Howling Mad: A paranormal wolf shifter romance (Badlands Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

complicit in the riot and subsequent escape.”
    Shock washed down Naomi’s spine like ice-cold water.
    Another picture flashed onto the screen, this one of Naomi. It was a candid shot, taken when she was frowning over a painting. Cropped and out of context, on an old television with bad color, it made her look sallow and unpleasant.
    Was there the slightest wobble to her father’s voice as he closed the press conference? “Members of the public are urged not to approach these two fugitives, as they should be considered armed and dangerous. Dynamic Earth will be doing everything in its power to facilitate their capture. Thank you.”

Chapter Six
     
    Naomi stared wide-eyed at the television screen. It made no sense. Why would her father believe that? She’d never given him any reason to think she might betray him or the rehabilitation center. Never.
    Maybe they hadn’t been close the way some fathers and daughters were – he was a businessman and a noted philanthropist, funding scholarships for gifted youth and vaccination programs for the poor. That had meant a lot of time spent away from home when she was a child, years before his various projects had come together under the Dynamic Earth umbrella. But he’d always doted on her. Always told her how proud he was of her.
    Who had told him she was involved with the security breach and Byron’s escape? Who would want to hurt her like that? And why would he believe them? What could they possibly have said or done to convince him?
    She turned to Byron, bewildered, shaking her head from side to side, at a loss for words. She didn’t even realize tears were pooling in her eyes until they spilled down her cheeks and a shocked sob escaped her.
    “Oh…” The tight look of anger on his face faded at once, to be replaced by an expression of subtle panic. “No…don’t cry. Come on.”
    He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her, rocking her awkwardly. She leaned against his bare chest, breathing in the scent of leather.
    “Please don’t cry.” He sounded so uncomfortable with her tears. He was a rough, tough bad boy who’d broken out of a high-security prison—lock him in a room with a weeping woman and he didn’t have the first clue what to do. He couldn’t punch the problem, so he was out of ideas. The thought startled a laugh out of her. She knew she was being unfair. Byron was a lot of things, but he wasn’t stupid.
    He pulled back a little and crooked his finger under her chin, lifting her face so she was looking up at him. She knew her eyes were puffy and the tip of her nose was red, but she didn’t care.
    “I’m sorry,” she said. “It was just such a shock. He can’t really believe that, can he?”
    Byron hesitated. “Someone’s lying,” he said. “But you and I know the truth.”
    * * * * *
    Byron hadn’t known what to do when Naomi had started to cry. He’d faced down street thugs and biker gangs, and on one occasion taken down a pair of crazy bears who’d jumped him in an alleyway. He hadn’t flinched when other animals at the Zoo had wanted to play dominance games, just dealt with anyone who wanted to take his reputation for being the biggest and baddest.
    But the trembling woman in his arms was a different kind of problem. The pinkness around her huge dark eyes made his heart hurt, and he wanted to tear the heads off the people who’d made her feel this way.
    Not that he’d have turned down an opportunity to tear off Atkins’ head on any given day, but he could hardly express his anger against the man here and now. He was Naomi’s father, and she loved him – that was why his words had hurt her so badly.
    He needed to distract her – and he knew just how to do it.
    He stripped off his leather jacket and slung it over the headboard, then sorted through the packs and bottles he’d liberated from the drugstore.
    “You’re an artist,” he said to her. “How do you feel about giving me a makeover? You need a different look