“I lost my abilities.”
He stopped his dancing and turned to her with an evil glint. “No, you didn’t have them, but they are back, aren’t they?” She opened her mouth, but he stopped her with a comment. “I know. I can feel it about you. And you are just the start of my plan. Soon, with my militia, I will take over Carlyle and the Federation loyalists.”
Something on the edge of her mind shifted. At first, she thought it might be dear old Dad trying to get into her mind, to read her thoughts, but this was something else. This wasn’t a probe; this was a desperate plea for her to pay attention.
Marcus and I are in the building.
She tried not to show the relief she was feeling. Drake was there. He had come to help her escape.
We are coming to the lab room you and Marcus were in a few months ago.
Abruptly the thoughts stopped. She threw out a probe, but heard nothing.
Frantically she tried to come up with something, anything to cause a distraction so she could get out of there. Get to Drake.
Anger at the situation boiled inside her. Damn Johnson for doing this to her. His sick sadistic mind was what made her the freak she was. As her hatred exploded within her, a chair slid across the room and hit Johnson. He howled in pain as he fell to the floor. With Killigan’s attention focused on Johnson lying on the floor, Nolete knew this might be her only chance.
She bolted out of her chair and ran for the door. Once in the hallway, the staccato sound of gunfire erupted to her left. She knew Drake and Marcus were in the thick of it and she hurried down the hall, glancing back every now and then to make sure Johnson had not followed her.
The gunfire stopped and she turned a corner and ran into a solid wall of muscle. She struggled as arms as strong as steel surrounded her.
“Letty,” Drake said, his deep voice vibrating against her body. Every muscle relaxed.
“Drake.” She tilted her head back and gasped. “What the hell happened to you?”
He was a mess. Blood seeped from his forehead and there were smudges of dirt all over his face.
“We wanted to find you and some of the men here disagreed.” His cocky attitude irritated her.
“You shouldn’t have come here.”
He opened his mouth to reply, but he didn’t get the chance.
“I can’t agree with my daughter more.”
The anger and hatred flowing over her came from Drake. He tried to shove her behind him, as if to protect her, but she was the one cut out for this job. Adrenaline pumped through her. Drake’s own emotions and hers mingled, helping her to gain the courage to do what she needed to do.
She peeked around Drake, saw Marcus slowly making his way down the hall in the shadows. Catching his eye, and getting his consent for what she had planned, she grabbed the extra weapon Drake had strapped to his hip. In one motion, she pulled it free, broke away from Drake’s hold, spun around and fired. At the same time, Marcus came up beside Drake and both men had guns out firing.
Ripley Johnson fell to his knees, a hole dead center in his chest seeping blood. His eyes, that peculiar shade of green they shared, were wide in astonishment, his mouth open in surprise.
“But…you’re my daughter.”
He collapsed, falling face-forward on the cold cement floor.
Letty looked beyond him and found Killigan and another man lying behind Johnson. Both were stone-cold dead.
As her heart rate finally slowed, her body chilled, and Letty began to shake.
“Hey, baby, it’s okay.” Drake stepped up behind her, pulled the weapon out of her hand, and then pulled her into his arms. She couldn’t feel anything from him. Not a thing. Snuggling deeper into the embrace, she tried to hold onto the warmth, the tenderness of his touch. Because when everything came to light, there would be no them, she was sure of it. Despair, weariness, and pain flowed through her and she couldn’t hold back the sobs. He pulled her closer. Oh, God, she was going to lose him again, and she didn’t want to live like that.
“Ashford.” Marcus’ deep voice cut through her crying. She reminded herself that she was a professional. Slowly, she pulled away from Drake, her heart breaking and looked at Marcus.
“What was Johnson talking about?”
She swallowed, took a deep breath and told both of them. As she retold the story, the scream of sirens drew near and by the time she was done, a group of agents were hurrying into the lab.
“So, you’re telling me that you’re his daughter, although you were born to the Ashfords?” asked Marcus.
Without breaking eye contact, she nodded. She had told the story, completely focused on Marcus, and not once looking at Drake. She’d been too afraid. Never one to be a coward for long, she looked at Drake and the horror she saw in his eyes slashed her heart and left it bleeding. Needing to get away from him, from the pain, she stepped back, then turned and swiftly walked away.
* * * *
Drake watched Letty walk away from him and the lead weight in his chest hardened and cracked in two. Dammit, he’d finally found her again, the one woman who had grabbed hold of his heart and never let go and she was leaving him again. And the sad part was he didn’t blame her.
Jesus. Her father was not only a crackpot, but he had put her in the lab. Frustrated, he shoved a hand through his hair.
“You’re not going to let her get away, are you?”
He turned and looked at Marcus. The neutral expression on his face hid any of his emotions, and he wished right now to be an empath like David Adams.
“What do you mean? She’s walking away. And I don’t blame her.”
“Hmm.”
As the work went on around them, he watched Letty talk to a few agents, discussing details, helping them with their reports.
“You know,” Marcus said in an annoyingly friendly voice, “I almost lost Shana because I was too stubborn. And she had a real problem accepting that her abilities didn’t make me sick.”
