AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He arrived,” the drone said.
“Then you damn well better make sure he’s not ash by the time I get there,” she said, and when she finally burst through the door, there he was. Standing right in front of her, dark and dangerous and smolderingly sexy. She gasped, not only because of the heat she saw in his eyes, but because he was looking at her with a combination of gratitude and longing so intense it weakened her knees.
“Ms. Constantine,” he said, his voice a caress. “You came.”
“I—” She swallowed, the sensual maelstrom building within her almost overwhelming her. She turned away, afraid he’d see too much on her face. Instead, she focused on her nemesis the security drone, a tiny creature with bulbous eyes and a high-tech headset.
“Ms. Constantine,” the drone said with a small nod.
“Call Leviathan if you have to, but if Dragos is here, termination serves no purpose.”
His lips pursed as he tapped something onto his computer, then leaned in close to a monitor. “Director Leviathan concurs,” he said, and Sara had to grab onto the table to not sag in relief. “Termination denied.”
She allowed herself one deep breath, then squared her shoulders and looked at the officer standing with Luke, Officer Quai according to his name tag. “Get him out of that contraption,” she said. “And then give us a minute. I need to talk to him before you take him back to his cell.”
As she watched, Quai went about his work, unfastening the clasp that was now between the two binder cuffs at Luke’s wrists and securing one to the wall before instructing Luke to pull his now-free arm out of his coat. Then he had Luke shift before repeating the process with the second arm.
Now, Luke stood in shirtsleeves, his biceps straining under black cotton.
He was powerful.
He was dangerous.
And tonight, he’d held her close, comforting her, protecting her even in her dreams.
“Keep looking,” he said, making her jump. “Perhaps you’ll see something in me you didn’t see before.”
“I was thinking,” she said. “Not looking.”
“About me?” That generous mouth barely moved, but even so, she had the impression that he was smiling at her. Once again, she had to push back a wave of surprise at the utter incongruity of it all. He was in prison, for Christ’s sake. His shirt pulled apart to reveal an achingly familiar chest, over which was strapped a device that could have killed him only moments prior. Yet he was standing tall and commanding, the room filled with the essence, the power, of Lucius Dragos.
“Ah, then,” he said, knowingly. “It was about me.”
To her utter mortification, Quai took that moment to swivel his slightly orange head around. His large eyes narrowed as he looked at her, and she transferred to him the glare she’d earlier aimed at Luke. He immediately turned back and concentrated on removing the metal band from Luke’s chest.
“As a matter of fact, I was thinking about you,” she said, delighted to see surprise flicker in his eyes. Well, why not? Two could play the one-upmanship game. “I was thinking that I should avoid talking to you.”
“Is that so? Any particular reason?”
“Me prosecutor. You defendant. And a defendant with an advocate.” She upped the sugar value of her smile. “I’m afraid I can’t talk to you without your advocate present.”
“So far, I’d say you’re failing miserably at that task.” She had the impression that his lips quivered, but his expression hadn’t changed.
She wanted to laugh, but bit back the urge. “I guess I’ll have to put more effort into it. Probably easier once you’re gone. Out of sight, out of mind.”
“I sincerely hope that is not the case,” he said, with such heat in his voice it made her knees go weak.
Quai stepped back, having released Luke from his binds, though one ankle was now bound to the thick concrete by a short length of heavy metal chain. “Give us a moment,” she said, in a voice that broached no argument. Quai nodded, then stepped out, the security drone following behind.
“Sara,” Luke said the moment the door closed behind them. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” she said, keeping her face bland and hoping he couldn’t see beneath the mask. “I wasn’t going to have my first big trial at Division ripped away from me just because the defendant went and got himself staked.”
“I can see how that would be an inconvenience to you.”
She stifled a smile, then almost immediately turned serious. “Luke, you jumped from the twenty-fifth floor. I’ve read up, and there’s no way you could just walk away from a fall like that. Not when you couldn’t transform.”
A muscle twitched in his cheek. “Do you have a question for me, Counselor, or are you merely stating facts?”
