Temptation in Shadows by Gena Showalter Read Free Book Online Page B

rest of the mess.”
    The Tahoe shot forward, tires squealing.
    “And to hell with waiting,” Sean added. He glared out the window. “The abduction happens now. When she wakes up, I want to be with her.” Earning her trust and keeping her safe from attacks like this.

CHAPTER FIVE
    Present day
     
    Warm—but hardly safe—in a sedan Sean had stolen in front of a grocery store after ditching the one he’d “found” in the forest, Gabby clutched her arms around her middle and peered into the night. Where they were headed she didn’t know. She didn’t recognize the expanse of fenced pine or the tar-topped roads.
    She had willingly stuck with him up to this point, numb from everything that had happened. Being kidnapped, watching a man die, hearing Sean’s confession:
I’m the one who abducted you.
Now, her adrenaline was crashing, her mind was clearing, and a sense of dread was settling in the pit of her stomach.
    “Explain what you meant back there when you said you were the one who abducted me,” she demanded, finally facing him. “Why would you abduct
yourself,
too?”
    His profile was carved from steel, his neck rigid, his jaw clenched, his lips pulled down. “I’ll tell you only if you promise to remain calm.”
    “I’m not promising you a damn thing.” Not until she had answers. And even then, that didn’t guarantee she’d keep her promise.
    “Then I’m not
telling
you a damn thing.”
    She gnashed her teeth together.
    “You may not know this, but fear is detrimental to your health. More so than with normal people.”
    Normal people,
he’d said, which meant he knew
she
wasn’t normal. He also knew about her headaches, then. If she allowed herself to wallow in fear, or any negative emotion really, she would develop a migraine. And only when she calmed herself down did that migraine go away.
    Thankfully, she hadn’t reached that point. Yet.
    “I’m getting more scared by the minute, so you had better tell me what the hell is going on. How do you know about me?”
    There was only a moment of silence before he said, “I work for an agency called Rose Briar, and if you dare try to open that door and fling yourself out, I will follow you and you won’t like what happens when I find you.”
    Didn’t take long to read between the lines. “You’re government,” she gasped out, paling. She’d lusted after the man, for God’s sake, and he’d been out for blood.
    “No. We aren’t
officially
with the government. We’re . . . independent, though national security is the reason we were formed.”
    “Unofficial.” A very dangerous word. “You think that makes you better? Well, news flash. It doesn’t. It makes you worse. ‘Unofficial’ means there’s no red tape to get in your way. You have no rules, no regulations. And you and I both know there’s no suchthing as independent. Someone on the inside has to have their fingers in your pie.”
    He flicked her a dark glance. “We do government work when asked, yes, getting into places their people can’t, getting information, apprehending terrorists, but our duties do not include experimenting on people with unusual abilities. And you and I both know that’s what you’re thinking. We actually protect people from that.”
    Please.
She liked to think she was too smart to believe him. At least today. No use arguing about it, though. There were other things to discuss. “What do you want with me, Sean? If that’s your real name.”
    “It is.” A sigh pushed from him, seeming to drain his tension. “Look, when you were a little girl, your parents died in the car accident and you went to live with your aunt and uncle. Six months later, you bolted.”
    Tiny ice crystals formed in her bloodstream, cutting at her veins. “Yes. So?”
    “So you were living on the streets.”
    “Again, yes.” She heard the unspoken question in his voice. What had happened at her aunt and uncle’s house to make the hunger and unmerciful elements of the