Frozen Desires (Asylums for Magical Threats) (37 page)

“Don’t worry, we’ll get there. We have a few million first-borns to burn through to get it right.”

Kiarra opened her eyes and embraced the guilt she felt every time she thought about what had happened

to those poor first-born teenagers.

Because of her blood, not only had five teenagers already gone insane, but their insanity was driving an

untold number of them to suicide—and the researchers wanted to repeat the process with a larger group.

She couldn’t let that happen.

They needed her blood, drawn and injected within hours, as a type of catalyst for the Null Formula to

work. If they didn’t have her blood available, they wouldn’t be able to conduct any more tests.

There was a chance that the researchers might find another catalyst within a few weeks or months, but it

was a risk she was willing to take. Stopping the tests, even for a few months, would prevent more people

from going insane or committing suicide.

Kiarra needed to die.

I can do this. Think of the others.
She took a deep breath, tightened her grip around the shiv’s handle, and whispered, “Please let this work,” before raising the blade with a steady hand and plunging it into the top half of her forearm.

Kiarra sucked in a breath as the pain shot up her arm. She bit her lip to keep from making any more

noise, aware that despite the AMT-wide staff meeting, a guard would come to investigate if she screamed.

She pulled the blade a fraction more down toward her wrist, this time biting her lip so hard she could

taste iron on her tongue. While her brain was telling her to stop, she fought the instinct and gripped the handle of the blade until it bit into her palm.

Only when her heart stopped beating would the other first-borns be safe—at least from her.

An image of a little girl crying, reaching out her arms and screaming Kiarra’s name, came unbidden into

her mind, but she forced it aside. Her sister had abandoned her just like the rest of her family. Her death wouldn’t cause anyone sadness or pain. Rather, through death, she would finally have a purpose.

This was it.
On the next inhale she started to cut down her arm again, but then the door of her cell slid open.

Kiarra looked up and saw a tall man—dressed head to toe in black—standing in her doorway and

pointing a gun straight at her.

Shit.
She’d been discovered.

She wondered where she’d gone wrong. None of the guards should be wandering the halls. Everyone

from the head warden to the maintenance staff was required to attend the monthly AMT meetings.

Of course, she had never seen any of the staff wearing black uniforms before. Maybe the AMT had

increased security and the man was a new type of guard.

Whatever the slip-up, it would cost her if she didn’t act before they could restrain her or drug her

unconscious.

She swung the shiv upward, toward her throat. But between one heartbeat and the next, the man had

pinned her arm, holding the shiv to the bed with his knee. He now held a knife against her throat, the metal still warm from his body heat.

He leaned close enough that his breath tickled her cheek. “Toss away the blade, pet.”

He increased the pressure against her throat, but not enough to draw blood. The blade was meant to be a

threat, but to Kiarra, it might just be the solution.

She arched up toward the blade and felt it nick her throat. But before it could do any real damage, the

man tossed the blade away and pinned her to the bed with his weight. Stunned dumb for a second, Kiarra

didn’t fight back as the man leaned close to her face and whispered, “Keep it up, pet, and you’re going to get yourself killed.”

None of the guards would talk to her like that, in a gentle, soothing tone.

Something was wrong.

Brushing the feeling aside, Kiarra adjusted her hold on the shiv she still had clutched in her right hand.

If she could get free, she might just have one last shot at success.

Channeling all of her anger and frustration from the last twenty-eight years, Kiarra smacked her

forehead against the man’s chin. The split-second distraction gave her enough time to wiggle her hand free and stab her blade into the man’s bicep. He grunted but didn’t move away like she’d planned. Instead, the

man used all of his weight to pin her down while he plucked away her blade and tossed it across the room.

As it clattered against the wall, a heavy sense of defeat came over her.

Her only chance to save the other first-borns was gone.

Despite her resolve, despite her best effort, she had failed.

More people were going to die.

Tears prickled her eyes, and without realizing it, she whispered, “You’ve ruined everything.”

He paused a second at her words, his eyes searching hers for answers. His green eyes were curious and

Kiarra almost believed he wanted to hear her story. Then he pulled out a zip tie from one of his pockets,

maneuvered her hands together, and secured it around her wrists. She flinched as her cut was pressed

tightly again her other arm, but she ignored it.

Kiarra tried to pull her arms apart, but the plastic ties wouldn’t budge.

She was trapped.

No, no, no.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. She should be dead by now.

Instead, she was just a gift all tied up and waiting for the guards. Once they found out what she’d done,

they would punish her. Just like before.

Pain.

Blood.

Darkness.

Kiarra bucked and twisted, wanting nothing more than to get free. There was no way she could survive

that nightmare all over again. “No, no, no!” she screamed before sobbing, “Please just kill me.”

The man gripped her chin hard and said, “Stop.”

His authoritative tone broke through her hysteria and made her pause. He continued, “We need to get the

fuck out of here, to somewhere safe, but I can’t do that if you fight me every step of the damn way.”

Did he just say “we”?
The strange black clothes, the soothing voice, the reluctance to harm her. It all made sense.

This man wasn’t a new guard; he was an intruder, here to kidnap her.

Kiarra’s heart pounded in her chest. How did an outsider know about the value of her blood? It didn’t

make sense. The AMT researchers kept their work under lock and key, both physically and electronically.

