Shadow Falling (The Scorpius Syndrome #2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

with the useless avocado colored oven. A gaping hole remained where a fridge had probably once been, and another hole near the baseboard had been plugged with old T-shirts. “I’m glad you like it.”
    She clutched her hands together and moved inside, taking a second, as if summoning courage. “What did Jax mean that this was ‘on you’?”
    Raze eyed her, the sense of obligation creating a heaviness in his chest. He was being pulled in too many directions, and he needed to shut down and complete the mission. That’s all this was. “Bringing you into headquarters is on me. If you end up trying to kill anybody or go nuts, then I take the fall.”
    “What does that mean?” she whispered, her pretty eyes widening.
    Raze gave her the truth in gentle terms. “In Jax’s world? He’d probably shoot me.”
    She blanched. “Then I should go.”
    Shit. He’d upset her. “No, honestly, it’s all good. Don’t worry about Jax. It takes a while for him to trust anybody.” Even Raze didn’t have Jax’s full trust, and after he did what he had to do, Jax
would
try to kill him. That wasn’t on Vinnie, though.
    She looked around again. The room seemed brighter with her in it. “I feel bad taking your home.” Her voice was a low, sweet murmur.
    The apartment was so far from home it wasn’t funny. His body awakened at the concern in her voice. When was the last time anybody around him had truly given a shit? Somehow, even though he was rock cold, she managed to warm him. “Don’t feel bad. This place sucks.” Not that Tace’s was any better.
    Raze studied her, once again taking a hammer to the chest. God, she was beautiful. Long blond hair, dark blue eyes, so damn tiny she’d be a master at hide and seek. He’dalways had a thing for petite blondes, and throw in obvious intelligence and a wary cautiousness? Yeah. She filled his damn dreams.
    Which was why he hadn’t slept more than an hour at a time since rescuing her. Of course he’d been hunting her for months now, hadn’t he? Not for a second had he considered he’d end up genuinely liking her, much less wanting to shield her from the world.
    Two seconds inside the apartment and the room seemed warmer. The smell of calla lilies, her scent, already was seeping into the air. The woman wrung her hands together, so nervous she was making him uncomfortable. “Vinnie? You’re safe here.”
    What a fucking lie. She wasn’t safe . . . because of him.
    She nodded. “I just hope I can help out a little.” Her blue eyes darkened as she looked at the bare countertops. “You don’t have any pictures anywhere.”
    “No.” He shrugged. “I was on a mission halfway around the world when Scorpius hit and haven’t been home since.”
    “Home?” she asked.
    He breathed out. “Wyoming. I grew up in the mountains before entering the service.”
    She smiled. “You’re a cowboy?”
    The smile shot through him like fine whiskey and put his muscles on alert. His groin hardened. “I’m no cowboy.” He chuckled. “We did own a small ranch, though. Also, our mom owned a small restaurant in an even smaller town. We served a lot of ranchers.” From ten years old, he’d known how to sling hash. Sometimes he missed those days.
    “Do you still have family there?” she asked, her body finally relaxing.
    He didn’t have time to share with her. The less she knew about him, the better. Yet the hope in her eyes did him in. “No. Our father died in the service when we were young, and my sister and I were raised by our mom. Great lady.” Tothis day, his heart hurt at losing her. “Cervical cancer took her when I was twenty and Moe was sixteen.”
    Poor Maureen. She’d gotten so lost.
    “Moe is your sister?” Vinnie asked.
    “She was,” Raze said, his pulse quickening. He had to get out of there and stop sharing with the shrink. While she might be vulnerable, pure intelligence shone in her stunning eyes. “I have to go meet Jax and will be back later for my stuff.”