Shadowed 3 I’ll Be Damned Read Online Free PDF Page A

finally released without being charged for killing the intruder who turned out to be Francois’ bouncer, Lou.
    Unfortunately she had to tell the police she’d questioned Francois regarding a case she was currently working on and he’d threatened her.
    Jayden’s client had wanted to avoid police involvement. That’s why she’d hired a private detective. Now, with a shooting in the mix, it was impossible to avoid the authorities.
    Jayden felt as if she’d failed, even though she’d warned her client that Francois was a dangerous man. He wasn’t merely a club owner. He had strong connections to the criminal underworld. Drugs. Prostitution.
    Jayden had hesitated to take the case, but her client had seemed desperate. Of course many of her clients were desperate, but something about this mother searching for her missing daughter got to Jayden, so she’d agreed to do her best to locate the girl.
    With a sigh, Jayden peeled off her bloody clothes and took a long shower, as if she could wash away the horror of the night along with the gore. She wasn’t happy about killing a man, but it had been self-defense. Lou had no doubt intended to kill her and he’d shot Cinder.
    Cinder bothered her even more than Lou. She still couldn’t believe what she’d seen. Part of her wondered if she hadn’t imagined it. If the police hadn’t asked her about the second wounded man she’d reported to the emergency dispatcher, she would have doubted her sanity.
    She’d nearly told the cops the truth but refrained. They would think she was either crazy or a liar. Instead she told them what Cinder had suggested -- that the second man had run off. Maybe he hadn’t been injured as badly as she’d thought, or perhaps he’d been wearing some kind of bulletproof vest.
    She insisted she had no idea who he was, but told them he’d helped her and hadn’t appeared to be with Lou. The police seemed satisfied, at least for the moment.
    Jayden turned off the water, stepped out of the shower and dried off. She wrapped the towel around her and walked into her bedroom where she gasped upon seeing Cinder standing by the window. He’d cleaned up and changed out of his bloodstained clothes. Dressed in black pants and a red shirt that draped his muscular frame, he looked incredibly sexy.
    “Damn it! You need to stop doing this. You’re going to give me a heart attack,” she said.
    “I’m sorry. I just came by to make sure you’re all right.”
    “And you promised to tell me who and what you are.”
    “I know.” He stepped toward her. Their gazes locked and something in his luminous blue eyes aroused her so much that she almost squirmed. He lifted his hand to her face and caressed her cheek.
    Jayden swayed toward him and he covered her mouth in a deep, tender kiss. His tongue stroked hers and he cupped the back of her head, his fingers sliding through her hair.
    When the kiss broke, Jayden leaned against him, her palms splayed against his hard chest. She closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head. A realization struck her and she stepped back to glare at him.
    Pointing in his face she said, “You bastard! It wasn’t a dream the other night, was it?”
    His blue eyes widened and he shrugged.
    “You know exactly what I’m talking about. When we…” She paced the room, torn between rage and shame. Then she paused. Why should she be ashamed? He was the one who --
    “I didn’t force you,” he said.
    She shot him a furious look. “You lied to me.”
    “How did I lie?”
    “I thought I was dreaming. You came in a puff of smoke and --”
    “I never said it was a dream. If you remember, I asked if you wanted me in your bed.”
    “We did it under false pretenses! Who the hell are you, anyway, and why do you keep bothering me?”
    “Bothering? I saved your life twice and gave you unearthly pleasure once already.”
    “Already? You think it’s going to happen again?”
    He smiled and gently cupped her chin. “I hope so.”
    Jayden