A Shadow's Embrace Read Free

supposed to be in harm’s way.  
    How had Conver figured out her location so quickly?  
    Annoyance kept her silent and complacent to the grueling pace Dagan set as they vaulted from one rooftop to another in no clear direction. East, north, then east, then west, then northwest, south. She was getting dizzy, and each blind lunge from one safe perch to another sent her pulse racing to a faster tempo.  
    By the time her leg muscles were limper than linguini, she paused and looked around. “We’re back to where we started?”  
    “Conver’s minions rarely circle back. They’re too arrogant to think we’d remain in the target zone and engage a force as large as they are. It’s suicide.” He flicked a gaze over his shoulder in her general direction before assessing the perimeter.  
    Her lungs burned; her thighs ached. Ragged breaths sawed in and out of her parched throat as she watched him calmly prowling around as though they hadn’t just vaulted like drunken reindeer across so many rooftops she'd lost count. Wiping sweat from her brow, she sighed her general contempt for his gorgeous, thick hair and its lack of disarray.  
    He wasn’t even breaking a sweat yet.  
    Okay. Dare and Rider had been right. She needed to spend more time on cardio. What had they been talking about before her body had short circuited? Oh, yeah. It was suicide to remain in Conver’s target zone.  
    No joke. “Then why?”  
    “Because every boat, airplane, bus, vehicle, horse cart, and bicycle is under scrutiny, and unless you can sprout wings and fly our asses out of here, we don’t have much of a choice. Now, are you going to behave and follow me, or are we going to stand around and wait for the helicopters to spot us?”  
    In silent rebellion, she vaulted to the next rooftop. He cursed but followed. She landed with a grin and turned to face a nightmare. The rooftop’s high perimeter had hidden the crush of six ARES soldiers, weapons trained on her. Dagan thudded to a halt beside her.  
    “Guess that plan of yours didn’t work too well,” she commented.  
    He lunged for two of the soldiers and downed them quickly. Dagan roundhouse kicked another in the throat. Devyn took the cue and did the same, adding a kick to the nuts for one of the other men. Before she could handle the last man, gunfire erupted. She halted, swallowing her scream when Dagan shoved her to the ground and grunted as he fell.  
    Crimson flowed between his splayed fingers. Son of a bitch. He’d taken the bullet for her.  
    Shit.  
    She nailed the last man in the nuts, snagged his weapon, and then placed a double tap to his forehead. Blood and brain matter exploded around her as she repeated the action until all six were out of commission. Apparently it was time to channel her inner heartless, killing bitch.  
    Dagan winced when she helped him stand, his right hand spread across his stomach. Blood flowed from the gaping wound. This wasn’t good.  
    She studied the situation, accessed the data stream she’d fed to Ace at SEO headquarters, and realized there was a narrow window of opportunity for them to get gone. Rex’s telekinetic blitz attack had sent most of the ARES assholes running for ground.  
    “Can you help get yourself off this roof?” she asked.  
    He tapped his ear comm twice. “Situation critical. Repeat, situation critical.”  
    “No. Hell, no, it isn’t critical.” She half pulled, half dragged him to the edge of the roof. “Down. Now.”  
    Their enhanced genetics made such falls possible. Landing hurt like a bitch, but it wouldn’t break anything if they were both conscious. She landed in a crouch and cursed when Dagan fell with a booming thud. Blood oozed from his gut.  
    “Don’t think that was a good idea,” he groaned.  
    No shit. At least he was ground level. She looked around, thankful when she realized where they were. This was doable. Searching his pockets, she grabbed his phone and punched in the emergency