“Look at what my profession did to her.”
“Not your profession, man. Her father. All of her troubles begin and end with that bastard. And if you think you can use something as stupid as that to run away like a little boy and not have her hate you, be my guest.”
“I’m not acting like a little boy.” Okay, he did sound like one.
Letty finished talking to an agent, nodded to Marcus, and turned to walk away. Drake watched her, his heart pounding, his hands shaking while he tried to figure out what to do.
And in one blinding bright light, he threw away any thoughts of being a better man. He had to have her, needed her by his side, and he’d be damned if he was going to let her get away a second time.
Without another thought, he took off after her. He dodged agents, bodies, and mortuary workers, not apologizing when he clipped a few as he ran past them. Dread and determination entwined and pushed his adrenaline up.
Letty was already descending the steps that led to the street and a dose of anger splashed into his bloodstream.
“Nolete Ashford.” His voice boomed so loud he almost thought about covering his own ears. She turned around, her eyes wide, astonished, her mouth hung open.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
She looked at him and shook her head. “I’m going home to clean up.”
He ran down the steps and without breaking his stride, grabbed her arm and pulled her along.
She dug in her heels, but he refused to slow down. “Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m going home with you.” Silence. “I figured I would take the job Marcus has talked about offering me, help with investigating.”
“And that means what to me?”
“If you think you’re going to walk away, that I’ll let you, you got another think coming. I lost you once, I refuse to let it happen again.”
“Drake—”
Panic swelled and had him talking to override any of her objections. “Going to take some adjustment, alt
hough I expect you to at least come with me to Langilia several times a year. I can leave the research there. Now, I’m not really thrilled with that apartment, and when we have kids, we’ll need some more room. But, hell, I can take it for awhile.”
He heard a suspicious sniffle and turned. Unshed tears filled her eyes and a moment of pure joy filled him.
“You want to have kids? With a freak like me?”
Slowly, he pulled her closer and wrapped her in his arms. “Honey, I want the whole nine yards. Marriage, kids, all of it.” The tears she had valiantly been holding onto spilled over onto her cheeks. He cupped her jaw and wiped them away with his thumbs. “I’ve loved you since we were kids, and I will love you until I die. I can’t go through losing you again.”
She drew in a deep breath, and her breasts brushed against his chest. Inevitably a rush of blood shot to his cock. “I don’t give a damn who your father was because I know you are good. What do you say? Don’t make me beg. There are a bunch of agents watching along with Marcus and they would never let me live it down.”
She glanced over her shoulder. Her watery chuckle gave him more hope.
She looked up at him, her lips curved into a smile and his blood heated to boiling. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
His heart lifted and elation shifted through him. He pulled her closer and pressed his lips against hers. Heat shot through his blood, and the sound of cheers and whistles finally broke through.
Ignoring the catcalls from a few of the agents, he draped his arm over Letty’s shoulders.
“We better take this show home.”
She laughed, broke free of his hold and began running. The flirty look she shot him over her shoulder told him the chase was on, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
About Melissa Schroeder
From an early age, Melissa loved to read. First, it was the books her mother read to her including her two favorites, Winnie the Pooh and the Beatrix Potter books. She cut her preteen teeth on Trixie Belden and read and reviewed To Kill a Mockingbird in middle school. It wasn’t until she was in college that she tried to write her first stories, which were full of angst and pain, and really not that fun to read or write. After trying several different genres, she found romance in a Linda Howard book.
Since the publication of her first book in 2004, Melissa has had close to fifty romances published. She writes in genres from historical suspense to modern day erotic romance to futuristics and paranormals. Included in those releases is the bestselling Harmless series. In 2011, Melissa branched out into self-publishing with A Little Harmless Submission and the popular military spinoff, Infatuation: A Little Harmless Military Romance. Along the way she has garnered an epic nomination, a multitude of reviewer’s recommended reads, over five Capa nods from TRS, three nominations for AAD Bookies and regularly tops the bestseller lists on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Since she spent her childhood as a military brat, Melissa swore never to marry military. But, as we all know, Fate has her way with mortals. She is married to an AF major and is raising her own brats, both human and canine. She spends her days giving in to her addiction to Twitter, counting down the days until her hubby retires, and cursing the military for always sticking them in a location that is filled with bugs big enough to eat her children.
You can connect with Mel all over the web:
WEBSITE
TWITTER
FACEBOOK FAN PAGE
HARMLESS ADDICTS
THE HARMLESS SERIES
THE CURSED CLAN
Or email her at: [email protected]
Coming in May from Melissa Schroeder Publishing:
THE SANTINIS
Leonardo-May 3
Marco-May 10
Gianni-May 17
Vicente-May 24
Please enjoy the first chapter of Leonardo’s book:
Chapter One
The bright sunlight almost blinded Leo Santini the moment he walked into Jeff’s hospital room.
“Dammit to hell,” he muttered.
“Still a vampire, I see,” Jeff said with a chuckle.
