Choices Read Online Free

Choices
Book: Choices Read Online Free
Author: Cate Dean
Pages:
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features. Her reluctant savior stood, hands clasped behind him.
    The stocky man’s gaze swept the floor as he approached, found Anthony and nodded in obvious satisfaction. “He’s dead?”
    “Yes, Darwin.”
    Her captor’s quiet voice revealed nothing, but his fingers curled into a fist. Anger snapped across Darwin’s face.
    “Watch your mouth, Wolf—I outrank you now.”
    “I will endeavor to keep the memory intact. Captain.”
    The younger man’s face blanked, then his eyes narrowed in comprehension. He smoothed both hands over his black, slicked-back hair, like a gesture of self-comfort.
    “Anything on their leader Daniel?”
    “Nothing yet. Captain.”
    “Clean up this mess, Lieutenant . And find that outworlder. I want to know what the bastard said to her.”
    Darwin smoothed his hair again and sauntered to the cluster of uniforms directing traffic around the disruption. The murder scene.
    Moving back to Anthony, Wolf knelt beside him, his hand closing over Anthony’s shoulder. One of the uniforms approached, obviously hesitant, and spoke to Wolf. After a moment he nodded, staying with Anthony while they transported him to what looked like a long, narrow garbage can.
    From her angle Maura could see the line of Wolf’s jaw, the muscles clenched so tight it hurt to witness. Without a word he watched the efficient, impersonal erasure of a man’s life.
    She had to get out of here, before she no longer had the choice.
    Testing her leg, she let out her breath when it didn’t buckle under her in protest. After a last glance behind her she moved forward, wiping at the tears on her face. She tried her best to blend in with the people shuffling through the exit, and followed them out to the city. First sight of it stopped her in her tracks.
    She stood facing what had been Fisherman’s Wharf. The landscape had changed so drastically she only recognized it because of the presence of the Bay, stretching off to her right. Tall, drab stone buildings replaced the hodgepodge she remembered. The only color she could find was in the painfully neat hedge running the length of each building, and the water in the Bay. Scores of people filled the streets, which would make losing herself easier than she anticipated.
    She limped across Jefferson, turned on to Leavenworth—and to her relief, recognized the building just down the street. The Cannery, with its warm brick and lush trees still intact. She could cut through the courtyard and make her way to Chinatown—or whatever stood where Chinatown once existed. The more distance she put between herself and that man, the safer she would feel.
    It didn’t take long for her to attract attention. Her sapphire blouse and rich black skirt, the blood staining her face, marked her as different—and here, different was obviously not acceptable.
    Maura hugged the hedge marching along the buildings, clutching her bag as she tried to make herself as inconspicuous as possible. She halted when someone stepped in her path. Swallowing, her leg too unstable for her to run, she lifted her head.
    The woman in front of her wore the same drabbed-to-almost-grey clothes. The tears running down her face drove straight into Maura’s heart. When she held out her hand Maura stumbled backward.
    “Please,” the woman whispered. “I only want to—”
    A startled cry spun Maura toward the street. Lieutenant Wolf stalked through the crowd, gaze on her, his fury palpable.
    She pushed past the woman, ignored her screaming leg and limped down the street and into The Cannery. Stepping inside, she realized her mistake too late.
    The courtyard had been stripped, leaving an open space that was deserted. Except for her. She kept moving, her dread building as she noticed every exit had been blocked off, bricked up.
    She used the storefronts as a support—easy to do, since they were closed up, no signage, no sign of life. Relief nearly buckled her legs when she saw one open exit. At the far end of the
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