scream of protest
    that would have betrayed them. Grinding her teeth together and electing not to speak,
    because the scream would escape if she did, she nodded her head.
    He hesitated, and Barrie could feel his attention focusing on her, as if he sensed her
    distress and was trying to decide whether or not it was safe to leave her. After a few moments he
    gave a curt nod that acknowledged her determination, or at least gave her the benefit of the
    doubt. "I'll be back in half an hour," he said. "I promise."
    He pulled something from a pocket on his vest. He unfolded it, revealing a thin blanket
    of sorts. Barrie stood still as he snugly wrapped it around her. Though it was very thin, the
    blanket immediately began reflecting her meager body heat. When he let go of the edges
    they fell open, and Barrie clutched frantically at them in an effort to retain that fragile
    warmth. By the time she had managed to pull the blanket around her, he was gone, opening the
    door a narrow crack and slipping through as silently as he had come through the window in
    the room where she had been held. Then the door closed, and once again she was alone in
    the darkness.
    Her nerves shrieked in protest, but she ignored them. Instead she concentrated on
    being as quiet as she could, listening for any sounds in the building that could tell her what was
    going on. There was still some noise from the street, the result of the gunfire that had alarmed
    the nearby citizenry, but that, too, was fading. The thick stone walls of the building dulled any
    sound, anyway. From within the building, there was only silence. Had her captors
    abandoned the site after her supposed escape? Were they in pursuit of Mackenzie's team,
    thinking she was with them?
    She swayed on her feet, and only then did she realize that she could sit down on the
    floor and wrap the blanket around her, conserving even more warmth. Her feet and legs
    were almost numb with cold. Carefully she eased down onto the floor, terrified she would
    inadvertently make some noise. She sat on the thin blanket and pulled it around herself as
    best she could. Whatever fabric it was made from, the blanket blocked the chill of the stone
    floor. Drawing up her legs, Barrie hugged her knees and rested her head on them. She was
    more comfortable now than she had been in many long hours of terror and, inevitably, her
    eyelids began to droop heavily. Sitting there alone in the dark, dirty, empty room, she went to
    sleep.

Chapter 3
    Pistol in hand, Zane moved silently through the decrepit old building, avoiding the piles
    of debris and crumbled stone. They were already on the top floor, so, except for the roof, the
    only way he could go was down. He already knew where the exits were, but what he didn't
    know was the location of the bad guys. Had they chosen this building as only a temporary
    hiding place and