Two To Go: Bayou Heat (Pantera Security League Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

she better than anyone understood the feeling of having her world turned upside down, being thrust into an existence where she had to fight every day just to survive.
    It was no surprise that Max and his family leapt at the promise of being given the opportunity to start over with a clean slate. Who wouldn’t?
    “It was Benson,” she said. Not a question. She knew that shithead’s tactics by now.
    A low growl rumbled in Max’s throat, the force of his anger sending a tangible blast of heat through the air.
    Elyon pushed down the shock of lust that barreled through her. Every emotion he felt seemed to radiate from him. From his skin, his eyes, his lips. It was truly the sexiest thing ever.
    “They loaded us into a van,” he continued. “Drove us to New Orleans, just like they promised. But when we got there, some asshole wearing a mask opened the door and shot us with tranquilizer guns on the spot.”
    His face tightened with tension and…hate, and maybe shame? She couldn’t tell for sure.
    “I woke up locked in a cell that was at the back of some lab. Smelled like cleaning solution.” He cursed to himself. “I’ll never forget that smell.” His eyes found hers and they were oddly vulnerable. “Every time I even get a whiff of it, I’m gone. Done for.”
    Unbidden, she lifted her hand and touched the side of his neck. Just held it there, in some strange attempt at comfort. Not that she had any clue what that felt like, but it seemed right, real. And he wasn’t flinching or pulling away.
    “Was there anyone else locked in the cell with you?”
    He shook his head. “I was alone, although I could hear the other prisoners. At the time I didn’t know what happened to my parents.”
    Yeah. That she understood as well. “What did they do to you? Benson’s grunts.”
    “I was tortured. Plain and simple.” The words were hard. Bleak. Emotionless. “Varied from day to day. Sometimes they used a whip on me. Other times a knife.”
    Jesus .
    “Hardly felt it after a while. Then something changed in me and I started to crave it. Every kick, every slash.”
    Around them, the air was thick. With pain and desire and rage. Elyon’s hand slid from his neck to his chest, the tips of her fingers moving over the exquisite lines of his tattoos. She hissed as she felt the rough edge of a thick scar.
    “At the end, when I would give them nothing, not a word, not even a motherfucking whimper, they would pierce my chest with iron rings and hang me from them.”
    Her back to the mat, her eyes on him, her cat roaring and scratching at her skin with fury, Elyon knew, for the first time in her life, a deep and unwavering blood hunger for revenge. Forget the mind and what was left of his heart, torture like that didn’t leave the cells. Oh, Goddess, she hoped very much she crossed paths with the bastards who’d tortured Max. They would learn her definition of torture. For a very, very long time.
    Forcing on a mask of composure, she asked softly, “Why do you think they’d do that to you?”
    He smiled, but his eyes remained shark-like. “They wanted to see how much damage my body could take after they’d given me a dose of your Pantera blood.”
    “Oh fucking hell,” she uttered on a low breath. No wonder… No wonder he’d called the blood infusion an infection. That was being kind. Polite. Restrained. Pantera blood running through his veins should be an honor, a great gift. But to him it was a constant reminder of a living nightmare.
    She had to help him. In more ways than just the rescue. There was no turning back now. He had Pantera blood coursing through him. He was one of them now. And maybe, hopefully, in time, he would learn to appreciate what the infusions could offer him.
    He was staring at her, studying her. “What’s going on in there?”
    She shook her head. “I’m just…It’s bullshit. I’m sorry.”
    “Don’t,” he breathed, his expression brittle. As if he was holding onto his composure by a