Running Scared (Mercenaries) Read Free

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    Her eyes moved constantly, taking in every person, every movement in the room. Survival skills. They all had them, the little things that kept them alive. She was petite, and her Asian heritage gave her an exotic look that he found appealing.
    “I am Saralyn, and as Jackson already told you, I would like your help.” She glanced over at him. “I’ve been on my own pretty much forever. I have no memory of my parents, but I do have one memory of a brother. He helped me escape, saved my life, but then he disappeared. I want to find him.”
    He wanted to go and fold her in his arms and make all the hurt go away. He knew what it felt like to lose your whole family and he knew that he would move heaven and earth if he thought even one of his own family were still alive. He gave her a reassuring smile, nodding for her to go on.
    “I’ve been working on this for a long time. I found a picture of him in a newsie feed a couple of years ago so I’m pretty sure he’s still alive. I’ve been hacking the government comps in the different provinces, moving on every time I hit a dead end. Jackson seems to think that your people can help me.”
    “What’s he look like, this brother of yours? Do you have a picture? Does he have any identifying marks? Tats? Scars?” Trace leaned forward, his face animated.
    “Down, boy. We haven’t agreed to take the case, yet.” A wry smile curved Kaeden’s lips. “Although I think our boy Jackson is going to be upset if we say no.”
    “Yeah, he’s sweet on the little thing.” Snake snorted. “I never thought I’d see the day Jackson would let a girl get under his skin.”
    Shotgun nodded, an exaggerated frown on his face. “Do you think she’s a witch? Or maybe using some of that Far East voodoo stuff on him?”
    Snake pretended to consider it. “Nah. I think she might have smiled at him. Maybe batted those long lashes. Girls do things like that, and poof. A man’s senses desert him entirely.”
    “Okay, guys, enough.” Jackson cuffed Snake lightly across the side of his head. “You need to hear the rest of this story. There’s a little more to it that you need to know.” He turned and nodded to Saralyn. She looked so calm and collected, standing in front of his team. He was proud of her and scared for her at the same time. She wanted to find her brother and that just might put her in the path of the men he suspected wanted her dead.
    “I’m not sure why the men were chasing us. Jackson here has some kind of conspiracy theory going because he knows I have a few quirks that aren’t normal.” She threw him an irritated glance. “I doubt it. I don’t remember but I’m sure those enforcers were chasing us for something normal like theft. We were orphans and we needed to eat. Other than that, there’s not a lot to tell. I always seem to be running, but again, my lifestyle doesn’t endear me to our government. They like people they can track and control.”
    Kaeden straightened up, a frown knitting his forehead. “What kind of quirks are we talking about?”
    Saralyn glanced over at Jackson, fear clouding her beautiful eyes. He knew she didn’t want to tell the team about her abilities but it was crucial that they knew everything before they formulated a plan. That they’d agree to help her was a given. He nodded, giving her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.
    Saralyn sighed. “I have an affinity for electronics. I can touch a computer and know what’s on the hard drive. My fingers let me connect somehow. Computers. Comm links. Security systems. If it’s electronic and it has any kind of motherboard or microchip in it, I can hack it just by touching it. I don’t know why, I just can.”
    The lost children .
    The thought hung in the air as the tension in the room escalated to a whole new level, the jovial atmosphere vanishing in the blink of an eye.
    Kaeden’s eyes narrowed. “You have no memory of your early childhood? Parents? Family? Just a boy helping