Obsession Read Online Free PDF Page A

taking great care to avoid touching her skin. Perhaps more than anything else, those small acts of kindness which allowed her to keep her dignity intact, broke through her walls of defense and made hot tears spring to her eyes. Trembling, Angie stood several inches shorter than the man, and felt a bit like a child. Unable to lift her gaze to his eyes, she focused on the deeply sculpted muscles of his naked chest. Covered with a vee of dark hair tapering down to the waist of his denim jeans, his well-toned abdomen spoke of years of training. It also bore evidence of his violent lifestyle. Alongside a large scar, a tattoo of Santa Muerta , a skeleton draped in robes and carrying a scythe, grinned at her.
    “Th-th-thank you.” Her voice came out in a hoarse whisper, and her teeth chattered.
    Saying nothing, the stranger took her hand, and they both stepped over the unconscious police chief.
    Angie was tempted to kick the slimy creep while he was unconscious, but she could barely lift her feet to walk out of the room. Her muscles quivered, and she had to fight off the urge to lean against the one sane person she’d met in this hell hole.
    The giant stood outside what had been the door to the interrogation room. A fire extinguisher lay on its side next to the threshold. Piles of shattered wood were strewn throughout the station. The man with the pony tail jerked his thumb back toward the interrogation room and spoke in rapid Spanish. The giant nodded, grinned, and rubbed his hands, glee dancing on his face.
    Her rescuer held her elbow. The warmth of his large hand seeped through the cotton shirt and infused her with a sense of security. His calm, quiet demeanor told her he was in charge, and she was safe with him. She blew out a long breath and allowed him to lead her through the demolished office and out onto the street. In the middle of the dusty road, a small crowd clapped and cheered. If she could have raised her hands, or her voice, she would have been there with them. Right now she just wanted to know her liberator’s name.
    “Who are you? Who is that giant? What did you say to him?”
    The pony-tailed man flashed a grin, the smile reaching his sky-blue colored eyes, giving him an appealing boyish look. “The big guy’s name is Tio. I told Tio to truss Raul up like the pig he is and to bring him to Isabel Ramirez. She’ll know exactly what to do with him.”
    “Who are you ?”
    The movie-star handsome man stopped, bent down until he was eye-to-eye with Angie.
    “I found your passport tossed onto Raul’s desk, Angela Edmonds from the U.S. of A. I like that name. You look like an angel.”
    She shook her head and the street twirled. “I’m no angel.” She steadied herself on his well muscled, naked arm. Rather than creeping her out, the skin on skin contact with her rescuer reassured her that he was a real human and not an angel conjured up in fevered religious delusion and desperation. “You sound like an American. You haven’t answered my question. What’s your name?”
    “Torres.” Still holding her ID, he strode to the driver’s side of the car, hopped in and flashed a dazzling grin. “You could call me your hero because I’m taking you to see the woman who can help you find your son. My name is Alejandro Espinosa Santoyo Torres. But most people just call me Alejandro.”

Chapter Two
    Zeke Edmonds admired the panoramic view from atop a flat rock that rivaled the size of those at Stonehenge. Positioned at the pinnacle of a cave-riddled, terraced ridge of the Sierra Madre, the aerie enabled him to see for miles in every direction. Half a dozen turkey vultures circled in a sapphire-blue sky speckled with cotton puffs of clouds. Below, just as he had seen in his visions, a sparkling river undulated like a thin silver snake. His legs quivered with fatigue, his breath came in short puffs, and his pulse pounded in his ears—but his soul rose above his physical distress and sang with ecstasy.
    This was no