DNA-altering drugs. Faster than a speeding car. Bullet wounds that heal in days.
What the hell was she reading? None of it could be true.
It is, a small voice whispered in her head. You saw it with your own eyes.
Carina massaged her temple. Shock ricocheted through her limbs. Had been ricocheting for the last hour since she’d gotten home, plonked her butt on the couch and started researching.
Her gaze danced over the words again. Abducted. Held hostage. Drugged. The man had been a prisoner, a victim, and now he was…well, something else entirely. It was crazy.
Her fingers trembled as she used the touch pad to open another website. It said the same. They all did.
Everyone had known. Everyone but her, apparently. Because she’d become a hermit over the last several months.
And it wasn’t just Flynn. All the men from Blue Halo had been taken, held on some large, remote property, forcibly given drugs against their will.
No wonder the men were so close. To go through something like that, you’d have no choice if you wanted to survive. It also explained why Flynn felt so obligated to his mother. He hadn’t said the words out loud, but she’d seen it in the way he looked at her. Doted on her. Visited every single day.
He felt guilty for not being there when she’d started her descent into Alzheimer’s.
She clicked out of the latest article and rested against the cushions. Unbelievable. But true.
She rose from the couch and moved over to the kitchen. On the way, her gaze caught on the new note that had been slipped into her mailbox. This one read similar to the last. Something about getting out of town before it was too late.
Argh. Those damn kids.
Blowing out a frustrated breath, she opened the fridge. She wasn’t hungry. Which was probably lucky, because there was diddly squat in terms of food. She could always order in. Or she could just eat a plate of cheese and crackers paired with a bottle of red. She smiled. Who was she kidding? That had always been the plan.
She reached into the fridge, lifted the cheese and wine, then grabbed the crackers from the cupboard.
Once she was settled outside, she leaned back in her seat. It was appropriate to drink an entire bottle of wine when you found out big, otherworldly information, right? Of course it was. If anything, it was expected.
She was already into her second glass and halfway through the cheese when her phone rang. Greg’s name popped up and, for a moment, she considered letting it go to voicemail. But she’d already done that to his last three calls, not to mention the unanswered texts.
Setting down the wineglass, she answered the call. “Hi, Greg.”
“Carina.” There was a small pause. “I wasn’t expecting you to answer.”
She traced the rim of the glass with her index finger. “Sorry. I’ve been dealing with the new job, new town and just getting everything organized.”
“That’s okay. How’s it all going?”
Hm. Well, she’d learned about supersoldiers with crazy abilities. She’d been fired and then rehired under supervision. And she’d kissed a man she barely knew. So…busy?
“It’s okay. Different.”
For a moment, Greg didn’t respond. She was on the verge of asking if he was still there when he finally broke the silence. “I miss you.”
Her heart panged at his words. Their breakup had been one-sided. Her side. She’d done it only a week before leaving town. Which made her horrible, right? Because Greg had been nothing short of an incredible partner.
He was a doctor at the hospital where she’d previously worked, and when the accusation happened, he’d insisted he believed her. Assured her that everything would be okay. He’d even invited her to move into his place when she hadn’t been able to pay her rent due to loss of income.
“I’m sorry, Greg. I know I didn’t give you a lot of time to come to terms with our breakup.”
“I don’t even know what I did wrong.”
Her eyes shuttered. “Nothing. You did nothing wrong. You were an amazing boyfriend. I just…I need some time away. A new town. A new start.”
And just like she’d told Patricia, she hadn’t felt that thing. The thing that made her excited and nervous and giddy.
The thing that Flynn made her feel without even trying.
Another stab of guilt hit her chest.
“I could have gone with you,” Greg said quietly.
She shook her head even though he couldn’t see it. They’d barely been dating six months. “We weren’t at that stage in our relationship. We—”
She stopped when something from the side of the house caught her attention. A sound.
Wait… Was that…?
Another cracking sound.
No. Freaking. Way!
“I’m sorry, Greg. I’m gonna need to call you back.”
