Flame Unleashed (Hell to Pay) Read Online Free Page A

course you do. And you did this job longer than anyone I know. What right do I have to complain?”
    “You have every right, my dear. We all do.” He cocked his head to the side. “But you are destined for great things one day. When the opportunity arises, you’ll find your own path.”
    “And you know this information ... how?” Despite herself, she smiled.
    “I’ve always had good instincts about life, my dear.”
    “Right.” She brushed her hands together. “Well, my path right now involves making you presentable for the day so you don’t lounge around like a society lady all morning.”
    He laughed. “Oh, you are good for my soul. Can’t be allowed to be a slugabed.”
    Something odd, a tug of emotion from the knowledge that his mortal body would one day fail, turned in her chest as she slipped out of the room.
    Before she could close the door, he asked, “Were you able to arrange brunch for Odilon’s arrival?”
    “I called down while you were in the shower. The food should be here soon.”
    “Very good. I can’t wait to see him again.”
    “How long has it been?”
    She peeked back in the bedroom. He stood at the bedside, staring up at the ceiling. The robe gapped at his neck, and his collarbones jutted out from beneath his skin. At the sight, her heart twisted. She’d helped many elderly patients in her nursing career but always maintained professional objectivity. With Barnaby, it was like seeing her own father aging right in front of her.
    “My, how long indeed?”
    He rubbed his freshly shaven chin. Barnaby still took pride in performing his own personal care.
    “Let’s see. I met Odilon in 1810, when he threw his lot in with that scurrilous Louisiana privateer, Jean Lafitte. I was on my tour of the New World, always on alert for shrewd investments. There was good money to be had in smuggled goods and supplies for shipbuilding to help the American military leading up to the War of 1812. We worked for Lafitte’s company for a year, but the Indebted kills became too concentrated around New Orleans. I next saw him around 1975, after I transitioned to human, and then again in 1995 after my lovely Jane passed on. Time seems to move too quickly for our kind. I haven’t seen him since Jane’s death. The way time passes for the Indebted, it’s as if only yesterday she left this world without me ...”
    At his slumped shoulders and faraway stare, Ruth eased the door shut. Barnaby’s wife had died much too young, a shame considering the immense risk he’d taken to be with her. Had the sacrifice been worth it?
    She considered Barnaby’s smile, both sad and joyous.
    In the sitting area, she straightened the already neatly arranged furniture. Anything to distract her until room service delivered brunch.
    At a knock on the door, Ruth rushed to the door of the suite, expecting to greet the waiter.
    A tall man stood at the door.
    As his intense stare zoomed in on her face, Ruth’s stomach dropped out from under her.
    To be more precise, he didn’t stand, he nearly vibrated, such was the male confidence that radiated in all directions. A lazy smile spread across his sensual lips, which were surrounded by a closely trimmed scruff of dark beard and moustache. If his appearance veered toward handsome, the crooked nose likely from a prior injury pushed his features back to rugged. Even though she’d seen only half of his face last night, she’d recognize that jawline anywhere.
    Beneath thick, dark brown eyebrows that slashed color across his forehead, his pale green eyes narrowed. His gaze, the color of backlit bottle glass, smoldered. Sooty lashes shadowed his eyes until his brows shot up.
    Now someone else knew her Indebted status and how she used her body to lure in each kill.
    How she had failed.
    Even though Ruth was fully clothed, she wanted to pull a blanket around herself. Each sweep of this man’s gaze virtually raked her bare.
    Pressure mounted—fire against ceramic. She had to escape his