Warrior's Heart: Iron Portal Series (Paranormal Romance) Read Online Free Page A

like a hard ball of wax, and she choked.
    A large figure stood at the end of her row, shoulders spanning the distance between the two shelves, face hidden in shadow. A military stance. And he was looking straight at her.
    Panic hollowed out her gut. They must’ve found out about her somehow. But how? She’d covered her tracks well and taken every precaution. She needed to cloak herself and get the hell out of here, but she couldn’t let this man see her Talent in action. Under no circumstances could she ever let anyone know what she could do.
    The stairwell. She’d cloak herself there. Even if she didn’t have time to run, when he opened the door, he wouldn’t be able to see her.
    She turned and bolted.
    He barked out an order for her to stop.
    Yeah. Like hell she would.
    The metal door to the stairway loomed straight ahead. The elevator dinged again, the sound echoing through the basement.
    Good. They had company, which meant a possible distraction. Just what she needed to—
    “Mom?” a voice called from around the corner. “You down here?”
    Darius!
    The roar in her head sounded like a freight train. No, baby, no!
    Without a second thought, she took off at a dead run in his direction. Just as she rounded the corner to the elevator banks, the military man stepped out of the stacks. Right in front of Darius.
    Adrenaline surged in her veins. Fuck the artifacts. Fuck trying to keep her ability a secret. No one stood between her and her baby.
    She dropped the heavy book and tunnel-visioned her son, ignoring the sound of the knife clattering to the floor. All she had to do was touch Darius to make both of them disappear. She’d never told him about her ability. He wasn’t old enough to keep the secret yet. He’d be scared, but that couldn’t be helped.
    “Zara?”
    That voice—there was a hint of something familiar.
    She grabbed Darius’s hand and centered herself. They’d disappear in three, two, one—
    “Zara, it’s me. Asher.”
    Asher? Her brother? She hadn’t seen or talked to him in years. And never on this side of the portal. Was this a trick?
    She whirled around to see the man drop to his knees, and he instantly became less formidable. Some of his dark hair was braided into thin plaits and gathered at his nape. He wore jeans, boots, and a plain black T-shirt.
    Tears sprang to her eyes. It really was him. “Asher!”
    Before he could reply, Darius wrapped his arms around her waist. “Mom, are you okay? What’s wrong?”
    “Shhh, baby,” she said, stroking his hair. “It’s okay.” Unlike many ten-year-olds, he was still okay with her mommy displays of affection.
    Asher reached out a hand. His face was pained. “I didn’t mean to frighten you, Z-Boo. I wasn’t sure that was you. It’s…it’s been so long. I’m sorry.”
    No one had called her that in years.
    “And you’ve…got a son,” he said, a tinge of awe in his tone. She could tell he wanted to say more but was hesitant because Darius was clearly rattled.
    She kissed the top of her son’s blond head. “Everything’s fine, buddy, okay?”
    “It is?”
    Nodding, she picked up the book and the knife. “This is my brother. Your uncle Asher.”
    At that, Asher dropped to all fours like a horse or a dog and gave a goofy grin. Darius laughed.
    “Why is he on his knees, Mom?” Darius stage-whispered. “He’s kind of big to be doing that, don’t you think?”
    Before she could answer Darius or ask how Asher had found her, a woman came up behind him.
    “Yeah, he is kind of big for this, isn’t he?” she said warmly, her reddish-brown hair tumbling over her shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Zara. This is completely my fault. I, of all people, should’ve known better than to come barging in here like this. Ash wanted to wait for you upstairs, but your co-worker told us you were down here.” The woman had the most beautiful mismatched eyes.
    A million questions popped into Zara’s mind, so she decided to start with the simplest.