Night's Honor by Thea Harrison Read Free Book Online Page A

will come out to meet you.” With a well-oiled hum, the gates opened.
    â€œHere goes nuthin’, kid,” she muttered. She drove in, and the gates swung smoothly shut behind her, blocking out the world.
    That could almost be a comfort, except, well, it wasn’t.
    Inside the walls, she got her first real sense of the size of the estate. Several acres of well-tended, emerald green lawn stretched around the main house, which despite its size was gracious rather than ostentatious. Well-placed trees dotted the expanse, along with a variety of bushes and flowers.
    She didn’t know the names of the various kinds of foliage, but she could see how everything had been designed to keep the eye flowing from one area to another, like the composition in a painting. Other, smaller buildings were tucked discreetly off to the sides. In her tired mind, details melted into a whirl of jumbled impressions as she followed instructions and drove carefully along the immaculate asphalt drive to the parking lot at the side.
    Even as her car rolled to a stop, a man walked out of the house toward her. He was dressed casually in a polo shirt, jeans and dark shoes. While a sprinkle of gray lightened the temples of his short blond hair and his lean, tanned face bore lines at the corners of eyes and mouth, he moved with athletic grace, power and assurance.
    She climbed out of the car and turned to face him as he drew closer. As he offered a large, broad hand, she took it, and strong, careful fingers closed briefly over hers.
    â€œGood evening, Ms. Graham. I’m Raoul.”
    Xavier had said that Raoul was head of his security. While he wore no visible sign of weaponry, she realized that she looked into the smiling gaze of another dangerous man. “Call me Tess.”
    â€œSounds good, Tess.” He gestured to her car. “Now, please put your hands on the roof of your car and spread your legs.”
    â€œWhat?” Her tired mind ground to a halt, and she gaped at him.
    He looked polite and entirely relentless. “I’ll need to pat you down. It’s nothing personal, of course. It’s just routine.”
    â€œNo problem,” she muttered. “I think.”
    Was this okay? What kind of person needed to conduct body searches and car searches, just because you drove onto their property? It wasn’t like Xavier was the president, or even the Nightkind King. But then, what kind of person needed to have a head of security in the first place?
    Reluctantly, she turned, put her hands on the roof of the car and widened her stance. While she scowled at him, Raoul patted her down. Despite her discomfort, she couldn’t find fault with anything he did. While the search was thorough, his touch was quite impersonal, and he never crossed the boundary into anything inappropriate.
    When he was finished, he stepped back. “Thank you.”
    Relieved that it was over, she straightened away from the car. “Sure.”
    â€œMay I have your car keys?”
    Caught off guard again, she stared, and her hands clenched into fists. Why on earth would he want her keys? She said between her teeth, “This doesn’t feel good. I don’t know any of you, and that car is my freedom.”
    â€œI understand this might cause you some initial discomfort,” he said calmly. “But I don’t know you either. Chances are, you’re exactly who you say you are, and you don’t have bombs, drugs or weapons hidden anywhere inside your vehicle. But I’m not in the business of taking chances, Tess. Think of it like airport security. You have to go through the process to get on the plane. Here, you have two choices. We can search your car and verify that you’re safe to have in close proximity to Xavier and ten other people who live here, or you can leave.”
    While he said it with an easygoing smile, she had no doubt he meant it. Her jaw clenched, but she couldn’t find fault with anything he