Before he could respond, she hung up, rose from her seat, and rushed around to the side of the house that faced her less-than-welcoming neighbors’ place.
Yep. Those damn boys from next door were throwing freaking eggs at her house again!
“Hey!” she shouted, marching forward.
They paused and turned to face her. But if she’d expected to see fear or hesitation, she didn’t. They both faced her and smirked.
“Look who it is.” The taller one scoffed. “You gonna call the cops on us again, bitch?”
Bitch? What the heck was wrong with these kids? “Yeah, damn straight I’ll call the police. Get the hell off my property.”
She was tempted to tell them to clean up their mess, but she didn’t want them anywhere near her house.
“Or what?” the slightly shorter boy asked, anger blazing in his gaze. “You go crying to our mom again?”
They both laughed.
Carina lifted her phone. She’d had enough.
She’d only typed in the first number before the cell was yanked from her fingers. “Hey!”
The taller kid laughed and tossed it to his twin. She stomped up to his brother. “Give it back now.”
He laughed in her face and tossed it back to his brother.
Okay. Now she was really pissed. She stormed back to the other kid and reached for the phone, but he lifted it above his head with one hand and shoved her back with the other. The shove was hard, causing her to stumble backward.
Closing her eyes, she braced, expecting to hit the ground for the second time today.
Instead, strong hands caught her waist, righting her.
The kid who’d pushed her gaped, and his eyes widened. “Where the hell did you come from?”
She shot a glance over her shoulder.
Flynn. His eyes were on her, and they were soft as he asked, “Are you okay?”
She gave a quick nod because that was about all she could muster. When his gaze rose to the taller boy, the softness dropped. And in its place was an anger so vicious it almost had Carina stepping away.
The man looked murderous.
Anger pounded through Flynn’s chest, heating his blood. He’d barely stepped around the house when he saw the kid push her.
Then he saw red.
He lunged forward, grabbing the kid by the shirt. “Give me the fucking phone.”
The teenager handed it to him, and he quickly shoved it into his pocket. Then he lowered his head and his voice. “You and your brother are going to clean the shit off the windows. Then you’re going to stay the fuck off her property. If you come anywhere near her or her house again, it won’t just be the police you’re dealing with.” He lowered his head even further. “I’ll fucking break you. Got it?”
The kid nodded, his body trembling in Flynn’s hold. “Got it!”
Flynn shot a look at the other kid. “You got it?”
The boy inched backward, his eyes wide, looking just as scared as his brother. He nodded.
It wasn’t enough. “Say it.”
“I—I got it!”
“Good. I expect these windows to be crystal fucking clean in the next ten minutes.”
He shoved the kid back in much the same way the boy had done to Carina. He hadn’t even hit the ground before Flynn turned, took Carina’s hand in his own, and led her around the back. He was about to step inside when she stopped, tugging her hand from his and grabbing a wineglass and half-eaten plate of cheese and crackers off the table. He snagged the wine bottle and trailed inside after her.
She quickly lowered the items onto the island before moving to the other side. Was she trying to keep space between them? Intentionally standing as far as she could without actually leaving the room?
“Have they done anything like that before?” he asked quietly, still feeling far too on edge.
Her gaze shot to the windows, and he had his answer before her words came out.
“Tell me.”
She swallowed. “I came home to egg on my windows three days ago. I tried talking to their mother, but she didn’t care.”
He moved around the island slowly, testing to see whether she’d inch away. She didn’t, and something in his chest loosened the tiniest bit. “The whole town knows about the Brown twins. They’re assholes who like to cause trouble. Have they touched you before?”
There was the slightest widening of her eyes, and he didn’t know whether she realized she was doing it, but her hands ran up and down her arms. “No. But I’ve never confronted them.”
“I want you to tell me if they do anything like that again. Okay?” So he could murder the little shits. He took another slow step toward her.
“Okay.”
For a moment, he studied her face, wondering how much of the pale complexion was due to the Brown twins and how much was due to what she’d learned about him.
“How are you feeling after today?” he asked. She’d been scared when she left his mother’s house. And he hated that.
