Midnight Rescue: A Killer Instincts Novel by Elle Kennedy Read Free Book Online Page B

Abby, Luke leaned forward, a lock of messy dark hair falling into his suddenly curious eyes. “What did you do to him?”
    She spared Luke a glance. “What did I do to whom?”
    “The dude in the prison. We all heard those screams. Sounded like someone getting their head ripped off.”
    “Close enough.” She pushed a strand of red hair offher forehead. In the dim lighting of the cabin the bruise on her left eye looked almost green. Her eyes closed and she continued speaking, her voice dull and emotionless, as if she were reciting a passage from a history textbook. “The man was William Devlin. He tried to rape me.”
    “Devlin?” Kane said in surprise. “
That
was who they carried out of the jail?”
    She eyed him sharply. “You know him?”
    “Yes.” He eyed her right back. “And from what I know of the man, he prefers torture to rape.”
    “Is there a difference?” she asked mildly. Without letting him respond, she went on. “He tried to get the guards to do it first, but I took care of them. Then he stepped up to bat, climbed on top of me, rape definitely on his agenda.”
    Kane found himself oddly fascinated as he listened to her speak. “And what did you do, Abby?”
    Her eyelids opened. Meeting his gaze, she set her jaw and said, “I ripped his eye out.”
    The four men just stared at her, this woman whose voice had suddenly become toxic, whose words shocked them into silence.
    “You… ripped his eye out,” Ethan finally sputtered, looking stunned.
    “Right out of the socket.” She turned her head and pressed her cheek against the leather seat.
    Kane exchanged a look with D. Jesus Christ. Who was this woman? And damn, but he couldn’t fight the rush of triumph knowing she’d stuck it to that sadistic bastard Devlin. It was something he’d wanted to do himself since the moment he’d met the son of a bitch. Morgan had actually been considering Devlin for the team, around the same time Kane came aboard. Devlin had gone onone of the early assignments, a test of sorts, and one he’d failed miserably. Kane could still remember the horror that swarmed his body when he’d watched Devlin slice off the head of a South African rebel with a machete. The bloodlust in Devlin’s hollow eyes had been enough to convince Morgan that William Devlin had no part on their team.
    Abby suddenly lifted her head and stared at him, bringing a flicker of discomfort to Kane’s gut. From the moment he’d met her, her sharp, unwavering gaze had knocked him off balance. He had a thing for strong women, but Abby Sinclair… she was almost
too
strong, if that was possible. The woman was carved from a block of ice. She was cold, detached, so utterly composed that he was tempted to walk over and shake her a little, just to see if she’d flinch. Probably not. She was in full control of herself. Her words were carefully measured, her intelligent eyes in a constant state of alertness despite the sedatives administered by the doc. She didn’t reveal a sliver of emotion.
    She reminded him a lot of himself.
    “Tell the pilot to land,” she said, the pleading note in her voice coming as a total shock. “Please, Kane. I can’t be here.”
    Next to him D stiffened. “You’re in no position to give us orders,” D barked. “So shut up, take a nap, and save the demands for your boss.”
    Abby’s gaze landed on D. She looked extremely intrigued. “And you are?”
    “Someone you don’t want to mess with,” he snapped, his black eyes burning.
    “Derek Pratt.” Ethan introduced his colleague hesitantly. “We call him D.”
    “D,” she echoed. She pursed her lips. “You don’t want me here, do you, D?”
    He shot her a hard look. “Not really, no.”
    “And you didn’t want to rescue me.”
    “Nope, can’t say I did.”
    “Then get me off this plane,” she said bluntly. “I didn’t ask to be rescued either, and frankly, I have things to take care of, so for God’s sake, just—”
    “What things?” Kane