Otherworldly Bad Boys: Three Complete Novels by V.J. Chambers Read Free Book Online Page B

The result was that they’d dated for over six months but only actually had intercourse a handful of times. And sex itself had become a topic of argument and anger, not anything fun or... sexy.
    The relationship had been too much work. Overall, Dana was relieved to be free of it. But it wasn’t because she didn’t like Hollis. He was a good guy.
    Trying to remind herself of that, Dana clutched her phone and dialed him. She put the phone to her ear, listening to it ring. Maybe he wouldn’t pick up.
    But he did. “Dana?” He was surprised and excited.
    “Hi, Hollis.”
    “How are you? I saw that you were back at work. You were on the news about that bar up in Springwater.”
    “I’m... I’m okay. Actually, I wasn’t calling just to catch up.”
    “Oh?”
    “I wanted to, um, offer you a story.”
    Hollis was quiet for a minute. She could picture him, the face he made when he was disappointed. “So, this is all business, huh?”
    “I...” This was exactly why she didn’t want to make this phone call. “Things happened to me, Hollis. I’m not the same. I can’t...”
    He waited for her to finish, but she didn’t know how to describe it. “You can’t what?”
    “Be with anyone,” she said. “Anyone at all.” Except possibly the madman that had tried to kill her. He was the one she thought about when it was dark. Imagining his touch made her tingle, made her aroused. That was the way things were. And she wasn’t going to tell Hollis that.
    “Jesus, Dana,” said Hollis. “What did that asshole do to you?”
    She didn’t say anything.
    “What’s the story?” His tone had changed. He was brusque now, businesslike.
    “Me, I guess,” said Dana. “King said she wanted a hero piece. She wants to counter the bad press the SF is getting.”
    “Great,” said Hollis, “so you’re asking me for a PR story. You know I can’t promise anything like that, don’t you? That’s not the kind of writer I am. I write about things the way I see them, not the way someone else wants me to.”
    “You don’t see me as a hero?” She smiled wryly.
    “I don’t know, Dana. I don’t know what happened to you.”
    “Well, agree to do the story, and I’ll tell you,” she said. As best she could, anyway. There were some things that she might have to keep to herself.
    “Can I interview Randall?”
    “I don’t know,” she said. “I’ll ask King.”
    “Get me Randall, and you’ve got a deal,” he said.
    “I’ll ask.”
    “What I really want is for you to have dinner with me.”
    “Hollis, I can’t.”
    “Can’t I interview you over dinner?”
    She rested her head against the back of the couch. “Don’t expect anything from me.”
    “That sounds like a yes.”
    She sighed. That was Hollis for you. Persistent.
    * * *
    Dana felt like there was a coiled spring inside her gut, ready to let go at any second. Her breath was shallow, her pulse pounding. She stood at the elevator, waiting for Avery. He would be meeting her here at any minute, and they would go down to see Cole together.
    Cole.
    Demon. Murderer. Madman. Torturer.
    She hadn’t seen him since the night she’d escaped. When she’d gotten him locked up. She’d been confused that night. Things had happened between them. Disgusting things. Disturbing things. Savage, perverse things.
    The elevator was a flat metal color. There were scratches on its surface. She took it every day to get from her apartment up to the top floor, where the tracker office was. Sometimes it lurched and squeaked when it moved. She was anxious to take it down now. To Cole.
    Where the heck was Avery? Dana checked her watch. He should have been there already. Two minutes ago.
    Avery was two minutes late.
    That wasn’t so much, not really. She forced herself to take deep, calming breaths.
    It was warm inside the hallway outside the elevator. The air conditioning wasn’t on. It was only April, and it probably wasn’t necessary yet, but it was one of those freakishly warm