Torrent (Cosmic Forces Book 1) by Elle Thorne Read Free Book Online Page A

because they were passing through toward another block.
    She saw some blood near one of the doors at the end of the block. Veering right, closer to the dark and dried remnants, she pulled the door open.
    She bit back a scream. Then she wondered why she’d almost screamed. What had she expected to find?
    The two dead privateers had been carried in and dumped in the corner of the room. Their bodies had continued to drain blood, creating a little pool around them.
    Him. He’d done this. He’d hidden the bodies. That was why the Leaguers weren’t storming from block to block, building to building, to find out who had committed murder. No one knew yet.
    She breathed a sigh of relief.
    “What are you doing here?”
    She flinched, whirling around.

Chapter Ten
    1 0
    Torrent watched Alyssa come in the building. Why was she so hardheaded? Couldn’t she leave well enough alone? Did she have to return to the scene of the crime? Yet a part of him was happy to see her. The other part of him was pissed that she was taking risks by coming here. If she was found, they’d assume she’d been a part of the crime.
    “What are you doing here?” He couldn’t keep abruptness from his tone.
    She jumped, then made a quick about-face. Her shoulders slumped. Relief? To see him? He found that hard to believe.
    “I…” She twirled her hair around a finger, bit on her lip. “Truth?”
    “That’d be nice.” He felt like a hypocrite saying that, since he hadn’t been very forthright with her from the moment they first spoke.
    “I was worried about you.”
    Surprised, he was taken aback and speechless for a moment. “I thought you hated me.”
    She clenched her jaw, muscles working, then shook her head. Her cheeks were flushed. Was that because of him?
    “No. I guess not. You did risk your life to save ours.” She glanced up and down his body. “Are you hurt? Need medical attention?”
    He smiled, enjoying the way she made him feel inside and her discomfort. What about him made her uncomfortable? Did she feel the same reaction to him as he did to her? He thought so, based on their encounter on the rooftop, but he’d like to have it confirmed. “Are you trained in medical attention? Which are you? A nurse or a teacher?”
    “Neither, really.” She smiled back, thawing, if only a little. “I wanted to study chemistry. That was a long time ago.”
    She didn’t have to say it. He knew she meant before the war and the sanctions.
    “What about you? You’re a soldier?”
    That hit too close to home. “What makes you say that?”
    She let out a scoffing laugh. “What you did last night. That was soldiering. I’m guessing you’re a former Leaguer?”
    “I’m not a soldier. Not anymore.” Not technically, since Cosmic Forces was considered the security arm of CRBE, and was available to anyone CRBE wanted to loan or lease them to.
    “Why not anymore?”
    “Is that really any of your concern?” He had to get her off the topic. It was too close to home. He wasn’t proud of the side he’d fought on in the war, and he wasn’t thrilled at the outcome. He especially found that the sanctions on Texas, now that he’d seen them up close, were unconscionable.
    “Guess not.” She shrugged, but her disappointment was evident in the set of her shoulders. She stiffened, her back straight. “Why were you at my home, asking questions?”
    Torrent didn’t want to lie, but did he really have any choice? He needed to complete this mission. Staying in this city was dragging him down and making him question everything he’d fought for. Think quick. Think. “I used to know Melissa.”
    Her mouth dropped open, forming a perfect O, eyes wide. “Were you involved with her?”
    This didn’t sit well with him, compounding a lie with another lie. Worse, her reaction made him feel bad. And yet, she’d given him the perfect out. He nodded, but he wouldn’t confirm it verbally. He couldn’t get those words to come out of his mouth.
    “So you