The Guardian (Mended Souls Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

pain; his buddy was beyond that now.
    The sense of loss overwhelmed him and his eyes grew blurry. It was so damn hard to envision a future without Nat and Lucas. They’d come from dysfunctional families; Lucas to an abusive father. Scott and Nat to a set of parents who didn’t even know they were alive half the time. They had become each other’s family. He punched the tree he’d taken shelter beneath, ignoring the sting of freshly scraped knuckles. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t freaking f…
    A woman’s scream from somewhere around the corner interrupted his pity party. Scott was on the move before the sound died down. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve as he jogged down the walk as fast as he could, cradling his arm to his side for support. His heart pounded out a staccato beat in his chest and he probably looked like the Hunchback of Notre Dame with his weird gait, but it couldn’t be helped.
    Rounding the corner he skidded to a halt and frantically searched the area. Where was she? Away from the bright lights of the entrance, this side of the building was darker, more ominous. He edged down the block, keeping to the shadows, his breathing loud and erratic.
    Might as well announce yourself .
    He could almost hear Lucas’ voice in his ear and grinned. It got wiped off his face a second later when another gut-wrenching scream split the air. It resounded from the parking complex on his right. He raced for the entrance, pulling up short against the gate blocking the passageway. An overweight man in ill-fitting guard clothes was stepping out of the ticket booth. He jumped at Scott’s sudden arrival.
    “Have you called the cops?”
    The guy shook his head. “Don’t want no trouble. The boss said to keep things quiet, and that’s what I’m doing.”
    Scott swore. “Let me in. Someone needs to help that woman.” And when the guy didn’t move fast enough, “Hurry up, or I’ll make sure your boss knows what an ass you are.”
    The guard hesitated, as though debating whether to comply or not, but then he shrugged and hit the remote so the gate would lift. As soon as there was room, Scott ducked through, adrenaline dulling his pain. He ran for the lower floor, praying he was heading in the right direction. At the same time, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed 9-1-1.
    “What’s your emergency, please?” A woman’s impersonal voice carried into the garage and Scott hurried to lower the volume.
    “I need help. There’s a woman in some kind of trouble. She’s screaming, but I haven’t found her yet to tell you why.”
    “Name, please.”
    Scott stared at the phone. What the hell? This wasn’t a social call, for crying out loud. “Look, it doesn’t matter who I am,” he whispered, slowing now that he was in the bottom row. “Just hurry up before something bad happens. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. In the garage. Hurry.”
    He hung up before she could say anything more and angled his way past a couple of parked cars and a meridian. That’s when he found the woman. She was crouched over something on the ground in front of a gray Honda.
    Maybe he shuffled his feet, or she just sensed he was there, either way she turned and looked right at him with the biggest, greenest eyes he’d ever seen. They provided a stark contrast to the sight of her blood-soaked hands.

Chapter 5
    T racy stared up at the stranger a few feet away, on the edge of hyperventilating. Was she going to be the next to die? Every instinct shouted for her to get the heck out of there before she became the next victim, but empathy urged her to stay, defend the dog who had done nothing to deserve this punishment.
    The man stood in the shade of the cement pillars, a cap pulled low over his forehead blocking his features. She had very little to protect herself with other than a set of keys she’d dropped in her haste to help the injured beast, and a small can of mace she kept in her jacket at all times. It would have to