Untamed Hawaiian Heat (Rift Hunters) Read Free Page A

into his magic.
    Shit. This wasn’t normal. What the hell had caused this kind of damage?
    Reaching for his magic, he concentrated his efforts. The tattered strands of the rift flexed as he knitted them back together. He could feel the relief in the energy patterns as each thread became whole again. There was still a little more than a yard to go before he could reinforce it to prevent it from reopening.
    He started to back off from the mending process when a sudden spike shot from Earth’s core. Energy rushed through his body and into the opening.
    The rift began to hum and vibrate, pulsing with a life of its own. He’d used rifts before when he needed to close one in a remote location, but the power pouring in and out of this one was greater than any he’d ever encountered. Though the energy wouldn’t normally hurt him—since he knew how to harness it—he didn’t want to find out if the sheer magnitude of this much raw power would. He started to sever his connection with the rift when he suddenly felt his body being pulled into it.
    Knowing it was futile to try to avoid being dragged in, he allowed the rift to engulf him. The energy swirled around his body, cradling him like a mother would her child. It caressed his senses, warmed him as he spun and twisted in the vortex. Colors flew by at an increasing rate as he neared the end of the rift. He braced himself for the drop that would occur upon exiting.
    Another energy spike surged inside the vortex as he approached the end. He panicked when he realized his magic was still linked with the rift. Just as he was disengaging the last thread, a powerful bolt of electricity traveled along it, thrusting him through the last couple of yards of the tunnel.
    What the hell? He wrapped his arms around his head just before he slammed facedown into the hard-packed ground with a bone-crunching thud . Every molecule of his body cried out in agony. He lifted his head at the sound of gunfire. A woman stood over him, a stunned expression on her face. Behind her a man entered the clearing, anger blazing in his eyes.
    Tiaki felt his magic rush toward the couple. Mine , he thought he heard his mind growl as blackness enveloped him.
    * * * *
    Kiana halted in her advance and leaned against a mango tree to catch her breath. The sweet scent of the ripened fruit assailed her with each inhalation. She could hear the voices of her team calling to one another through the com link. Sweat beaded on her brow. It was too fucking hot to be chasing the cowards.
    The bastards were retreating again. How the Obsidian Syndicate, or OS, had succeeded in infiltrating the government so thoroughly when they acted like this was beyond her.
    And with the new president a staunch supporter of the Syndicate, they’d had no trouble gaining control of most of the major military bases. Including Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Once they’d obtained control, they had wasted no time in culling the soldiers who’d refused to comply with the changes they wanted to implement.
    The Resistance had been born when it became apparent the OS was hiding something from the US citizens as well as a good portion of the government officials. Well, if what the information a handful of senators and representatives brave enough to feed the Resistance with could be believed. Which Kiana was extremely skeptical of. Still, what choice did they have but to trust the few who showed a desire to take back the US government? No matter how they had to pretend to support the OS.
    Her stomach clenched at the memory of how easily the Syndicate had invaded her beloved Hawaii and taken away all she held dear. What had once been a lush paradise was now overrun by Obsidian Syndicate forces. Most American citizens had quickly conformed and bent to the Syndicate’s rule of oppression.
    The OS forces had become a plague not only in her home, but in her heart as well. One she had every intention of eradicating.
    The sooner the better.
    Today she’d