Rage & Killian Read Online Free PDF Page B

the darkness for any hint of trouble.
    As far as he knew, there was no one who could suspect why he was in New Orleans. Or want to target him. But it was his nature to be on guard.
    Especially when he was protecting this particular female.
    If someone actually tried to harm her…his jaw clenched. The unfortunate bastards would discover exactly why his mother had named him Rage.
    They traveled in silence, surprisingly headed toward the French Quarter. Somehow he’d expected her to have an isolated house on the fringes of town. Instead, she led him directly to Royal Street, pointing toward the house shrouded in shadows.
    “That’s it.”
    Rage nearly fell over his feet as he caught sight of the grand mansion.
    Built on a corner lot, the graceful three-storied house was framed with towering oak trees. The old bricks had been painted a warm cream and there were covered galleries on both the front and the side of the house that ran the length of the porch, with lacy iron railings.
    It was graceful and posh, and whispered of days gone past.
    Just how much did hacking pay?
    “Yep, this is it,” she muttered, pulling a key out of her pocket to lead him inside the black and white tiled foyer.
    He had a brief glimpse of an overhead chandelier and a hallway that led toward an inner courtyard before she was jogging up the polished wooden staircase. They bypassed the formal living room and entered what he supposed had once been called the “parlor.”
    She flipped on the lights, giving him the full impact of the wide room with Corinthian columns that towered toward the fifteen-foot ceilings that still possessed the original medallions. There was a priceless Parisian rug spread across the worn floorboards and furniture that looked as if it’d come out of a European palace.
    Once again, he was struck by the elegant sense of history that she’d so carefully mixed with the comforts of home.
    “Wow,” he breathed, strolling to the center of the room.
    “What?” she demanded.
    “It’s beautiful.”
    She blushed, as if embarrassed by his genuine admiration. Then pulling an envelope out of her back pocket, she moved to pull aside an antique table to reveal a safe hidden in the wall. Quickly she had it opened and the envelope stored inside.
    “The wine cooler is fully stocked,” she told him as she straightened, nodding toward the heavily scrolled bar that was built in beneath the mirror that ran the entire length of one wall. “Help yourself.”
    Rage swiftly moved to block her path as she headed back to the door. “Where are you going?”
    She blinked in surprise. “My office is over the garage.”
    “I want to go with you.”
    “I…” She swallowed her protest as she met his steady gaze, no doubt seeing his cat’s fierce refusal to be left behind. “Fine. Follow me.”
    To the ends of the world , a voice whispered in the back of his mind.
    They left the parlor and headed deeper into the house, at last coming to the end of a hallway where they were blocked by a heavy steel door.
    Rage arched a startled brow as she placed her hand on an electronic scanner and then leaned forward to type in a complex code. Only then did she pull out an old-fashion key to open the final lock and push the door open.
    “You expecting a zombie invasion?” he teased as they stepped into the narrow room that was nearly overwhelmed by the stacks of high-tech equipment and monitors that looked far too sophisticated and expensive to be sold at Best Buy.
    She shrugged, snapping on the overhead lights before moving to settle in front of the nearest computer.
    “Not everyone is happy with the work I do.” She glanced over her shoulder to toss him a startling smile. “And there is always the off chance the zombies might show up.”
    Rage felt as if he’d just been punched in the gut.
    Christ. She had a dimple.
    Reeling from the impact of her smile, Rage was barely aware of her rapidly tapping on the keyboard. Not that he would have known what the