Hadaen [The Marujan Brothers Series] Book One Read Free

Gideon was silent. “Why
do you have to convince her?”
    A pained sigh escaped Hadaen’s lips.
“Apparently, she does not remember who she is.”
    Gideon groaned and massaged his
temples. “Are you certain?”
    “Yes! I could read her mind…her
memories. There is no trace of her life in Maruj there. Her life
seemed to have only started a quarter of a century ago. She did not
even recognize me at all.”
    Gideon moved in closer and took a swig
from Hadaen’s flask. After a short pause, he took three more and
then pulled up an armchair. “If that’s so then it means we will
have to carry her to the Hub of Lensai.”
    “It’s the only way.”
    Gideon sighed and then jumped to his
feet, looking like his usual frisky self. “You know what I find
hilarious about all of this?” Hadaen glowered and swallowed thickly
but did not answer. “It’s amazing how you were the one who drove
her away in the first place.”
    “I did not drive her away,”
he snarled— yes, snarled —between clenched teeth.
    Gideon chuckled. “You forced yourself
on the poor thing. Why else would she run?”
    A puff escaped his lips and Hadaen
held his hands up at eye level. “Fine! Are you done; rolling around
in your formidable immaturity?”
    Gideon cleared his throat weakly and
said, “Well then… So you found Amelia. Where do we go on from
here?”
    “She works nights at a liquor store on
some dark alley crawling with thieves and whores…” He exhaled
sharply and then continued. “I followed her home. Her place isn’t
much better. It appears to be some sort of old abandoned industrial
building.” He got to his feet in an instant, wonder evident on his
features. “What I found strange was that the moment she set foot
inside the building, it was as if she did not exist at all. I could
not reach into her mind. There was nothing…”
    “Well, that only leaves two
explanations…” Gideon tucked his hands into his pockets and shook
his head. “Either she really is playing with you or…” His eyebrows
rose immediately. “You don’t think…?”
    Hadaen met his eyes firmly. “That’s
exactly what I’m thinking, little brother… Someone is shielding
her.”

    ~*~
    “Y ou really didn’t have to wait up for me again.”
    Amelia smiled as she
trotted bare-footedly through the kitchen, pulling on a robe over
her thin pajamas. She blew out a breath and reached for a mug to
pour herself some coffee. Stopping dead in her tracks, she frowned
and mentally scolded herself. Really, Mel!
Coffee at this hour ? Sighing, she reached
inside the refridgerator, poured some milk and then tucked the mug
inside the microwave for a minute.
    Her roommate, Reese, folded
her legs beneath her on the sofa and wove around her copy of Cosmo . “Yeah… I was
bored. Decided to read about how to find me a new man.”
    Amelia laughed and sat next to her,
sipping on her warmed milk. “There was a hot guy in the store
tonight…”
    Magazine suddenly flung aside, Reese sat up straight, her face
bright with interest. “Do tell... How hot was he?”
    “I don’t know. He seemed like a
mystery to me,” she responded and then stared at her friend. “Seems
like I’ve seen him before but I don’t know where. He even knew my
name. Strange…”
    “Strange ? A super-hot guy knows your name and you think that’s strange ?” Reese laughed.
“Talk about giving attention to the wrong girl.”
    Amelia frowned slightly and sipped at
her mug. “I’m serious. I don’t know how to explain it but when I
saw him… it was almost as if I knew him and there was this look in
his eyes… Then he said something that sounded like French to me. It
sort of gave me the creeps how he said it.” She turned to look at
her friend who was now suddenly looking skeptic. “Okay, I know it
sounds weird but—oh, never mind.”
    Reese giggled. “Sounds like some of
that reincarnation stuff. You know, past lives and all that.” Then
her face lit up. “But what