Playing with Passion Theta Series Book 1 Read Online Free Page A

jumped out of the shuttle, she
stood, brushing an unruly strand of espresso-colored hair out of
her face. Even though her flight had been a short one, she looked
frazzled, not entirely unexpected. She'd only been given two days
notice. It must’ve been crazy to pack up her entire life and say
goodbye to her friends in such a short amount of time.
    He'd do his best to make her
comfortable. "Hey, I'm Mack. Welcome to New York. This is our
driver, Scott." Smiling, he picked up one of her large bags,
leaving the other for Scott. After transferring them into the
shuttle, he stood by the passenger door, expecting her to climb
inside.
    "You're late." Ingrid hadn't moved an
inch.
    "I left messages. Didn't you get
them?"
    "I haven't looked. I turn Sass off to
keep her quiet."
    "Sass?"
    She picked up on his confused
expression. "My Holotab."
    "Ah. Well, from now on,
I'd appreciate it if you kept your... Sass on all the time. I need to know
I can contact you."
    "Fine."
    Scott tossed him an amused look as he
returned to the driver's seat and readied the shuttle.
    "After you," Mack said, standing by
the door.
    She waited another five seconds before
moving, walking up the two steps, and taking her seat. Mack hopped
in, pushing the button to retract the stairs.
    He was about to ask how her flight was
when his stomach rumbled loudly. She cracked a smile for the first
time, her wide mouth curving into a warm grin.
    Holy shit, she was beautiful. He'd
seen her image spinning around over The Director's H-tab, waving at
some invisible fan or friend, and of course, he'd seen her in
e-mags and on the news. But in person, she blew that virtual female
out of the sky.
    He realized she was waiting for him to
say something. "Sorry. I never had a chance to eat breakfast. I
ordered pizza for lunch from Anthony's, a local place. It should be
at the house when we arrive. His sauce is without doubt the best on
Staten Island. Hope you like sausage."
    Scott choked on a laugh and her smile
broadened.
    Mack scowled at Scott. "Are you ten?"
Scott ignored him. Mack gave her a sheepish grin.
"Sorry."
    "It's good to hear people laugh. And
for the record, I do like sausage." She winked at Scott's
reflection in the rear-view mirror. "I suppose I'll have time to
eat. I have a shuttle picking me up at the troupe house in two
hours.
    "A shuttle?"
    "I explained to you during last
night's holochat that I was staying at a hotel in Manhattan for a
few days."
    Mack frowned. Perhaps she'd forgotten
in the chaos of her quick move, that during the holochat, he'd told
her she was expected to stay with the troupe. He'd go over
everything again when they got to the house. "Gene will be joining
us for lunch. I'd like you to get to know each other before
tomorrow's rehearsal."
    "I won't have much time if the traffic
remains heavy." She rubbed her eyes and wrinkled her brow. "Can't
we fly above them?"
    "Not a good idea. It would draw
attention to our vehicle."
    She blessed him with a
look that had You Idiot written all over it. "Then what's the use of
owning a shuttle equipped with the flyover feature?"
    "We use it when we're forced to, but
I'd rather we blend in. There are creatures out there much more
dangerous than your fans and many of them also have flyover
features on their vehicles." He tacked on a smile in an attempt to
lighten the tension thickening the air inside the shuttle. This
female had the proverbial cold stare down to an art.
    "I'm sure it's no worse than Atlanta.
Our troupe performed for all species of supernatural. There were a
dozen large vampire nests run by four master vampires as well as
several packs of werewolves."
    Scott chuckled from the front seat.
She scowled. Mack was glad to see he wasn't the only one Scott
annoyed. "Were there soldiers in Atlanta?" he asked.
    "Only half a dozen or so."
    "Half a dozen squads?"
    She looked surprised by the question.
"No, just half a dozen."
    "Ah."
    "And in New York?" Ingrid folded her
arms.
    "We have over three thousand