Killing Time Read Online Free Page B

their shadows where pictures had once hung. “How’d you find my hideout?”
    Koda paced back and forth like a caged lion. “I was backtracking James’s trail to make sure no one was after him. Imagine my surprise to find you, hot-footing it to Dallas.” He shot me a look. “Care to tell me why?”
    I shrugged, bone-tired. “Would you believe me?”
    He shook his head. “Not a word.”
    “Then why ask,” I muttered, watching him stride restlessly around the empty office. “How long have you been shadowing me?”
    “You’d believe me?” He threw the words back.
    “Try me.”
    “Two days.” Disapproval colored his tone. “You were in too big a hurry. That’s what caught my attention.”
    “I had my reasons.” Ignoring his arch look, I pressed, “So you found the deserted office highrise I used as a base and then what?”
    He shook his head angrily. “My turn with the questions. You keep saying you’re not fae, yet you stink of them. What are you?”
    I debated with myself for a second, then sighed, figuring it wasn’t worth yet another battle. “We are called bittern.” I shrugged a shoulder. “Among other things.”
    The corner of his mouth twitched, as if against his will. “Like?”
    I played with my jacket’s zipper so I wouldn’t have to meet Koda’s too-aware gaze. “Nothing flattering.”
    “Bittern.” He shoved his hands in his pockets with a little too much force. “You’re serious.”
    “It’s what the fae call us.”
    “A bittern is a shy marsh bird. It’s a plain-looking, chunky brown thing with stubby legs and beady yellow eyes that point downward. Whoever named your kind had a twisted sense of humor or was an idiot.” Koda considered. “Possibly both.”
    Uncertain, I chose not to respond.
    He rubbed his jaw as he studied my expression. “Since you are clearly not the feathered kind, what is your type of bittern?”
    If he didn’t know the appalling details, I wasn’t going to tell him. I clenched my teeth and looked away, keeping my mouth shut as the silence stretched.
    His voice was soft and dangerous. “I could make you tell me.”
    Bitterness laced my words. “There is nothing you could do that hasn’t been done.” Sneering, I met his black gaze. “Wanna see the scars?”
    He looked at me sharply and a long moment passed. Twice, it seemed he would say something, but both times he pressed his lips together.
    Weariness tugged at me. I shuffled to a corner of the room and sank to the floor. Slumping against the wall, I tilted my head back and let my eyes slit—not trusting Koda enough to close them, but too tired to keep them fully open. Despite my resolve to stay awake, I was just beginning to drift off when his voice roused me.
    “You’re forgetting the bracelets, the necklace.” He moved closer. “With them, I can make you answer me.”
    My eyes snapped wide. “Then why not do so and have done with this asinine situation? Ask me why I tracked the vampires. Ask me why I kept the bodach from slaughtering them. But I’m guessing that, even if you forced the answers from me with your damned bindings, you wouldn’t believe a thing I said.”
    Koda stood over me, his expression indecipherable.
    An idea formed in my mind and I laughed out loud. “Ah, I see. With the bindings, you can make me speak, but you can’t make me speak the truth. ”
    Rage tightened his handsome features and he turned away.
    Exhaustion dragged at me as the silence between us stretched.
    “Fae don’t sleep,” Koda growled.
    “You just don’t listen, do you?” Rubbing my gritty eyes again, I sighed. “Is it really your intent to keep me here?”
    He considered me, his expression mocking. “You just don’t listen, do you?”
    I gave him a cool look. “The last person who tried to hold me against my will didn’t survive the experience.”
    He raised a brow. “You can’t even stand up.”
    I resisted the urge to do something sophomoric like flip him the bird. “Maybe I’m