Deceived (Burned Book 2) by Parkins J. Nichole

Author:Parkins, J. Nichole [Parkins, J. Nichole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: J. Nichole Parkins
Published: 2016-02-08T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

The rain fell in sheets, obscuring the lights along the street. It beat the pavement, the dull roar punctuated by the roll of thunder in the distance.

"Of course," I mumbled, realizing I'd forgotten my umbrella. The foyer of the courthouse was icy cold, but dry. My heavy sigh echoed in the empty corridor and I rested my forehead on the cool glass. Since it was an hour past closing, almost everyone had left the building. Security was around somewhere, wandering the halls during rounds. If I found one of them, they could probably find an umbrella in the lost and found to lend me, but it just seemed like too much effort. I stood against the transparent barrier from the rain, unwilling to move, to relinquish my few scant moments of freedom to return to my gilded cage.

Freedom from the eyes, the judgment. The accusatory glances.

But I was never really free.

"Arabella." His soothing voice was a balm to my fractured heart. My eyes darted to his and I got lost in the brilliant cobalt orbs as his hand pressed the middle of my back. Its warmth was comforting, solid. A piece of reality in my otherwise unreal world.

I was adrift, lost. I ached for an anchor.

"Zak." Smiling for the first time in what felt like weeks, the muscles of my face protested the movement. I felt rusty, empty, used.

Ever observant, his warm eyes clouded with worry. "Is everything okay?"

His kindness was my undoing. I fought to hold the tears at bay, but they shimmered in my eyes, admitting what I couldn't. My throat seized closed with the effort, rendering me unable to speak. All I could do was shake my head. My red curls bobbed with the movement, the silky strands brushing my face in a comforting caress.

"Why don't we go somewhere and talk?" Shaking open his blue umbrella, he held the rain back long enough to reach his Expedition. The gray SUV blended into the dullness of the rainy city.

I slid into the cool leather seats. The unique scent of new car invaded my senses. Cold air blasted through the vents and the stirring sounds of Big Mama burst from the stereo. The soul-wrenching lyrics filled the car, echoing the turmoil that tightened my chest and pressed against my shoulders. Zak wrenched the dials, turning down both as he pulled the car into the mostly deserted street.

"Where to?"

How did I answer that when I didn't even know?

My place wasn't safe. From the moment I hit the block surrounding my building I was watched. Security cameras and sharp-eyed employees scrutinized my every movement, reporting anything unusual to Alejandro.

Kyra was persona non grata. Her place was vacant from what I'd heard, ransacked while she had been out of state. All her belongings had been trashed. Once the House members sent to find her had failed, Alejandro turned to bounty-hunters. Although it wasn't a kill order, Alejandro wanted the pleasure of killing her himself. She was nowhere; it was like she'd vanished from the face of the earth.

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