Blood Ties Read Online Free PDF

told her but also that she never would have brought up the subject herself, and what he’d told her was something she really needed to know.
    Which figured. Bishop, she had discovered, was like that. He picked up on the things one didn’t want to discuss and matter-of-factly made one discuss them.
    Or at least consider them. She hadn’t been willing to discuss that particular subject, her prickly defenses going up immediately. She just wasn’t ready to talk about her father and all the baggage he’d left her with. Not with Bishop.
    And only very rarely and briefly with Quentin.
    That made her feel guilty as hell, even though she was reasonably certain he knew exactly what was going on in her head. Because Quentin, with highly uncharacteristic patience, had not demanded or even asked for any kind of commitment from her, giving her all the time she needed to come to terms with both her new life and startling abilities and with a tie to him that had nothing to do with domination.
    At least she thought that was why he hadn’t—
    “Diana?”
    Thank God he’s not a telepath .
    “Hi.” She was relieved to note that she’d had time to catch her breath and didn’t sound as out of shape as she was.
    “We heard shots.” He hadn’t drawn his weapon but was visibly tense, his gaze scanning their surroundings warily.
    “Hollis and I ran into a bear.” When he quickly focused on her face, she added, “Not literally. But we needed to scare it away. It found something, Quentin. Another body. Or what’s left of one.”
    “Shit. Murder victim?”
    “We think so.”
    He let out a short little breath. ‘Okay. Miranda’s on her way with a couple of Duncan’s deputies. She said Reese would be there with Hollis before we get back to them.”
    “How does she know—” Diana broke off as she realized.
    Quentin was nodding. “I’ve never quite figured out how she and Bishop do it, but they always seem to know where each of us is at any given moment, in relation to them and to each other.”
    “That’s a little… unsettling,” Diana admitted.
    “You’ll get used to it.” He paused, reflecting, then added, “Or not. Come on, let’s go.”
    “You’re assuming I can find my way back there.”
    “I know you can find your way back there.” His voice was matter-of-fact. “You’re as good as a compass.”
    “My one skill,” she muttered.
    “One of many. Your father called again last night, didn’t he?”
    “He calls nearly every night,” she said, trying to make her voice careless. “He’s stubborn as hell. So?”
    “So stop letting him damage your confidence. Diana, you’re a valued member of this team because you have abilities and skills. In case you haven’t noticed, the SCU isn’t exactly the easiest team to join, and nobody gets in unless Bishop knows they can contribute to an investigation.”
    “Yeah, but—”
    “No buts. You earned this. Okay?”
    After a moment, she nodded. “Okay.” She turned to begin to retrace her steps, thankful that the way back, at least, was mostly downhill. “Do you think we have two killers?” she asked over her shoulder.
    “I think it’s unlikely. Stranger things have happened—certainly when we’re around—but the odds are against it.”
    “That’s what we—” The craa-aack of a shot cut her off, and Diana jerked to a stop, half-turning to look at Quentin. “What the hell?”
    “That was a rifle. And none of us is carrying a rifle.”
    “Where did the shot come from? With all the echoes, I couldn’t tell.”
    “I think it came from the other side of the valley.”
    “A hunter?”
    “I don’t think so.”
    Diana didn’t have to be urged to continue on. Or to hurry.
    “S tay down.”
    DeMarco’s heavy weight lay on her for only an instant before he was rolling away, weapon in hand, eyes narrowed as he peered through the underbrush to scan the mountain slopes surrounding the valley below them. One of his hands lay only inches from the murdered