A Shadow's Embrace Read Free Page B

rule, however. She’d spent the past several months wondering what he was like—if he was as sexy as his voice. Now that the adrenaline of the chase had worn off, she was all too aware of how she’d viscerally reacted to him when he’d leaned in to possess her space.  
    Her skin tingled when she remembered the heat of his mouth, the press of his massive body along her back. He was tall—at least six-three. She’d felt almost dainty in his embrace, which was downright unheard of since she was five-six.  
    After doing a couple treks around the destination block, she backed the vehicle up to the entrance. Hopefully, Cadence would send muscle to help lug Dagan into the compound quickly.  
    Even though foot traffic was minimal in this area, Devyn could hear the whirl of helicopters overhead as Conver’s crew executed a relentless search of the area. Once she’d gotten medical help for Dagan, she’d make sure Rex was secure.  
    Then, hopefully, she could turn over the intel she’d acquired and figure out what the hell she’d hacked into on the ARES databases. She was a dead woman walking until she figured a way out of the FUBAR situation. Thanks to today’s clusterfuck, she couldn’t rely on SEO assistance.  
    She’d gotten one of their operatives shot. From what she’d heard on the street, Kaeden, their leader, was a hothead on good days and downright lethal most of the time. That was why Devyn had provided intel covertly in the past, opting to use a computerized voice over a secured network. The protocol had become second nature for her, one no one in her crew knew about.  
    Past intel she’d stumbled across hadn’t been about ARES. Local drug dealers, dirty politicians—anything that helped clean the streets her kids were on—had been her focal point initially. Then she’d delved into the seedy underbelly that was General Conver’s systems last week.  
    Even though the drive to the Indigo Order’s headquarters took only a few minutes, Devyn couldn’t suppress the angst surging within her, the guilt. He’d taken a bullet for her because she’d been too slow in reacting. Dare and Rider would kick her ass for being stupid enough to take on three armed targets. They’d do it in a heartbeat, but they were elite operatives like Dagan.  
    The classification was reserved for the most rigorously trained of Conver’s super soldiers. Only level five and sixes on the Psychic Phenomena Scale were recruited. Participation wasn’t an option. Rebels were harshly punished, which was probably why most of them had fled his tyrannical reign. Some escapees who hadn’t joined Kaeden formed militant splinter groups of their own—operating in the gray areas that made their unique skillsets critical.  
    Most of the human populace ignored the existence of the psychically enhanced. Few in the press covered the congressional trials investigating the mistreatment of the freed psychics. Devyn hadn’t been surprised. The powers running ARES were formidable.  
    “Indy, word on the street ain’t good.” Patch rocketed toward her.  
    The short, wiry, pimply-faced teen had been on the streets a couple years. His entire family had been killed during the uprising of Compound B. Devyn wished she could do more for the thirteen-year-old, but he was fiercely independent and pissed at the world. It had taken her a year to learn his street name.  
    Patch. She’d yet to figure out his scale grade, but she suspected he was at least a level five, which made Devyn wonder how he’d gone unnoticed. His parents must have been lower levels, and the good doctor had assumed he was as well. Second and third generation psychics were often discarded like unwanted rubbish.  
    “I need your juice, buddy.” Devyn checked Dagan for a pulse before stepping aside. “Bullet to the gut.”  
    “Is that who I think it is? Chica, this ain’t good. I don’t mess with Shadows. I fly under the radar. They get wind of me I’ll be holed up in