“I’m okay.”
“Are you okay with what I am?” He was now around the island, with nothing between them.
“Mm-hmm.”
One side of his mouth lifted. “Not all that convincing, honey.”
Her mouth opened and closed. “It’s just…a lot to take in.”
He took the final step forward so that she was within reaching distance. His hand twitched. “I’m still the same person I was. Just…”
“Stronger? Faster? A bit enhanced?”
He chuckled. “Yeah. A bit of all of that.”
When she didn’t step away from him, he raised his hand to touch her arm. The zing that shot through his system was immediate. A zing of awareness. Of desire.
She felt it too. He could tell by the quick intake of breath. The little flutter of her heartbeat.
When her gaze shot to his lips, his gut clenched. She needed to stop doing that. All he wanted to do was kiss the woman. Taste her again. Feel her soft body against him. And those blue eyes of hers, focused on his mouth, weren’t damn well helping.
When his gaze went to her lips in return, her hand pressed to his chest, and she took a step back. “We shouldn’t.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re taken.”
Ah. So Callum was right. He moved forward. “Victoria and I broke up the night you saw us at the restaurant.”
She took another step back. “Oh…well…you need time—”
“I don’t. I should have ended it two months ago, after our first date.”
Another step forward for him. Another step back for her.
“Okay. But you still don’t trust me.”
“I do.” He tilted his head. “You’re a great fit for my mother. I realized that after the first hour I watched you caring for her.”
There was a slight crease between her brows. This time, when he invaded her personal space, she didn’t back away. “But you’ve still been watching me.”
“Maybe I couldn’t stay away.” He lowered his head, touching his lips to the skin just below her ear. Her shudder trembled against him. “Maybe I was desperate to spend time with you.”
God, she smelled good. And the feel of her skin against his mouth… He pressed another kiss to her flesh, this time along her jaw.
“I’m going away for a job tomorrow. So you won’t see me there for the next few days.” It was a blow, when all he wanted to do was explore this. Explore her. “I’d like to see more of you when I get back, though.” His breath brushed her skin with his words.
“You barely know me,” she whispered.
His hand curved around her waist. He pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I know. But I feel something. And I know you feel it too.”
On the next kiss, he touched the corner of her mouth. Her lips separated. She didn’t pull away. In fact, she leaned into him.
He sealed his mouth to hers, plunging his tongue between her lips. She was just as fucking sweet as last time. And the kiss… It was heat and fire and a million other things. Kissing her was like nothing he’d ever experienced before, with anyone. And he wanted more.
His hands tightened on her hips, and he lifted her before sitting her on the island and shifting between her thighs. A whimper escaped her throat, making his hands tighten, his blood roar between his ears.
Fuck, but he burned for the woman.
His hand trailed up her stomach, her ribs, then his fingers closed around a plump breast. Another quiet whimper from Carina. He swallowed it, finding her taut nipple through her shirt and brushing his thumb across the hard peak.
Her body jolted and trembled in his arms as her fingers held his ribs.
He trailed his lips down her cheek, landing on her neck. With a sigh, she ground against him, slowly, damn near destroying him. He was ready. So fucking ready to take her to the bedroom that it was a physical pain.
Her hand pressed to his chest.
“Flynn.” Her voice was breathy. He sucked a spot on her neck, reveling at the shudder down her spine. “We should stop.”
They should, but it was so damn hard when his entire body ached for her. Slowly, he unlatched his lips and pressed a final kiss to her skin before lifting his head. Her eyes were glazed, the light blue now looking close to navy.
Fucking radiant.
“What the hell do you do to me?” he rasped, stunned by what the woman made him feel.
Her mouth lifted into a small smile. “The same thing you do to me.”
He lowered his head, eyes closing. “I’ll be away for a few days. But I meant what I said. When I come back, I want us to pick up where we left off. No running from this, Carina.”
He couldn’t allow that.
When he opened his eyes, it was to see her bottom lips between her teeth. He almost groaned out loud. The woman was going to be the death of him.
