Hunter's Salvation Read Online Free PDF Page B

blonde locks, and she had styled the wig into a tight topknot. She added a pair of nonprescription colored contacts, turning her green eyes blue. The final bits of her disguise included the clothes she wore, the makeup she’d put on using a heavy hand, and the black-rimmed glasses.
    Since she rarely wore makeup and needed glasses only for reading, it was a pretty effective disguise. Jess hadn’t even recognized herself when she’d looked in the mirror on her way out of the house.
    So far, it seemed effective enough that she had blended into the club scene at Debach without a hitch.
    Now if he would just show up.
    A hot, burning tingle raced through her veins, and her fingers itched. It was a certain sign that she hadn’t managed to extinguish her anger. Closing her eyes, she focused on taking slow, deep breaths and calming herself before the anger took over.
    â€œEverything okay, ma’am?”
    The voce was low and deep, too close for comfort, in her opinion, but she didn’t edge away. But she wanted to. Badly. Lifting her lashes, she looked to the side and found a man standing there, wearing a suit that easily cost a couple of grand. He was good-looking, in a cold way, but he had dead eyes. Those eyes made something inside her start to hum, but there was no power coming from him.
    A player in the game, maybe, but not one of the masters. She’d worry about pawns later.
    Forcing a smile, she nodded. “Just fine, thank you.”
    â€œThis is your first night up here?”
    â€œYes,” she murmured, closing her hand around her glass of wine and shifting on her stool so that she could face the man in front of her—and get a better look at the other patrons. “Lovely place. So much more…elegant…than the scene downstairs.”
    He arched a pale brow. His hair was so blond, it was nearly white. Very blond—even paler than her own. “Yes. Well, the scene downstairs is for those who like to play with our lifestyle. Up here—this is for those who actually want to live it. Does that include you, Miss…?”
    â€œBallard. Jennifer Ballard,” Jess supplied, smiling a little more. She hoped it looked coy and secretive. Probably did, though the damned smile felt ridiculous on her face. “Games have their time and place.”
    â€œDon’t they?” He held out a hand and Jess placed hers in its, maintaining her smile even when the chill of his flesh seemed to freeze her through and through. Definitely one of the pawns—he played his own sort of games, and he liked them. Games that involved a lot of pain, a lot of blood.
    Her psychic sense wasn’t that strong, but this was clear enough. There was a very real evil inside this man.
    â€œMy name is Nate. If there’s anything you need…” His lashes lowered, and a smile curved his lips. “Anything at all, do let me know.”
    He lifted her hand to his lips. The press of his lips to the back of her hand seemed to burn her like acid. She wanted to go wash his touch away. Preferably in a vat of bleach. Instead she lowered her head in a nod and murmured, “Thank you.”
    Nate let go of her hand and looked at the man behind the bar. Jess had checked out the bartender earlier. Big and buff, with gold-streaked brown hair that looked a little too perfect to be natural, and muscles that gleamed under the soft lights. “This is Xeke, Ms. Ballard. Xeke, you take good care of Ms. Ballard, now. If you need anything or if you want him to show you around, just say the word.”
    The shirtless piece of eye candy nodded and looked at Jess, his lips curling in a smile that promised a world of pleasure. But for some reason, she suspected he’d rather dole out pain. And not the sweet kind that happened when the line blurred a little between pleasure and pain.
    No. He wanted to give out real pain, and the more his partner screamed, the more he’d enjoy it.
    She wasn’t