Sheltered Roots by Jeanne Allen

Author:Jeanne Allen [Allen, Jeanne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, New Adult, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fantasy, Contemporary, Paranormal
ISBN: 1230003722671
Publisher: Covey Publishing, LLC
Published: 2020-02-28T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

It takes us two hours to drive into downtown Atlanta. I have just enough time to wearily admire the impressive city skyline before we pull into the parking garage of one of the city’s many high-rise apartment buildings.

“I thought we were going to a safe house,” I mutter.

Forrest chuckles and turns to face me. “We are.”

“I thought safe houses were more like…”

“Houses?” Lyle offers from beside me.

I nod, trying my best not to disturb Sebastian who has curled up and gone to sleep on my lap. Like a spoiled cat.

“Houses are too easily broken into, especially for our kind,” Jackson comments.

“And people coming and going from an apartment building are less noticeable,” Lyle finishes.

I nod again, though Jackson can’t see me from his position in the driver’s seat. It makes sense. I don’t know why I assumed the safe house would be a house, especially in a big city like Atlanta.

We park the SUV, and I shake Sebastian awake. Lyle does the same with Lucas who had also fallen asleep during our drive. The six of us spill out into the parking garage and head toward the attached elevator, where Jackson produces a keycard, which he touches to a pad above the floor buttons. The panel makes a small sound, then all of the buttons light up, allowing Jackson to push the one for the top floor.

When he turns to face us, I raise my eyebrows at him.

“What?” the tone of his voice seems unaffected, but his neck shows a telltale tint of pink.

“Just because it’s a safe house doesn’t mean it can’t have all the comforts of home,” Lucas explains, finishing off with a wink and a nudge in Jackson’s direction.

Jackson winces but recovers enough to offer me a confident smile. “I bought the penthouse with my own money under several different aliases. No one should know we’re here.”

Luckily, I don’t have to respond to that bit of information, because the elevator door opens to reveal a very plush hallway. The carpet is made of red crushed velvet, and the walls are that wood and brocade mix usually found in fancy hotels. There are only two doors in the hallway, and Jackson leads us to the one at the opposite end of the hall from the elevator.

He swipes his keycard which opens up a panel.

To my surprise, instead of entering a pin on the number pad, he flips open the top, revealing what looks like a fingerprint reader. Sure enough, when he presses his thumb to the small blue panel, the door opens immediately. A pleasant robot voice welcomes us home.

“Wow,” I whisper to Sebastian, who looks as awed as I am.

“Hi-tech,” he agrees.

Behind us, Lucas snickers, but the rest don’t say anything as we enter the apartment.

My first thought as we step through the door is that Jackson must spend a fortune on his cleaning service. The entry way, and what I can see of the living space beyond, is done up in whites and creams. A

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