Every Breath You Take Read Online Free

“You’ll have to excuse me if I seem a little rattled. A little hysterical. You know how we women are.”
    Jake sighed. For a moment Lexie was consumed with horror at what she had said. She couldn’t believe that she’d turned on the men she loved, showering them with such hateful words. Jake saved her. Ignoring the awful things she had said, he became who he’d been through the years. A former Colonel in the United States Army, a legendary Green Beret. He was a hero, a leader of men, a commander. The image he conveyed couldn’t have been more clear if he’d donned a uniform covered with the myriad medals and decorations he’d earned.
    “Lexie. Sit down. Please. Now. We are a team. While you can’t accept the truth yet, you will. The men who killed Mee-Yon, and Bong-Cha, and Sun-Hi are responsible for their deaths. But many others also have a responsibility. And yes, we all played a part. You, me, Brady, Peter. And so did the girls. They played the part of the victims in this hideous ongoing atrocity. Victims who, with your help and the rest of our team, will no longer be anonymous, unheard voices. You courageously started the process and now as a team we’re going to finish it. Do you understand?”
    For a moment Lexie almost gave in, let go of her rage, allowed sanity to return to her agonized brain. But old lessons kicked in. Instead of hearing the truth in Jake’s words, she chose to hear the command. His insistence that they were a team, that there was no room for ‘lone rangers’ like her, only ignited her rage.
    Her heart was pounding, her legs were shaking, but not from fear or pain, rather from outrage.
    Her voice dripped with scorn.
    “Oh right, we’re a team. Of course. As long I do everything the mighty Jake Gardner tells me to do—including not feeling badly that three young girls have been tortured to death. I just need to accept it. Do as I’m told. Like a good little girl. The team will handle this. Right? Is that what you’re saying, Commander?”
    She was three feet away from Jake but the intensity between them flashed like lightening in a stormy sky.
    Jake’s voice was soft, dangerous.
    “That’s correct, Lexie. The team will handle this and you are a critical member of the team. Together we will find out who did this and together we will take them down. More important we will find the men who gave them their orders and hunt them down like the dogs they are. And we will do it as a team .”
    Lexie sneered. “A team, right? With you in command?”
    Jake’s gaze held her as strongly as if his arms were tight around her.
    “Correct. On both counts.”
    Lexie’s hands tightened into hard fists at her sides. She willed her chest to release at least a small breath so that she could get enough air to do what she needed to do. Her voice was as soft as Jake’s and she hoped as dangerous.
    “In that case, Commander, this team member is going to do what the rest of the team has already done. I am going to the morgue. To see the girls. To see how they died. To see what I and the rest of the team have done.”
    Her voice shook. Tears burned the backs of her eyelids. She did the only thing she could do to keep them from falling. She threatened the man she loved.
    “And so help me God, Jake, you are not going to stop me.”
    A flash of anger washed across his face but it was quickly replaced by something more powerful. His love for her almost brought Lexie to her knees. Almost. Lexie saw Jake glance at Master Wan and give an imperceptible nod.
    Jake gazed at her from half-lidded eyes. His words were a soft command. They didn’t allow for disobedience.
    “Get changed, Lexie.”
    “Why… where are we going?”
    “To the morgue. I’ll get my bike.”

Chapter 3
    Lexie stood by Mee-Yon’s table. She’d have thought by now she would’ve been prepared. This was the third body she’d examined. If anything it was worse. The butchers must have gotten careless. Maybe they had more yakju than