Red Angel: Book II: Raiders (Red Angel Series 2) Read Free

laughing hysterically between waves of pain.
    I didn't know how they had managed to circumvent security, but the sound of that shard gun would activate the sensors around the property, so the police would be here in less than five minutes. This group would never get away. Red was free, and Mother wasn't scheduled to arrive for at least another twenty minutes. As I lay there with my face in the dirt and dead leaves, I saw the woman's feet next to my head.
    "Fredric, find that krait. You two go back to the house. Her mother's due back soon. Make sure she doesn't call for help. Kill her if necessary," she shouted.
    I lay there laughing, almost enjoying the waves of pain it caused.
    "You stupid girl. If you had just given me the krait, we would have left. Now you’re going to bleed to death, and you'll have been responsible for your mother's death—because she's going to try and save you."
    I continued my hysterical laughing, much to her annoyance because she kicked me in the ribs several times when I wouldn't stop. Police sirens stopped her kicking and my laughing. My head spun like a cyclone, and I felt myself being sucked into darkness. I would die happy, knowing those I loved were safe.
* * *
    "She'll be all right, Magistrate Bellona," said a man's voice. "She's lost a lot of blood, but the wounds aren't life threatening. I've stopped the bleeding for now."
    "And we've caught the four intruders—"
    "Did they have a red-headed krait?" Alexa asked, sounding desperate.
    "No, ma'am. No snake of any kind."
    "Then she's not all right. She'll die—"
    "Mother," I tried to shout, but it came out barely above a whisper. Somehow Alexa heard and leaned closer to me. "Mother, go sit in the trees. Red will come to you, and you can bring him to me," I managed between pauses as I fought to stay conscious.
    "How? Are you sure?"
    "Yes, Mother. Trust … Red," I managed before I was pulled into the void.
* * *
    I woke to the familiar sounds of medical equipment, the smell of antiseptics, and the feeling of being tethered to tubes and wires like a marionette. The room was dark except for the dim light emanating from the equipment's monitors. Alexa lay with her head on my bed, holding my hand, and I felt the feather light touch of Red's tongue on my cheek. I sighed with relief and drifted back to sleep.
    When I woke, even with my eyes closed I could tell it was morning, as the room was bathed in sunlight. I squeezed Alexa's hand.
    "You're awake." She kissed my forehead. "You were right. I had been sitting on the ground less than an hour—which felt like a lifetime worrying whether he would come—when Red crawled onto my lap and then curled around my arm. Maybe that crazy woman's right, at least in Red's case, and he's a god. He sure isn't normal like the red-headed kraits the medical people have been examining."
    "I know. Just say you found him where I threw him. If anyone knew of his strange behavior, the people wanting him would increase exponentially." The thought was enough to make me break out in a sweat.
    "I agree. It's our secret." she nodded and touched Red. "The security people apologized for not checking out the intruders’ story. They had claimed they were from the Windon Medical Research center and wanted to consult with you. They said you had invited them to meet you at the house. And they had it timed to within minutes. You were only a few minutes from the house when they arrived. Ironically, the man who they talked to actually worked at Windon. That won't happen again." There was steel in her voice.
    Doctor Renata arrived an hour later. "You look better, Anna. You really scared me when they brought you in without Red. Lucky your mother was able to find him. Your wounds were bad but not life threatening. You got hit with shards in the right leg, where I removed three pellets. And a laser cut across both your legs, which required twelve stiches. You’re going to require rehabilitation, but you should fully recover. Thank the