Vendetta Nation (Enigma Black Trilogy #2) by Sara Furlong-Burr Read Free Book Online Page B

of becoming the people we were destined to be.”
    “Well, it still sucks.”
    “Yeah,” Ian yawned. “It sure does.” He removed his hand from my shoulder, resting it in his lap. “Do you want to talk about it, your dream?”
    “No. As silly as it sounds, I’m afraid that if I talk about it, it’ll come true. Like my words would add some sort of validation to it, giving it life.” I paused, studying his face. There was a different look in his eyes, a thoughtful sadness that made him appear more boy than man. A sadness that projected the hell he must have gone through as a child. “It…it was just so different from the others I’ve had over the years. This one seemed more…personal.”
    “ Every nightmare seems personal. That’s why they bother us so much.”
    I stretched out on the bed, my head resting on the pillow, my hand clasping the heart attached to the chain around my neck. “Ian?”
    “Yeah?” he answered between yawns.
    “Stay with me?”
    “Huh?”
    “I’m asking you to stay here. Don’t leave…please. I’d like to try to get back to sleep, but I know I won’t be able to if I’m left alone. I need the distraction…the comfort of having someone here.”
    He studied me for a moment, somewhat surprised by my request. “Okay,” he answered momentarily. “I wasn’t going to be able to sleep tonight anyway. The adrenaline’s really flowing this evening.”
    “Have you tried the sleeping pills from Dr. Lin?”
    “Unless I want to overdose, they aren’t going to help me. Ever since Victor told us about our upcoming mission, I’ve been psyching myself up, training a little harder. This could be our chance to end our real life nightmare.”
    “I wouldn’t count on it.” My eyes grew heavy as my body began to calm down from the sensory overload triggered by my nightmare.
    “Scoot over closer to the edge of the bed,” Ian ordered.
    “Why?”
    “Because I’m not sitting in a chair for the rest of the night. If you want me here, you’re going to have to make the proper accommodations.”
    “Fine.” I pushed my body a little closer to the edge of the bed, allowing Ian to climb over me to the other side. He crawled under the thin sheet, his body grazing my back. “I thought you weren’t going to fall asleep tonight?”
    “Most likely not, but if I do, I do. I was always able to sleep better with someone next to me.”
    “So that’s how you lured all those women back to your lair. A promise of a good night’s sleep,” I said, a yawn escaping my lips. “Pretty slick, Mr. Grant.”
    “In my defense, a good share of the time sleeping was all we did.”
    “What?” I asked in disbelief. “No. Say it isn’t so. Don’t let my perception of Ian Grant, ladies’ man, be shattered.”
    “You’d better get a broom because you’re going to be picking up the pieces,” he chuckled. “Yeah, I took my fair share of women home from the bar after my shift was over, but it was mostly because they were either too drunk to take themselves home or it had to do with the men they were hanging around with. I mean, I know how guys can be, and I really didn’t like the thought of some moron screwing up some girl’s life because of one night of drunken idiocy.”
    “You just took them home, complete strangers?”
    “I know it wasn’t always a smart move on my part. Most of them were the regulars who came into the bar, so I honestly didn’t expect there to be trouble. But sometimes, when they woke up the next morning, they assumed something had happened between us. Consequently, I developed quite the reputation around town, and I did nothing to stop it from spreading.”
    “Huh,” I sighed.
    “What?”
    “You’re full of surprises, Ian. Though I must admit, I never thought they’d be good ones.”
    “Don’t worry, I’m still an asshole.”
    “A part of me fails to believe that now.” I felt the heat from his body against mine, and a familiar sting came over me. I hadn’t slept