Dangerous Attraction: Part Two (Aegis Group) Read Online Free Page B

structure. In his long years, he saw plenty of subjects attempt to thwart their fate, so her efforts were nothing new. Just one more habit to be broken. Until it accepted its fate.
    He grabbed the side of the A-frame and pulled.
    The structure splintered and cracked apart.
    The subject yelped and screamed. The chain clanged as she scrambled to the side, breaking free from the debris.
    She never made it to her feet.
    Daniel grabbed her hair and thunked her head against the tree.
    She lost her grip on the makeshift weapon and curled in on herself, huddling in the snow like the animal she was.
    He crouched next to her. Unlike this subject, he didn’t need a weapon. He was the weapon. He was the creator of her fate.
    “Oh my God.” She gulped and stared at his children.
    “Look at me,” he snapped.
    Her gaze returned to his face. Her pupils were slightly dilated, her focus off. Probably from the knocks to the head she’d taken yesterday and today. Well, that was her fault.
    “Children, look at it.” He reached out and pinched her chin between his fingers, directing her to look up so they could see her throat. “This is what we rule over. We make them listen. We make them what we want them to be. This one will be the mother of our subjects. What?”
    Daniel tilted his head to catch the faintest of voices.
    “No, she will not give you a brother. She’s not worthy of that.” He spat at her feet and stood. “She’ll give us more subjects. More playthings.”
    Travis peered into the darkened ranger station. Just his luck people got Christmas Eve off. Tahoe City was blanketed in new snow, and the police were spread too thin this holiday season to be of much help.
    They were on their own.
    Snow crunched as Ethan approached, phone in hand and a frown on his face.
    “Can’t get anyone on the horn about a chopper,” he said.
    “What about a small plane? There’s got to be someone who’d want to earn a buck,” Mason suggested. The kid was showing a surprising amount of ingenuity. Too bad the holidays rendered every solution a moot point.
    “Nah.” Ethan shook his head. “They’re all short-staffed and grounded thanks to last night’s ice storm. Maybe we could get someone from the south side of the lake though. Sounds like they just got a dusting of powder.”
    “Where are the ATV rentals?” Travis asked.
    “I don’t know. Let’s find out.” Mason pulled out his phone.
    Damn. Google. Why hadn’t he thought of that?
    Travis’ brain was seriously scrambled. He should be focused, but every other second his mind went back to last night when he held Bliss. When she pulled him back to bed instead of kicking him out.
    This was all his fault.
    “Why ATVs?” Ethan asked.
    “Daniel used an ATV to dispose of the bodies in a ravine. It was missing from the property when the cops swarmed the place. Grayson said the RV was pulling a trailer with a tarp on it. I’m guessing that was either supplies or the ATV.”
    “Why the hell are you just mentioning this?” Ethan scowled.
    “Sorry, it was in here.” Travis pointed to his head.
    “You’ve got to get your head out of your ass,” Ethan said.
    “There’s a bunch of ATV trails around the south side of the lake,” Mason announced. He turned his phone around and showed them a cluster of red dots.
    “Let’s hit the road,” Travis said.
    “What else haven’t you told us?” Ethan asked, falling into line next to Travis on their way back to the SUV rental. “Start at the beginning.”
    “Which beginning?” Travis asked.
    “The very beginning. We’ve got a drive ahead of us.”
    The very beginning was almost a decade ago. Maybe longer. There was no telling how many bodies littered Daniel Campbell’s past. If they didn’t find her, Bliss could be next.
    4.
    Bliss hauled the bundle of straw and thatch over the burrow she’d made for herself out of rocks and packed snow. It was slow going. She couldn’t feel her hands, and most of her clothing was either