Leo squinted at him. “And you’re still a sun loving freak from Florida.”
As Leo approached the bed, he felt some of his anxiety dissipate. His old boot camp buddy looked better than he expected. After the report he read on Jeff’s injuries, Leo hadn’t been sure what to expect. Just the fact he wasn’t completely medicated meant he was making strides.
“Freak? Please. You’re the one who moved to Texas.”
He settled in the chair beside the bed. “Please. Not like teaching at Ft Sam was my first choice. Of course, it allows me to see your sorry ass.”
Leo glanced around the room. There were four beds but at the moment, only two of them were occupied.
“Smith, this is Leo Santini, an old buddy of mine whose teaching here as a medic. Leo this is Roy Smith.”
“Nice to meet you, sir,” he said.
“Don’t call me sir, I work for a living,” Leo said good-naturedly.
“I wonder what Vince would say about that.”
Leo stretched out his legs as he thought about his brother who was a Marine Lt Col select.
“Last time I said it to him, he suggested I do something that was anatomically impossible.”
Jeff chuckled and closed his eyes. “Santinis never mince words.”
“That’s definitely true. My mother is ashamed of our manners.”
He looked good, almost healthy considering that an IED tried to blow him to hell and back. There were still dark circles under his eyes, but Leo understood that probably had more to do with memories than anything else. “Need me to leave?”
Jeff shook his head and opened his eyes. “I’m resting up for my physical therapy.”
Smith laughed.
Jeff frowned in his direction. “That’s right. Laugh it up. Me, I have to deal with her today.”
“Her?” Leo asked.
“The physical therapist. Johnson. She’s...scary.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” Smith said. Leo got a better look at him and realized the soldier was much younger, probably a year or two younger than Leo’s youngest brother, Gianni. His red hair and freckles along with the baby face that probably made people think he was younger than he actually was.
“Are you telling me you two are afraid of a woman?”
Jeff laughed. “Spoken like a man who has never been married. But yes, I’m afraid of her. She’s tiny, but she’s a terror.”
“Can’t you ask for someone else? It would mean just talking to her commander...”
Leo broke off when the two men started laughing again. They were so loud he doubted either of them would have heard him anyway.
“Yeah, no. That’s not going to happen. First of all, she’s a civilian. Most of the therapists here are. And, truthfully, I was lucky to get her. She’s a battleax but she’s the best from what I understand. I just wish she wasn’t so mean.”
He was going to ask more about the woman, but she’d obviously been eavesdropping.
“So, you brought in someone to bitch to, soldier?”
The voice was strong, southern, and—as the men had said—scary.
He turned expecting to see an older woman built like a Mac truck. Instead, he found a woman who would have been blown away from a hard wind. She was lucky if she hit five-foot-three and she was as tiny as Jeff had said. Small-boned, with long dark hair that she had up in a ponytail, she looked so…well not sweet. Her aquamarine eyes narrowed as she studied Jeff. Her scrubs had some kind of cartoon character on them, but she wasn’t smiling. Instead, she settled her petite fists on her waist and frowned.
“Well, are you going to answer me, soldier? Or are you Army guys just too wussy to actually answer a little bitty woman like me.”
“You didn’t give me a chance,” Jeff said.
“Oh, sorry. Forgot what branch of the military you’re in. I will allow time for you being slow.”
; Irritated, Leo rose out of the chair. She looked at him, her gaze traveling the length of him. He ignored the flicker of sensual awareness as she studied him. She had to tip her head back to see his face.
“I think you need to settle down there.”
She looked past him to Jeff. “Is he your bodyguard?”
“No, ma’am.” Leo heard the amusement in Jeff’s voice, but he ignored it.
She looked back at Leo. “I would suggest you take a seat and shut it, soldier. I’m here for Markinson not some overgrown idiot.”
He stepped in front of her to stop her. That was a mistake. This close he could see the sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of her cute nose. Her skin wasn’t ivory, but golden, as if she spent a lot of time in the sun. Worse, her scent teased his senses. It wasn’t anything like perfume, though, just sexy, musky woman.
He shook his head and tried to keep his mind on the problem at hand. “Your attitude needs an adjustment.”
She looked up at him. He expected something different than the annoyance he read in her eyes. One perfectly sculpted eyebrow rose.
“Oh, really? Listen, I have two more people to work with today and Markinson here takes the longest because he whines. A lot.”
“Aw, come on, Johnson, I don’t.” Jeff did sound like he was whining but he wasn’t about to take the nurse’s side in the argument.
“Pftt. You cry more than a cheerleader with a broken fingernail.”
Leo was ready to give the woman a piece of his mind but he heard Jeff chuckle. “Santini, you can cool it. Johnson is all bark and no bite.”
She looked past Leo again, her attention focusing on Jeff. He could see the slight softening of her gaze. If he hadn’t been watching so closely, he would have missed it.
“Don’t be lying to these people here or I will make you regret it.”
She had lowered her voice, but he heard the change in her tone. It hit him that she was handling Jeff the same way his mother handled him and his brothers.
Telepathic Cravings Page 24