Tracker: A Rylee Adamson Novel Read Online Free

as if I could find the answers in the freshly fallen snow.
    Liam slid his arms around me, curling my ass tight against him as he placed his chin on my shoulder. “Already done.”
    I swatted his hip, but let the smile on my lips linger for a moment. “O’Shea, smarten the fuck up.”
    He let out a growl, most likely from me using O’Shea instead of Liam. “Fine. But Faris is playing a game, and if you don’t know the rules, you are going to get killed.”
    Hands on the windowsill, I leaned forward. My breath fogged the old glass and I drew a circle in it, and then drew a slash through the circle. “It’s always a game with the bloodsuckers. Shit, look at Doran. It’s fun for him to yank your strings and he does it every chance he gets.”
    Again, Liam growled, but said nothing. I took a deep breath, my body held tight by his muscular arms.
    “Faris doesn’t really want to piss me off.” The words slipped out of me, a whisper now. “He needs my help, but I wouldn’t help him before, not even when he asked.”
    Liam’s voice was as soft as mine. “Because of Berget.” No point in answering, we both knew that was the truth. Liam turned me around to face him. “War is coming, Rylee. Is there any doubt in your mind?”
    “No.”
    “And you need allies.” He paused and his words sank in.
    My eyes widened and I stared up at him. “You agree with Charlie. You think I should help Faris.”
    Fuck me sideways, was he serious? Despite what I said downstairs, I never expected Liam t18"]o agree. Yet, it made sense. Hell, what Charlie said made sense no matter how much I wanted it to be otherwise. One thing held me back.
    “I don’t want to kill her, Liam. I don’t think I could do it.”
    Always, it came back to Berget. I’d sworn an oath, the strongest oath I could, that I would kill the Child Empress. Of course, that had been before I’d known who the Child Empress was.
    “We’ll find a way around it.”
    “And until then?” I put my head against his chest, his heart thumping underneath my ear. “I can’t take anyone with me when Faris shows up. Just because Charlie made it doesn’t mean Faris won’t kill someone else. He might not have known Charlie’s tricks …”
    “Really?” The dry tone in Liam’s voice was not lost on me. I slid out of his arms a few inches so I could look up at him.
    “Okay, so he probably knew Charlie’s abilities. But again, it’s a part of the game. Like chess. You do realize I suck at chess?”
    He laughed. “Yeah, you’re more of a checkers girl, aren’t you?”
    I lifted an eyebrow. “You mean smashing my opponents as I leap over them?”
    “Something like that.”
    He held me and my mind worked over the issues. Only one question was left.
    “I know what I have to do, Liam. Are you going to let me do it?” I stepped away from him and started to pace, stopping in the center of the room to face him.
    His jaw was tight, and eyes steely. “You are always leaving me behind, Rylee. Always. As much I hate it, I—” He shook his head and then gathered himself.
    I waited for him to say it. Even though I knew it was coming, I needed to hear it.
    “I trust you. If the prophecies hold true, you are going to be at the center of this shit for a long time. No matter what I do, or how close and tight I hold you, the danger and darkness will always come for you. Always. If I don’t trust you, I’m going to get us both killed.” He reached out and slid his hands up my arms, smoothing the goose bumps that rippled along my skin with his near-prophetic words. “And I will always be here, waiting on you, fighting for you when I can, healing the wounds when I must.”
    “Even if it means me going with Faris, without you? Only taking Alex?” I whispered, hardly believing he wouldn’t fight me on this. Even if it was what we had to do. Fuck, I so hated Faris. Even if he hadn’t killed Charlie.
    He tugged me against his chest, arms banding around me. “Don’t fucking well