Touched by Lightning by Danica Avet Read Free Book Online Page A

Siphons, had a little more leeway with the boss lady and had tried to get her to allow them activities for men and activities for women. As in the ladies would get Spa Nights and the men would get tickets to games, or Poker Night or something manly. She’d allowed it for the last three months and everyone had rejoiced.
    I can feel you stressing out, Britton , she said in his head now as though she sensed him about to blow a fuse. Spa Night is a good way to detox all of that angst and anger right out of your system. So suck it up, buttercup.
    He gnashed his teeth and glared at the others before he stalked out of the house with as much dignity as he could manage. Which wasn’t much considering Joe was trying to serve his balls up on a silver dish the way Alistair’s had been.
    Oh please, you’re such a drama king, Britton. You need to be there tonight because I have a feeling something big is going to happen.
    Pausing at the door of his truck, Brit frowned. Big? As in what?
    She laughed. You’ll see.
    Brit climbed in his truck, slamming the door shut behind him. Yeah, yeah, she always promised excitement and then hit him upside the head with girly shit. The last time she’d told him something great would happen, he’d found himself sitting in the middle of a pink plastic princess castle with eight six-year-old girls singing, “Pink fluffy unicorns dancing on rainbows.”
    You looked so cute in your crown , she said now with a laugh.
    He turned the key, the roaring of the engine drowning out Joe’s amusement. Something, some no doubt animalistic instinct had him glancing through the window before he pulled away, his eyes searching the late-afternoon shadows. He didn’t see anything, but his mind and instinct kept telling him it was out there and watching him.
    Brit shook his head and tore away from the curb of Alistair’s depraved lair with a squeal of tires.
    * * * * *
     
    Gyda had no idea why she was watching some big, muscled, tattooed man driving away, but she simply had to. She wanted to blame it on Sixteen, but something about him intrigued her. Her empathic abilities had been at full strength when he stormed from the house of that child molester, face as dark as a storm cloud. Yet despite his obvious bad temper, she hadn’t sensed violence and the other negative emotions usually associated with it. He felt…amused and even affectionate as he argued with someone in his mind.
    At first, she’d thought he was crazy, maybe as crazy as she, but then she’d caught the vibration of another person’s thoughts and she’d pulled back immediately. That vibe reminded her of something and it stirred Tora back to the surface, her feral Beast snarling as it pictured a woman with blonde hair, blue eyes and a pink Hummer.
    Gyda shook her head at the ridiculous image, yet even as she did so, she felt the remembered pressure as the woman swept the area for psychic signatures. It was the same thing Gyda did, except she searched for emotions. This woman, this giantess, searched for thoughts. She recalled those eyes resting on Sixteen’s hiding spot and knew the woman had discovered her. But she hadn’t told the officials.
    She waited until the taillights of the truck turned the corner before she pushed off with the bike she’d temporarily liberated from its owner, a pretty rich boy who’d kicked at the machine because he didn’t know how to drive it. Blacked-out completely from spokes to the engine block, it was one with the night and a badass machine she’d love to keep if it weren’t stolen. She dropped back from the man’s truck when he stopped at a light, easing down an alley. It was insanity to follow a stranger she was certain had nothing to do with Sixteen’s and Tora’s quest of vengeance.
    A sad smile pulled at her lips. She’d known she was crazy the day Sixteen appeared in her mind. The wild girl was her constant companion the way kids had imaginary friends. Tora had been a quieter presence, lurking