In Your Dreams Read Free

your
rudeness.”
    “Oh, you bet you
deserve more,” Sean snapped. “You deserve to roast in hell. Or since hell
doesn’t really exist, you should be sentenced to the same fate you placed upon
Luc Asante and Jodie Devlin.”
    Verity’s deep
sigh neutralized the charged air as she shook her head. “Their story is no
longer our worry. Yours, however, is. And the Board is concerned about your
welfare.”
     
“Terrific.” He made the term sound more fearful than a death sentence. In his
opinion, any interference the enigmatic Board and its Council offered could
bode no good for him.
    “Sit, please. I
don’t appreciate having to crane my neck to look up at you.”
    Grudgingly, he
sank into the chair directly across from her, the seat he’d always had at his
mother’s table.
    “You haven’t
been yourself lately,” Verity continued. “You’ve become impatient, surly, and
distracted. Therefore, the Board has decided to reassign you.”
    Yippee.
    “Your sarcasm is
grating, Sean,” Verity muttered, one eyebrow arched in disapproval. “I would
advise you to keep your animosity in control until you leave this auditorium.”
    With that simple
admonishment, she transformed him into a petulant child. He’d forgotten the
sensory link that allowed her to hear his thoughts as easily as if he shouted
them. A flush of heat wafted over his neck and cheeks, and he ducked his head
to hide his reaction from her knowing gaze. “Yes, ma’am.”
    “You should also
work on your sincerity. Your penitent act is a little weak.”
    So much for
hiding. “Yes, ma’am.” He clasped his hands on the tabletop in the pose of
obedient schoolboy. Inside, however, his stomach roiled.
    “Be that as it
may,” Verity said. “Your services in bounty hunting are no longer required. The
Board would like to transfer you to the Probation Department.”
    His head jerked
up, and he studied her face for any hint of ridicule. He found none. The most
serene expression met his scrutiny. “Probation? For what? For disagreeing with
your destruction of two loving, innocent people?” He shot to his feet,
screeching the chair legs across the linoleum floor tiles. “Go to hell.”
    “Sean.” A
warning tone, followed by a sigh and a light tap to the wrist, beckoned him
back into the chair. A command he refused this time. “ You are not on
probation. Yet. But your continued animosity toward me and the Board will not
solve anything. I am urging you to forget about Luc and Jodie, for your own
welfare. Since you’ve seen the Chasm for yourself, I’m sure you don’t want to
find yourself banished there.”
    He bit his
tongue to keep a perfect fuck you in check and shook his head. “No,
ma’am.”
    “Sit.” She
jerked her head toward the chair where he’d eaten so many meals as a child in
Brooklyn. “We’ve much to discuss.”
    Frowning, he
dropped into the chair again. Why the hell couldn’t he maintain some backbone
around her?
    “And don’t
pout,” she chastised gently.
    “I’m not .”
He meant the words to be a firm denial, but they came out an adolescent whine.
    Verity laughed.
“My mistake, then.” She laid her hands palms-up on the table, and her happy
expression sobered without becoming harsh. “This isn’t a punishment or a
demotion. You obviously can no longer continue as a bounty hunter. The Board,
however, believes you can become an excellent probation officer. You’ll report
to that department immediately after we’re through here. Xavia is waiting for
you. But first, close your eyes. I want you to watch something.”
    He barely did as
she directed before a vivid scene popped into his head. Unlike his last experience
with this neurosensory mind-meld, the details of Sean’s former lives did not
fill his senses. Instead, he saw a young woman staring into a medicine cabinet
mirror. Her eyes, glistening from the strip of lights above the cabinet and a
well of unshed tears, shot lasers into Sean’s heart. So much pain