Exquisite Danger Read Free

got close, they were actually a beautiful, light golden-brown with a starburst of hazel-green, and flecked with orange that surrounded the iris.
    It was the trust in her eyes that made me decide to be as direct with her as I could. We didn’t lie to each other, ever, and I wasn’t going to start now. “Lyric, this is my man, Smoke. I know he looks scary as shit, but he’s a part of my life now, and I love him. I would really like it if you could be friends. I know he’s huge, but I swear he’d rather cut off his own hand than harm you.
    She trembled hard, but when I gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, she darted her gaze up at Smoke and whispered a rapid spill of words. “It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Smoke.”
    “You can just call me Smoke, sweetheart.” His voice was equally soothing as he said, “It’s nice to meet someone that Swan cares about so much.”
    Lyric gave him a shy smile before returning her gaze to the ground. “I care about her, too. She’s like my sister.”
    “Then that means we’re family now, and I always take care of my family.” He dazzled us both with his best smile, and Lyric sucked in a quick breath.
    “Um...okay.” She gave me a rather desperate, dazed look. I could sympathize with her feeling like that. “He’s your boyfriend?”
    “Yeah.”
    She gave a slightly shaky laugh and whispered, “Wow.”
    “It’s so good to see you,” I kissed her on the cheek then gave her another hug. A fragile innocence and sweetness seemed to radiate from Lyric, and as usual, the urge to take care of her rose in me. “Come on, let’s get some food in you.”
    She paled, her sprinkling of freckles standing out on the bridge of her nose and upper cheeks. “Can we stay here? I had to agree to bring a chaperone with me to the party, and I ditched him.”
    I had to grit my teeth and take a deep breath as my protective instincts roared to life. “Why do you look scared when you say that?”
    Clasping her hands together hard enough to make her skin blotch, she shook her head. “They have rules now, like any woman must be accompanied by a man of high standing in the church if she wishes to leave the homestead. Especially an unmarried woman.”
    “What?” I saw Smoke tense out of the corner of my eye and tried to think up a way to diffuse the situation, but I was having a hard enough time keeping my shit under control. “They wouldn’t let you leave by yourself if you wanted to?”
    “No,” Lyric said in a flat voice and tensed. “Things are different with our new leader.”
    I blinked at her in surprise. “You’re dad’s not leading your church anymore?”
    Lyric’s lower lip trembled. “He died four months ago.”
    Right away, I felt like the worst friend ever, and my voice was thick with tears as I said, “Honey, I had no idea. Why didn’t you have Dad and Mimi tell me? I would have come home in an instant.”
    “I asked them to keep it from you because I didn’t want you to meet the new leader.” Lyric turned her head and tried to wipe away her tears. “I don’t want you around him. He’s not a nice man. Your fresh mouth would get me in trouble. New rule: If we have a guest and they commit a transgression, then the person who invited them has to pay for it by doing penance. It’s cut down on the number of outsiders coming to the Church, big time, and isolated the members from their extended families. A few of the more moderate families have already left, but the hardcore believers are gaining power…and new members. The pastor we have right now preaches fear and hate—that God is a vengeful deity bent upon bringing suffering to those who sin against Him. I’ve tried to debate it with the pastor, to help him see that God is love, not hate, but he seems like he doesn’t even care what the Bible says. He’s teaching the people lies, and they seem to be oblivious to just how manipulative he is.”
    I ran a soothing hand down her braid, trying to calm her before