Eve Vaughn Read Online Free PDF Page A

where she’d put her evidence. She raced to the far corner of the room and found some stairs. Bounding up them two at a time, she felt her heart skip when the eerie sound of creaking metal ripped through the air.
    The next thing she knew, she was falling. When her head hit the floor, she believed she would die. At least death wouldn’t be as painful as she thought it would be.
    * * *
    Chase had been in the city for two days and he’d seen no sign of Holly. He’d gone to the address Sydney had provided him and she wasn’t there. He had even gone
     
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    by the place he knew she worked, not daring to go inside, yet he still couldn’t find her.
    He had a sinking feeling he knew what had happened to her.
    The Cyrellians had gotten to her. From what Sydney had told him, Holly had been suspicious of them as it was, and it wouldn’t have surprised him if she’d tried something stupid like going after them.
    Just like Sheila.
    As he rested in his hiding place, he closed his eyes and imagined her. She had red hair and was plump as well, but her eyes had been a dazzling green. If he could go back in time, he’d take back all the things he’d said about her. There wasn’t a day that went by when he didn’t think about the difference it would have made had he simply listened to her instead of calling her crazy. Sheila had warned him about the Cyrellians too, but he didn’t want to hear it because he’d worked a cushy job at a surveillance center.
    Its purpose was to discourage crime, but now he knew better. Big Brother, as he liked to call them, had been in place to spy on everyone and make sure no one was on to the aliens. Sheila had warned him about working there, but Chase was too caught up with the money and making a future for them. He didn’t realize she too was thinking about their well-being. Deep down, he probably suspected there was more to her words than simple paranoia, but he was too comfortable in his lifestyle to make any radical changes, like going against the very beings who’d restored civilization on Earth to what it was now.
    She’d be alive today if he’d only believed in her. Chase would never stop carrying that guilt around with him for as long as he lived. After he and Jack had founded their group, it had been Chase’s desire to get rid of the surveillance center.
    He’d taken great satisfaction in blowing that building up. Of course, there were more centers like that one around the city.
    It was part of his vow to avenge his lost love, but he knew his work wasn’t done yet. His thoughts turned to Holly. He didn’t think it was disloyal of him to have these feelings toward her because the love he’d had with his deceased fiancée was the
     
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    generous kind -- the type that had been so satisfying and true he knew she’d want him to move on with his life and be happy. The last couple of years had been a struggle, but as he’d thrown himself into more of his missions his wounds began to heal.
    For a while, Chase had thought Anna might be the one woman he was willing to give his heart to again, but he soon realized they were better off as friends. Thank goodness she preferred Jack over him; otherwise he would have been in quite a tangle right about now. Meeting Holly had changed everything and he knew, with absolute certainty this time around, Holly was the one.
    As sappy as the sentiment was, he’d fallen for her at first sight. It had been the same way with Sheila. Maybe because he was such a straight to the point guy he recognized love so instantly. Most people would think he was crazy for falling for a woman on so short an acquaintance -- someone he’d barely had a conversation with --
    but that didn’t matter to him.
    That’s why it was so important that he find her and bring her back to their headquarters. He couldn’t see her hurt and he didn’t want anything to happen to her.
    That is, if the Cyrellians hadn’t already killed her. He pushed that thought from his mind. No. He