Scarlet by Jordan Summers Read Free Book Online

herself out. If only he'd gotten there sooner she might have lived.
     
    Morgan had scooped her up. "I'm so sorry," he murmured into her soft hair. It still smelled feminine and light despite being covered in debris. Part of him had died that day with his family. A part of him he thought he'd never recover. Until he'd met Gina. She'd showed him what he'd been missing. Made him want to love again, even though the prospect terrified him. Morgan knew he wouldn't survive another loss of that magnitude, yet he couldn't stop himself. The decision had been made for him.
     
    And now he was about to leave Gina to go in search of a past Morgan thought he'd buried long ago.
     
    *    *    *
    The cage was dark and musty, a windowless prison that could be easily forgotten. The chains holding the man had rusted, but not enough to weaken them. His brown hair was dirty and reeked of sweat, blood, fear, and desperation. Sores covered his wrists and scratches dotted his pale skin where he'd tried to break his restraints. Fresh feces and urine splattered the floor in a massive pile of human suffering. A cloud of ammonia floated in the air, choking off any chance of a deep breath.
     
    How long had the man been down here? Roark Montgomery couldn't quite recall as he stood with his arms crossed, staring at the pitiful thing in disgust. His eyes watered from the stench, but he wasn't about to clean it until he got what he'd come for.
     
    Roark had had him picked up after he'd been spotted wandering in the desert. An unknown without papers or family. The fact the man wasn't registered with any of the republics made it so very easy. The man had come here from no-man's-land to have a better life—or so he'd said when he first arrived. Roark eyed him. That hadn't worked out so well for him, but it was perfect for what Roark had in mind.
     
    "Are you ready to get out of here?" he asked.
     
    The man didn't move, not even a twitch from his limp limbs. Roark stepped forward and kicked the cage. The sound reverberated in the room, then quickly dampened due to its underground location. He hated coming down here, but the place served its purpose.
     
    "I said, are you ready to get out of here? If you're too far gone, then just say so and I'll find another."
     
    The man's head rolled to one side as he fought to raise it. "Yes." He coughed. "I'm ready," he croaked out from behind split, dried lips.
     
    Roark smiled. "I thought as much."
     
    The man tilted his chin up until he could look at Roark. One eye was sealed shut from the beatings, but the other glared with the fire of hatred, letting him know that despite the man's diminished capacity there was still some fight left in him.
     
    "I have a job for you," Roark said, meeting his gaze. "If you do this right, you'll never see me again."
     
    The man licked his lips. "And if I don't?"
     
    Roark's eyes narrowed. "Then you can rot down here, for all I care. Your choice. There are plenty more where you came from."
     
    The man's head slumped forward in defeat, then he forced it up once more. "What do you want me to do?"
     
    "That's more like it." Roark's grin returned. "I need you to take a little trip."
     
    The man frowned. "Where?"
     
    "After being in this place, does it really matter?" Roark asked, astonished at his gall.
     
    "No, I guess not."
     
    "Now listen carefully." Roark filled the man in on the details of what he wanted him to do. "When you're done, wait in the valley to the north. Do you understand the instructions I've given you?"
     
    "Yes. Find the woman." the man said. "I'm free to do as I please afterward. Right?"
     
    "Of course," Roark said. "That was our deal."
     
    The man stared at him, searching for signs of deception. He wouldn't find any. Roark made sure. He'd had fifteen years in politics, giving him plenty of time to perfect the art of lying. The man finally nodded in agreement.
     
    "Good," Roark said. "My assistant will be down in a moment to get you cleaned up.