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

deeper down, skulking in the darkness until she was dragged into the light. She was even wilder and stronger than Sixteen and Gyda had known she wasn’t right. She’d seen a movie once about a woman with multiple personalities and knew she was the same. Was insanity the same as alcoholism or any other addiction in that acknowledging you were crazy was the first step in recovery?
    Tora snarled in the back of her mind, urging her to forget the self-analysis and get with the plan. Normally she didn’t bow to Tora’s desires when Gyda was in control of things, but the man intrigued all of them. She continued ghosting him across Kansas City, keeping back when he slowed down and speeding up when he hit the interstate as she tried to puzzle out why she was following him. He wasn’t like the others Tora and Sixteen had tracked over the years.
    He didn’t seem to be scum and he even stopped for a dog that ran in front of his truck when he reached the end of the exit ramp. His truck wasn’t flashy, his tattoos were amazing, but not the prison tats she’d seen on so many of the men they’d taken down. He could’ve used his powers against Sixteen in Mendoza’s office, could’ve killed them, but he hadn’t. He’d tried to reassure her even though she was holding the bloodied weapon. None of that explained Sixteen’s or Tora’s fascination. The only thing that did was the remembered heat in her body from the thoughts Sixteen had about him. About touching him and having him touch her. Even now, on a bike riding down Market Street, Gyda remembered that warmth and shivered because it could only mean one thing.
    They wanted to have sex with him.
    The revelation came to her as she was taking a turn and she nearly wiped out, only the reflexes she’d honed after years of stealing and jacking bikes kept her from skidding across the street. She straightened with her heart in her throat, the bike losing speed. She hated when Tora or Sixteen used her body to do…those things with it. It didn’t happen a lot, which she was eternally thankful for, but when the others did have sex, Gyda was the one who woke up with the need to stab and slash. Only knowing none of those men had hurt her, had indeed ceded control of their bodies to Sixteen, or been strong enough to appease Tora’s need to be dominated, kept her from reenacting every bad slasher flick she’d ever seen. Instead, she’d become quite adept at slipping away at dawn, or whatever time she woke up from Tora or Sixteen’s fun and games, and disappearing from the area.
    This shouldn’t have been any different from every other time Tora’s or Sixteen’s hormones got involved, but it was because Gyda could tell by looking at him that this man wasn’t going to play boy toy for either of her companions. He was too Alpha for that too…tough to act the boy for anyone.
    The truck came to a slow stop before pulling into a parking garage next to what looked like a turn-of-the-century factory. Except this was unlike any factory she’d ever seen. Gyda kept driving as though she were just passing by, darting her gaze to the building to check it out. The parking garage was attached to an eight-foot brick wall that ran the length of the street for at least a block before it turned at the next intersection. She followed the wall, catching glimpses of tall buildings inside, numerous windows lit from within and shadows passing by. It looked like a military compound except without the guard towers. Taking the next turn, she continued following the wall, noting the recessed doors at spaced intervals along with cargo doors as though they accepted deliveries. Wondering what kind of people her tattooed stranger worked for, she finally found the front of the compound.
    A stately older structure stood at the forefront of all those other buildings like an art deco sentinel. Gas lamps lit the walk lining the street and another set sat on either side of the entrance to the building. Gyda frowned