Stormwalker by Allyson James Read Free Book Online Page A

me insane. I’d been torn between loving how treasured I felt with him and wanting the freedom to live my life.
    Mick had argued with me for days when I told him I wanted to go, threatened to chain me up or put stasis spells on me before I finally wore him down. And now, in a place where the danger from my mother was its greatest—here he was.
    “You know, one reason I took off was because I got tired of being treated like a child,” I said.
    “You were a child, Janet. Twenty-one and a legal adult, certain you could take on the world.”
    “I’ve been on my own since then and can take care of myself just fine.”
    “Because you ran in the right direction—away from here. This place will kill you, and you know it.” He leaned to me again, his smile gone, his eyes serious. “I don’t want to see you die. Call me selfish. That’s why I’m here, and that’s why I’m staying.”
    “Staying in Magellan?” I asked, trying to sound casual.
    “In your hotel. With you.”
    “Excuse me.” I tried to push myself into a sitting position, but I could only manage a slump against the headboard. “My hotel, Mick. Mine. Guests will pay for a room or be personally invited by me. After I get the damn thing finished.”
    He wouldn’t budge, his body heat like a blanket. “I let you go before, because you weren’t heading to danger. This time, if I don’t stay with you, you’ll be dead, and that’s all there is to that.”
    He was challenging me. When I was younger, I let him lead me. Now I knew what I had to do.
    “It is dangerous here, yes,” I said. “Dangerous for you . I don’t need to be worried about you on top of everything else.”
    “So don’t worry. You run your hotel, and I’ll watch your back. You need someone watching—tonight is proof of that.”
    “All right, maybe.” I admitted that for all his mysterious-ness, Mick was a good person to have on my side. “Why are you still so damned protective of me?”
    “You have to ask?”
    “I do.”
    Mick came closer still, until his face hung an inch from mine. “If you have to ask, then you wouldn’t believe my answer.” He drew away and continued wiping my hands.
    “You are still an arrogant pain in the ass.”
    Mick flashed his teeth in a brilliant smile. Gods, he was gorgeous. His smile warmed the room and made me remember how precious he’d made me feel. Stay with me and nothing will ever hurt you, he’d say.
    Had I been wise or foolish to stay? Or to leave?
    He finished with the towels and kissed the tips of my fingers. “You sleep now. I’ll stand guard.”
    “Are you sure you’re all right? Your shoulder still looks awful.”
    “I’ll take care of it.” The man who’d been my first, last, and only love smiled and touched my forehead. “Sleep, Janet.”
    Maybe he infused the command with magic, because the world went black, and I slept hard. I slept through the rest of the afternoon and on into morning, a dark, thankfully dreamless slumber. When I woke again, I felt better, the sun was rising, and Mick was gone.

Five
    I wondered briefly whether I’d dreamed Mick. Maybe I’d passed out in Nash’s office, and Lopez or someone had gotten me home and to bed. Not that I could see Nash being that kind to me.
    I found bloody towels in the bathroom when I hobbled into it, and Mick’s torn T-shirt tossed into my hamper of dirty clothes. He was no dream.
    I also hoped I hadn’t dreamed the running water. Nope, it streamed out of the taps, gloriously hot. I peeled off my shirt and stood in my bra while I washed my face and hands. I turned on the cold water to rinse out my mouth and brush my teeth. Toothpaste had never tasted so good. I drank a few mouthfuls from the faucet, realizing I hadn’t eaten or drunk since leaving for Flagstaff two evenings ago.
    I dried my face, lowered the towel, and saw a man staring at me through my bathroom window.
    I screamed. The man was a big Native American, muscled like Mick, but he wasn’t Mick.