Mercy Read Online Free PDF Page B

responses were appropriate. Eyes and whispered speculation followed her every move. The tension crowded in on her, lodging between her shoulder blades and clenching around her neck. She found a glass of champagne and a quiet corner, which was where Beatriz, Mateus’s wife, came to her. Beatriz simply stood beside her for a moment, lending support and solace with her easy presence while the crowd kept their watchful distance.
    “Quite the man, your husband,” Beatriz said with a small smile.
    “I will be a widow before I am truly a wife.”
    “I don’t think that one will be so easily killed.” Beatriz traced the shallow scratch along Iada’s cheekbone with one beautifully manicured finger. “You tried.”
    “He was the better fighter,” Iada admitted and realized she was smiling when Beatriz laughed softly. Iada’s smile faded abruptly. It was horrifying to believe that you were invincible and then realize in a single day how pathetically weak you actually were.
    “And here Mateus has been saying that you were the best he’s ever trained.” Beatriz sipped at the cool liquid, tipped back her head to take in the stars. The hanging lights danced in the mounting breeze. “You would never have accepted a man you could easily defeat as your mate, Iada. Will you help your uncles to destroy this one?”
    “I want him gone, not dead.”
    “Really? You’re looking for him even now.”
    Iada’s eyes flicked up to meet Beatriz’s all too knowing gaze, her gentle smile. This woman had been mother to her since she’d lost her own. Iada shifted her weight uncomfortably and set her empty glass down on the wall behind them. Beatriz said, “I’ve seen the way he watches you too. The attraction is not one-sided.”
    Iada averted her face and traced a groove in the stone with one finger. “I want him. I will take him if he offers himself. Physically there’s no problem.” She looked up. “He thinks that I am my uncles’ pawn, that I am a mindless fighter and that I will betray him.”
    Beatriz said nothing.
    “His opinion shouldn’t matter,” Iada said. “He’s a stranger. The way he says Silveira…Did you know the reason he entered the tournament?”
    Beatriz was silent for a moment while she fiddled with her glass. “Yes.”
    “And you didn’t tell me?”
    “Your eyes and ears work just as well as mine, child,” Beatriz said and although her voice was hard, there was no judgment in it. “You didn’t want to know.” She pressed her hand to Iada’s arm. “Not that I blame you. Your uncles…”
    She drifted off and Iada followed her gaze. Vin was approaching from the edge of the crowd, moving as smoothly as if he were stalking prey. Beatriz pressed a kiss to Iada’s cheek, squeezed her hand in support and whispered, “Don’t lose courage now, Iada.”
    And then in mockery of those words, she slipped away just before Vin reached them. Iada watched her weave through the crowd to stand beside Mateus, who pulled her close against his side. That was what a husband and wife should be, a voice whispered inside her. That was what love looked like. Iada tilted her head back to smile grimly at her uncle.
    She asked the only question that really mattered to her right now. “Did you burn down his shelter?”
    Vin jerked back and his eyes narrowed to slits. “What does it matter?”
    It mattered on so many levels but she gave him the reason he would understand. “It matters because it’s the reason he’s here.”
    Vin sighed. “Don’t believe everything he tells you. He was trying to extort money from us for his pet project. He—”
    “A little girl died.”
    “A mutant,” Vin corrected.
    He said it like it made a difference and her whole world shifted. Vin took her silence for acceptance and bent his head to her ear. “Just keep him distracted, child, and we’ll see to the rest.”

Chapter Three
    Gabriel closed the door, crossed to the bar and turned his back on her, leaving himself fully exposed.