What would this man do with her?

The situation had just gone from bad to worse.

Another man’s voice came from the door, and Kiarra jumped when she heard the new man’s accented

voice say, “Boss, I’ve got him.”

The green-eyed man turned and kept a grip on her hands with one hand while using his knee to keep

her legs pinned to the bed. “The others?”

The new position let her see the doorway, where another man was standing, dressed in the same black

clothes with one major difference—he was all but dragging one of her cell neighbors along with him.

What do they want with him?
Maybe her cell neighbor had his own secrets.

“We’re all ready to bust out of here if you are,” said the man at the door.

“Right,” said the green-eyed man before he stood, lifted her up, and hoisted her over his shoulder.

Kiarra froze as her belly touched his shoulder, and before she could say a word, they were moving down

the hall, her face bouncing against the man’s back.

===============

Books by Jessie Donovan

Asylums for Magical Threats

Blaze of Secrets

Frozen Desires

Shadow of Temptation (Early Summer 2014)

Author ’s Note and Acknowledgments

Chichen Itza is a real place in Southern Mexico. I spent about six hours there, and if not for the heat, I would have stayed longer. I highly recommend you visit it someday. However, I did take a few artistic

liberties with the place. While the observatory building is real, visitors can no longer go up the stairs to the main structure. When I started writing the story, I had read old accounts of people climbing to the top.

Imagine my surprise when I saw it in person and noticed it was roped off! Also, I have no idea of the actual security of the place. There are security guards and lots of vendors hawking wares, but the rest is my

invention. However, I did see some vendors sneaking in and out through the jungle rather than the main

entrance while I was there.

Marco is from Colombia, so I had to rely on my brother-in-law’s brother (who is Colombian and still

lives in Colombia) to help me with the endearment of “
cariño
”. (Thanks Fernando!) Any mistakes in its usage, however, is entirely my own fault.

I owe a huge debt to my friend and critique partner, Jayelle Anderson. Not only did she whip the

beginning of this book into shape, she has become a great friend who loves geeky stuff as much as I do.

Since we only met in October of last year, just wait and see how much more she whips my stuff into shape

in the future! My writing will be better for it. Thanks, dearie!

I’m also grateful for my editor, Virginia Cantrell of Hot Tree Editing. She went above and beyond when

it came to pointing out the tiny inconsistencies I never would have spotted. Becky Johnson—the lady

master of Hot Tree Editing—is also fabulous. A big thank you to Becky and her team of beta-readers for the final polish!

A big thank you to Regina Wamba of Mae I Design, who gave me another beautiful cover. Even without

reading more than a few paragraphs and sentences on a sheet, she managed to capture the possessive

tenderness that is Cam and Marco.

Wendy Lynn Clark proved yet again that she is an awesome beta-reader.

And lastly, I want to thank you, the reader. I have been blown away by the love for
Blaze of Secrets
and my crazy, unique world. I write for you all, and if you ever want to contact me, feel free. I love to hear your thoughts!

About the Author

Jessie Donovan wrote her first story at age five, and after discovering
The Dragonriders of Pern
series by Anne McCaffrey in junior high, she realized people actually wanted to read stories like those floating

around inside her head. From there on out, she was determined to tap into her over-active imagination and

write a book someday.

After living abroad for five years and earning degrees in Japanese, Anthropology, and Secondary

Education, she buckled down and finally wrote her first full-length book. While that story will never see the light of day, it laid the world-building groundwork of what would become her debut paranormal romance,

Blaze of Secrets
.

Jessie loves to interact with readers, and when not traipsing around some foreign country on a

shoestring, can often be found on Facebook and Twitter. Check out her pages below:

http://www.facebook.com/JessieDonovanAuthor

http://www.twitter.com/jessiedauthor

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the writer’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Frozen Desires

Copyright © 2014 Laura Hoak-Kagey

First Digital Edition

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner

without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Cover Art by Regina Wamba of Mae I Design.

ISBN 13: 978-0989733625

• Contents
  
• Title Page
  
• Dedication
  
• Chapter 1
  
• Chapter 2
  
• Chapter 3
  
• Chapter 4
  
• Chapter 5
  
• Chapter 6
  
• Chapter 7
  
• Chapter 8
  
• Chapter 9
  
• Chapter 10
  
• Chapter 11
  
• Chapter 12
  
• Chapter 13
  
• Chapter 14
  
• Chapter 15
  
• Chapter 16
  
• Chapter 17
  
• Chapter 18
  
• Chapter 19
  
• Chapter 20
  
• Chapter 21
  
• Chapter 22
  
• Chapter 23
  
• Chapter 24
  
• Chapter 25
  
• Chapter 26
  
• Chapter 27
  
• Chapter 28
  
• Chapter 29
  
• Chapter 30
  
• Chapter 31
  
• Chapter 32
  
• Chapter 33
  
• Chapter 34
  
• Chapter 35
  
• Chapter 36
  
• Chapter 37
  
• Chapter 38
  
• Chapter 39
  
• Chapter 40
  
• Chapter 41
  
• Chapter 42
  
• Epilogue
  
• Thank you for reading!
  
• Blaze of Secrets Excerpt
  
• Other Works
  
• Author's Note and Acknowledgments
  
• About the Author
  
• Copyright