Prisoner
Page 27
Angel snorted, as though amused, but really, she wanted to cry. She missed her girl gang so bad it burned.
And Macy was right, too—Angel couldn’t wait to melt into the shadows and do her thing, unlocking what nobody else could. Her friends had no idea how much she missed it. And yes, yes, yes, she wanted that guy in the corner with a kind of fever.
Do this job and get out, she told herself.
White Jenny walked up and put her arms around Angel and Macy. “Still just two guards circling the grounds. Twelve to fifteen minute intervals going out there.” White Jenny had creamy white skin and blonde-white hair; she was a pale and voluptuous milkmaid compared to Angel and Macy. They were all trying to look like whores, but White Jenny came by it naturally. She always had, ever since middle school, when the three of them had become best friends, three smart, precocious poor girls, united by dreams of a life beyond the hardscrabble housing development around the Willow Farms Poultry plant.
Jenny and Macy discussed the external security. Angel snuck a look at the guy again and her heart thalumped when she locked onto his gray eyes; they looked icy and blazing at the same time, like pain mixed with fire. Her skin felt hot, and she looked away. He galvanized her. There was no other word for it.
“That guard noticed something with Angel. I don’t like it,” Macy said.
“How could he suspect us of anything?” White Jenny complained. “We haven’t even done anything yet.”
Angel studied the lime at the bottom of her drink. She looked up to find her old friends both staring at her. Waiting. “Yeah, yeah,” she sighed. “Fine. I’ll go talk to him.”
If they’d drawn the attention of security, they had to make sure the interest was sexual. Which required talking to the guy.
“Angel?” White Jenny said. “Give the signal if you need rescuing. We got your back, honey.” Jenny had always been the motherly one. These girls had once been her life.
Angel turned and smiled at the guy. He didn’t smile back, he just stared, cool and hard. She turned back to her posse with that melty feeling again. He’d just engaged her. They were in a dance now.
“Just signal,” Macy said. The signal was kicking her leg up backward—the heel-to-butt signal, they called it.
“I got it.” Angel turned and headed for the guy, empty drink in hand. He watched her steadily as she approached.
His hair was just long enough that he had to tilt his head a little bit to keep it out of his eyes, like a clean-cut haircut gone to hell. His scruffy beard hadn’t seen a razor in days.
She smiled as if her pulse weren’t going haywire. Tipped her head. “I’m Angel.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” she said.
“That’s your real name?”
“That’s right, baby,” she said, playing the pouty hooker.
“Hey—” he motioned to the waiter who was passing by. “Drink?” he asked, eyeing her empty glass.
“Gin and tonic,” she said.
Their fingers brushed as he took the glass from her, creating a frisson of electricity that shot down her center. He set it on the waiter’s tray. “Thanks,” he said to the waiter.
The waiter left them alone.
He took up extra space even beyond where he stood. It was something a guy like this did. He would take, take, take, but she’d still want to save him.
Up close you could see his faint freckles and the pain and the fire in his eyes. He felt so familiar to her—that’s what was scary. She’d never met him, but she knew those eyes, that expression. He was drowning in something. She knew things like that about guys like this. Things on a primal level.
She forced herself to stay cool. Did he suspect them? That was what she needed to figure out.
A rogue lock of hair had fallen over his glasses and he flicked his head, sending it away, as though he wanted nothing to obstruct his view of her. “Now what are we going to do with you?” he asked with a hint of humor in his voice.
Want to read more? Against the Dark is available now.
Other Books by Skye Warren
Wanderlust
On the Way Home
Dark Erotica Series
Keep Me Safe
Trust in Me
Hear Me
Don’t Let Go
The Beauty Series
Beauty Touched the Beast
Beneath the Beauty
Broken Beauty
Beauty Becomes You
The Beauty Series Compilation
Standalone Erotic Romance
Sweetest Mistress
Below the Belt
Take the Heat: A Criminal Romance Anthology
Dystopia Series
Leashed
Caged
Other Books by Annika Martin
Erotic Romance
The Hostage Bargain
The Wrong Turn
The Deeper Game
Taken Hostage by Kinky Bank Robbers 3-Book Bundle
Gritty romantic suspense as Carolyn Crane
Against the Dark
Off the Edge
Into the Shadows
Acknowledgements
A new book, a new series, and a new collaboration between authors can sometimes feel like leaping into the unknown, but we were lucky enough to be surrounded by smart, generous readers and writers who read early versions of this book and gave us priceless feedback and support.
We want to thank author friends Jen Frederick, Katie Reus, Carolyn Jewel, Serena Bell, Jeffe Kennedy, and Shari Slade for the insights and ideas that shaped this book in hugely important ways. And our fabulous group of beta readers, including Amber from The Reading Room and more, who came through with amazingly valuable comments and insights that helped that push this tale to the next level—you guys rock!
Our talented copyeditor Lea Schafer went through our manuscript with stunning care and precision, and proofreader Brenda of Bee’s Eclectic Editing and Sharon Muha did a great proofreading polish. Kisses and wild thanks to you all!
Thanks also to Rock Star PR and Xpresso Book Tours who gave us great support and the truly awesome bloggers who made our launch fun and special. You guys, we couldn’t have done it without you!
Xox
Skye & Annika
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, the reproduction or use of this work in any part is forbidden without the express written permission of the author.
Prisoner © 2014 by Skye Warren and Annika Martin
Cover design by Book Beautiful
Kindle Edition
ISBN: 9781940518183
Table of Contents
Title Page
About the Book
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chap
ter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Thank You!
About Skye Warren
About Annika Martin
Also by Skye Warren
Excerpt from Wanderlust
Also by Annika Martin/Carolyn Crane
Excerpt from Against the Dark
Other Books by Skye Warren
Other Books by Annika Martin
Acknowledgements
Copyright