The Guardian (Mended Souls Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

the emergency number when I thought it was you in danger, they should be here soon. Your gate-keeper, who let me in by the way, can show them where to go.”
    Her knees were cold from kneeling on the cement. It couldn’t be good for the pup. She worried he might already be going into shock. “Give me your jacket, we need to get him warmed up.” Tracy tugged her own coat off her shoulders and tried to ignore her companion’s appreciative stare. If there was one thing that made her self-conscious it was her over-developed breasts. Men took one look and figured her for a cheerleader—or a stripper. Neither one was acceptable. And it wasn’t that she was a snob, because she wasn’t. Women in those trades were usually more out-going, socially adept. Tracy wasn’t. After what happened to her sister… well, she just wasn’t.
    The dog seemed to realize the humans were trying to help him. He gave up struggling and lay quietly when she laid her coat and the stranger’s jacket over his soiled fur. She rubbed his black and white head and glanced curiously at the man watching them.
    “Do I know you? You seem familiar?” His angular face reminded her of someone, she just couldn’t put her finger…
    “Holy smokes,” she squeaked. “I know who you are.” She was surprised it had taken her so long. “You’re Scott Anderson, aren’t you?” Okay, this was officially the craziest day on record. Heat raced up her neck and made her ears hot with embarrassment. He must think her a raving idiot. Accusing Scott Anderson of animal abuse—nice.
    He shook his head, then sighed and removed the cap. “I guess the jig is up.” Then, the weirdest thing happened; his whole demeanor changed from kind and sincere, to loud and obnoxious in two-point-five seconds flat.
    “You know how it is, babe. The chicks all want a piece of this.” He waved his hand up and down his body like some kind of a game show host. “Sometimes I prefer to travel incognito, you know?”
    Oh, she knew, all right. Suppressing the twinge of disappointment, because she actually kinda liked the other guy more, Tracy nodded. “Yeah, I guess it would be hard having those… babes chasing you all the time.” She turned her attention back to the male who held more appeal right now and rubbed his furry ears, smiling a little at his groan of delight. “You don’t need to worry, I won’t tell anyone you were here. I assume you came to say good-bye to your friend, Lucas Carmichael, and your sister?”
    He paled and rose awkwardly, to pace a few feet away, his back ramrod straight under a soft looking dark blue cotton t-shirt. Even with the loose fit, Tracy could see the delineation of his muscular shoulders. Something clenched deep inside and it wasn’t fear.
    The faint cry of far off sirens told her that their time together was drawing to an end, but instead of relief, Tracy felt a keen sense of loss. Which was silly, she hardly knew the man, after all. But she couldn’t deny her attraction and it didn’t have anything to do with him being a movie star, as he’d intimated.
    When Scott turned around his face was inscrutable, all emotion held under a tight wrap. “What do you know about Lucas?” he demanded.
    She frowned at his tone, but then she thought about all the nosy reporters they’d been dealing with and realized it must be ten times worse on his end.
    “I’m not a journalist, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
----
    H e snorted at the polite term she’d used for the soul-stealing scavengers who made their living invading other people’s privacy. They were unavoidable in his line of business—free publicity equals good publicity—but he hated feeling like a bug under a microscope. It wouldn’t surprise him if they knew how often he took a shit, it was that bad.
    She seemed too innocent to be a scum-sucker, but then, he’d been wrong before. This could all be some sort of elaborate set-up. The right time, and the right place, to catch him at