(Arcane Society #5) Running Hot by Amanda Quick

Author:Amanda Quick [Quick, Amanda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Psychological, Psychic Ability, Fiction, Romance, Murder, Suspense, An Arcane Society Novel, General
ISBN: 9780515147384
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Published: 2008-01-01T23:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-THREE

She was huddled on the sofa, the computer open on the coffee table in front of her, when Luther arrived. He stalked into the suite looking like the Lord of the Underworld—a very pissed-off Lord. He started toward her, using his cane to emphasize each word.

“What” thud “the” thud “hell” thud “did” thud “you” thud “think” thud “you” thud “were” thud “doing?” Thud.

“Don’t touch me,” she yelped. She leaped off the sofa and backed hurriedly toward the open door to the lanai, shielding her hands under her crossed arms. “I mean it. Please don’t touch me.”

He halted, thunderstruck. “You think I’d hit you?” he asked, disbelief and pain etched on his face.

“No,” she said, chagrined. “Of course not. I just meant don’t touch me. Not yet, at any rate. I’ve been sensitized again.”

“Damn.” He didn’t look any less angry but his pained expression evaporated. “All right, tell me what happened.”

She gave him what she hoped was a thoroughly professional report. When it was over she expected him to take out his phone and call Fallon Jones. Instead he just stood there, regarding her with an unnerving consideration, as if he had never seen anything quite like her before.

“That trick you used on the housekeeper,” he said eventually. “You said you’ve done it before?”

“A few times.” She unfolded her arms and looked at her palms. “After my mother died, I went into the foster care system. I left it after about six months. I was on the streets for a while. There are some badly warped people out there.”

“No shit,” he growled.

She chose to ignore that. “Some of them are sensitives who have learned to use their talents to manipulate others. There was one pimp, some kind of weird charisma talent, I think. He was able to seduce young girls, make them fall in love with him. They’d do anything for him.”

“So he sent them out onto the streets to turn tricks for him,” Luther said, a savage edge on the words.

“I see you’ve encountered that particular species of sewer rat,” she said quietly.

“Yes.” He did not elaborate.

“I used to hang out with some of his girls at night. I’d use my talent to tell them which johns were safe and which ones to avoid. One day the pimp discovered that the girls were turning down some of the dangerous tricks. He was furious. He decided to beat one or two as examples to the others. I figured out what he was planning. I even knew which girl he intended to beat first, the newest and youngest one. I was there when he came to get her that night. She was terrified. There was so much violence surrounding him you could have cut it with a knife. When he reached for her, I took hold of her arm and jacked up to full strength, overwhelming her aura with my own and forming a kind of barrier to his. The instant he touched her he got fried.”

“Define ‘fried,’ ” Luther said. “Are we talking dead?”

“No,” she said quickly, appalled.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.