Anew: Book Two: Hunted Read Online Free Page B

I used to get along
great but these days we’re definitely on the outs.
    “There’s some useful stuff here,” Edward says, indicating
the intel we’ve squeezed from the HPF fuckers. “Enough to get me started at
least.”
    Amelia’s brother may look like he was born for the boardroom
and the polo field but he’s shown yet again in the last few days that he
doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty. At least not where protecting his sister
is involved.
    I toss the towel aside, glad that he has no idea what’s
going through my head--and other parts. “Good. I want to know who the money is.
Find him or her and I’ll be able to finish this once and for all.”
    That’s my real goal. As much as I have sympathy for people
who feel threatened by the sweeping changes that technology is bringing to all
our lives, I have zero tolerance for the fanatics who want to kill anyone they
decide isn’t sufficiently human. Until the source of the money that made the
HPF’s activities possible is found and crushed, the whole sorry mess could
start up again. Amelia would never be safe.
    Not for the first time, I wonder how Susannah’s parents
managed to love one child enough to take such desperate measures to save her
while being willing to deny her clone--essentially her identical twin only
younger and even more vulnerable--the most basic human rights. Maybe I’ll just
never understand how we decide who’s one of ‘us’, worthy of being valued and
respected, and who isn’t.
    Edward levers himself off the couch and stretches. His hair
is a mess, he needs to shave, and there are shadows under his eyes. I don’t
look any better. We’ve been at it hard for a week, ever since my team and I
brought the HPF leaders back to Pinnacle House. I’m not going to dwell on what
was involved in capturing them except that all my people came home safe.
     “You going tonight?” Edward asks.
    “Going where?”
    “The Crystal Ball. It’s tonight.”
    I’d forgotten about that, not surprising given that I’d have
a hard time choosing between an ocular probe straight through the eye into the
cerebral cortex and an evening spent in the company of the city’s ‘elite’.
    “I’ve got a headache,” I say, smirking.
     “Lucky bastard. So are your mother and sister going?”
    The question sounds casual but the mere fact that he’s
asking gets my attention. Marianne--my twenty-two-year-old, beautiful, and very
sheltered sister--seems to have a thing for Edward. So far I haven’t seen any
sign that he returns her interest but I’ve been distracted.
    Eyeing him, I say, “Yeah, they’re going. What about you?”
    He nods. “I’m escorting Amelia and our grandmother.”
    On the one hand, I’m relieved to hear that. Adele is a
feisty grand dame who I happen to really like. But it’s good that Edward isn’t
letting Amelia go into the shark tank without him. On the other hand, now that
I know where she will be this evening, I have to fight the temptation to drop
by just to catch a glimpse of her. Our paths are bound to cross again in public
at some point. What’s the harm if I just make that happen sooner rather than
later?
    There wouldn’t be any if I could trust myself where she’s
concerned. The problem is that I can’t. I want her too damn much. She’s a fire
in my blood that refuses to be extinguished.
    “My father’s son.” The words I hurtled at her the last time
we were together haunt me, not in the least because they are true. Marcus Slade
was a monster who got his kicks hurting women in the very exclusive BDSM club
that he founded and to which he lured select members of the city’s elite. He
initiated me into his practices when I was fifteen. A year later, I broke free
but the damage was done.
    I’ve spent every day of my life since then fighting his
legacy only to have Amelia come along and shatter all my hard-won control.
Through absolutely no fault of her own, she’s awakened the demons inside me.
I’ll tear out