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“I didn’t,” he said. “Agent Richardson, but you can call me Gideon.”
“Agent Richardson, go to hell.”
In a flash, he was on her side of the sofa, his hand in her hair. She whimpered as he yanked. Sharp pain assaulted her scalp. She opened her mouth to scream for Lann, but Gideon put a finger on her lips.
“Shh,” he said. “Or I’ll kiss you quiet, understand?”
His threat worked. She kept her mouth shut, but she hoped he could see the disgust in her eyes.
“That’s better.” He smiled. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m trying to protect you. He’s not what you think he is.” She tried to move away, but he kept her in place. “He’s evil. He’s involved in forbidden magic. No matter what he told you, you can’t believe him. He’s a user, a charmer, and a liar. He eats trusting, pretty women like you for breakfast.” His nostrils flared. “You’re nothing more to him than a means to an end.”
“A means to what end?” she asked through clenched teeth.
“A breeding machine.”
Richardson, as she’d decided to call him, let her go. Her scalp ached, but she refused to rub away the sting and give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d hurt her.
“Don’t touch me again,” she hissed.
She could scream for Lann now, but she feared for him. What if Richardson carried a weapon? What if he was wired? Were reinforcements waiting outside? She looked at the waistband of his jeans. It fitted too snugly to conceal a gun.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said, “not with my actions or words, but the man you think you love, is going to hurt you. Now, listen. We have little time. He’s a criminal involved in serious crimes. He has a price on his head. If you help us to nail him, I’ll offer you protection.”
She almost laughed, but Richardson gripped her chin, applying too much pressure and preventing her from uttering a sound.
“He’s trying to make you pregnant.”
She went hot and cold, not sure if the pricks on her skin were from heat or ice. She gritted her teeth as Richardson’s dug his fingers painfully into her cheeks.
Abruptly, he let go. “I put a mark on you. Sometimes I forget my strength.”
She touched her sore jaw. If he had marked her, he was a dead man. Lann would have his head before they walked out the door.
When he touched her cheek, she jerked back. “I said, don’t touch me.”
His eyes turned hard. “Did you hear what I said?”
“Which part?” she bit out.
“The part about him fucking you to make you pregnant.”
She flinched. “Why would you say something like that?”
“Look, I know it’s hard to take in. If I had more time, I wouldn’t throw this at you. We’ve been after his ass for years. He’s an aeromancist. Do you know what that is?”
“I study ancient scripts, Richardson.”
His nostrils flared at the use of his surname, but he ignored it. “His kind is hunted for a reason. They use dark magic to manipulate, kill, and take power. His nickname is Weatherman. He uses his businesses as a disguise for the illegal actions he’s involved in. He’s the worst kind of mafia there is. He needs to reproduce, and you’re the chosen one. He’s going to make you carry his bastard, and then kill you.”
The insinuation made her tremble. “How did you find all of this out?” she asked in a thin voice.
“I have my sources.”
“None of it is true. Lann isn’t what you say he is.”
He chuckled. “Son of a bitch. You love him, don’t you? He manipulated you into falling in love with him.”
“I do love him.” She fixed Richardson with a cold stare. “He didn’t have to manipulate me into it.”
Richardson shook his head. “Fuck, he must be good. I’m sorry to disillusion you, but it’s a farce, girl.”
“It can’t be. We met by accident.”
His laugh was cold. “Is that what you think? It was orchestrated.”
“What are you saying?”
“Your scholarship. Didn’t you find it strange that you were offered a full bursary for a doctorate on an exchange program to Chile?” When she didn’t reply, he continued, “Your medical records were accessed. Someone was very interested in you. The hacker’s trail was wiped out too well for our IT department to trace, but Lann Dréan found something in your blood, in your DNA, and he chose you. That’s why they sent you to Chile. Nothing was by chance.”
It was too much to take in. Richardson took a business card from his pocket and slipped it into the opening of her shirt and under the elastic of her bra.
“Call me. I can help you. Are you pregnant yet?”
Instinct made her shake her head.
“Good. Are you on the pill?”
She nodded.
“Tell him you’re not, but keep on using it,” he said, squeezing her shoulder.
