Relentless Flame (Hell to Pay) Read Online Free PDF

anticipation.
    He let go of one of her hands to scratch his scalp over and over again. Why was he itching so much? He was acting stranger than his usual hangover.
    “Scott...”
    “I helped you when you needed it.”
    That statement served as his best go-to blackmail move whenever he wanted her to do anything. And the worst part? He wasn’t incorrect. He’d saved her life. So why shouldn’t she relieve his pain and keep him employed? It was the least she could do, right?
    Years ago, her ability had erupted out of the blue, and unable to control the power, she’d been hurt trying to help the other person. The first time, with Scott’s broken arm, she had put her hands on him and the surge of his injury had cracked her own arm in a flash. The second time her gift emerged, her mother had sliced her hand with a paring knife. Hannah still bore an aching arm and a scar on her hand as testament to the efficiency with which her body absorbed other people’s injuries.
    Since then, though, she had sure as heck figured out how to hold her ability in check. Now, her control acted like a dam, restraining a massive lake at full pool. But the control was worth it. Instead of spontaneously absorbing the ills and injuries of others, now she made the call. She released the power in a conscious burst of will. A mere thought, and her body’s hungry desire to suck out pain from another person surged through the connection of skin and shoved the agony back into Hannah. No degrees, no shades of gray. She absorbed everything from the other person. Or she did not.
    That’s why she had become very picky on selecting beneficiaries of her gift.
    Selfish? Maybe.
    But she had no idea of the limits of her power. Altruism aside, it would be nice to avoid destroying herself in an effort to help others.
    After another minute of debate, she had her decision. Damn it.
    Oh man, she didn’t want to take on Scott’s hangover, but they had run out of choices. He had to work at the gas station. They needed the extra $500 from his part-time work pumping gas. He’d called in too many times to continue the job if he missed another day. Huh. Couldn’t even pull off a part-time job.
    She swallowed, clenched her teeth together, and mentally released the floodgates as her power exploded from the restraints. Her skin, hungry to grab the illness in Scott’s body, adhered to their joined hands as if magnetized. At the point of solid connection, she took one more breath and let go of all resistance. Her blood or cells or something inside of her reached into every pore of his body and scraped out the sickness and pain. Her gift collected every last bit of disease into a spiky ball of hell then yanked it away from his body.
    His pain flowed like electrical fire up her arms into her neck and chest, threatening to explode out her head and fingertips. Unfortunately, the pain remained inside her own skin, eating away at every cell in her body like acid etching torment through every organ. Her liver swelled, stomach clenched, and muscles quivered.
    Almost done.
    As she absorbed everything wrong in his body, her muscles ignited in fire and a relentless throbbing drumbeat pounded in her skull. The toast she had for breakfast threatened a repeat performance. She swallowed down bile and tried to control her breathing.
    Today’s transfer of symptoms was more than the typical bender recovery. Something strange occurred. She got jumpy.
    Was that a figure at the window? A knock at the door? An intruder?
    No. Nothing.
    She blinked, unable to concentrate for all the inexplicable fear. Panic paralyzed her lungs, her heart pounded, her leg muscles tensed, ready to flee.
    But no one was there. No stalker. No danger.
    Edgy and irritable, her skin itched like bugs crawled all over her. Twitching an arm, she tried to dislodge invisible ants from her skin. Damn it, she couldn’t get them off of her. She pulled one hand away from Scott and scratched her skin, raising angry red lines on