Read Shadow of Temptation (Asylums for Magical Threats #2.5) Online

Authors: Jessie Donovan

Tags: #FICTION / ROMANCE / PARANORMAL

Shadow of Temptation (Asylums for Magical Threats #2.5) (3 page)

BOOK: Shadow of Temptation (Asylums for Magical Threats #2.5)
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Focus.
It was useless to start obsessing over anything until she had more information. The only way she was going to get that was getting Salazar to talk.

She gave him a cool look. “I’ll talk, but not here. I’m not promising you anything in terms of answers, but I’ll give you five minutes.”

“Fine, I’ll meet you outside. But if you try to sneak out the back or try to give me the slip, I’ll still find you and I won’t be so nice the next time. Considering what you did, I’m sure you’d agree that I’ve been pretty fucking restrained.”

At the mention of her betrayal, guilt started to nibble at her. But she pushed it aside and looked down her nose at him. “Nine months might have passed, but I haven’t forgotten about your tracking skills.”

He pushed back his chair from the table. “Good. I’ll be waiting for you outside.”

“Where?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll find you.”

His words held an underlying threat, but it was his intense gaze that made her heart rate kick up. Whatever had happened to him in the last nine months, it hadn’t been good. Jorge Salazar was no longer the easygoing young man with a sense of humor and a passion for making things right. He was angrier, more serious, and more mature. She wondered what had happened to him.

That question was on the tip of her tongue, but she held back. Until she found out what he knew, she needed to be careful.

Jorge turned and left without another word, and she released a breath. The possibility of him knowing she was an undercover
Feiru
Liaison officer was bad enough, but being seen with Jorge Salazar in public wasn’t much better.

His picture was on the list of former Fed League members to avoid at all costs. If they were seen together, Watkins or one of her other superiors might suspect she was either working with someone else or thinking about leaving. Hopefully, she’d kicked Jorge out of the restaurant quick enough to avoid attracting notice.

She needed to get out of here. The sooner she found out what Jorge knew, the sooner she could think of a way to get rid of him. She couldn’t turn him in to their superiors as she’d done last time, right after she’d seen his arm turn into a shadowy mist. Maybe once she had talked with him a little, she could think of a new plan.

Yolanda returned with her order and Sabrina realized she couldn’t leave until she finished what she’d come to do. “I’m sorry, but something came up. Can I get the check?”

Yolanda stopped short of frowning before she nodded and left again. No doubt she’d seen the strange man, but Sabrina had never brought Jorge here, even when they had been friends. Yolanda would probably just dismiss him as part of her current assignment.

Once Yolanda had brought the check, Sabrina scrawled her coded message on the back, requesting a meet-up with her boss tomorrow at their usual market. She handed the bill to her and smiled. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

Sabrina exited the restaurant, keeping her eyes and ears open. While she didn’t see Jorge anywhere, she was confident he’d find her. She turned right and started walking.

The further she went from the restaurant, the more irritated she became. She had less than an hour before she had to file her first report, and she couldn’t give Watkins any reason to dismiss her from the school job.

Just as she pulled out her cell phone to check the time again, a hand grabbed her and covered her mouth before pulling her down the empty street. Sabrina knew better than to scream, especially since the man’s touch and scent were familiar.

Jorge Salazar had found her.

 

 

Chapter Three

 

 

As Jorge dragged Sabrina further down the abandoned street, away from prying eyes, he tried not to notice how his arm kept brushing the underside of her breasts. The friction of her ass brushing against his cock wasn’t much better. And then there was her scent—a mixture of vanilla and woman that he’d never quite forgotten.

Damn it, as much as he didn’t need her to know how much her scent and touch still affected him, his dick was sending out rocket flares—I’m here, I’m hard, and I want you.

He reached the large van he’d been aiming for and slid in between the six-foot high van and the nondescript sedan behind him. He managed to turn Sabrina around so that her back was now against the van, and he placed one arm across her shoulders and the other still covering her mouth. While their bodies weren’t touching as much as when he’d been dragging her, she was still far too close. The sooner he got the information he needed from her, the better.

Her eyes stared into his without fear as he said, “If I remove my hand and you scream, you’re not going to like it. Understand?”

She nodded, and the instant he let go, she said, “Whatever you’re trying to prove, it’s unnecessary. I have an appointment I need to keep, so cut straight to the point.”

So much for soft words. She was treating him like the enemy. Good, that would make things easier.

He leaned in and took satisfaction in the slight widening of her eyes. Okay, maybe she wasn’t as unaffected by him as he’d originally thought. That was something else he could use against her. “I want to know what Watkins has planned for that elementary school.” She opened her mouth, but he beat her to it. “And before you say you can’t do it, just remember I know about your other identity, down in Brazil, and I’ll blackmail you if that’s what it takes.”

“Isn’t that what you’re doing right now?”

He gave a half-smile. “Well, then you’d better start talking, Sabrina—if that’s even your real name.”

She pushed against his chest. “It is asshole. But even with your blackmail threats, I won’t tell you anything until you let me know what you plan to do with the information.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Why? Did you develop soft feelings for Watkins and the others in my absence? After all, you’re good at that, charming people into believing you’re their friend.”

She growled and tried to push him away, but he kept his arm in place. She said, “Fine. Get out your hatred. You don’t know all the facts, but feel free to jump to conclusions. Just make all your witty comments and accusations quick, because I am leaving in the next five minutes, whether you approve of it or not.”

 

 

 

Sabrina knew she should keep her temper in check, but she decided to screw it. If Jorge was going to be an asshole, she wasn’t going to play nice.

To be honest, if she didn’t have a deadline hanging over her head, she probably would’ve tried to reason with him and have an actual conversation. But as much as she didn’t want Jorge to hate her for the wrong reasons, her mission was too important. There was no way she was going to let down her boss in Mexico City or those innocent schoolchildren.

Of course, the question was how she was going to carry out the threat she’d just issued. Jorge had always been strong—a result of their frequent runs and swims—but the defined muscles of his arms were new. She would never be able to overpower him.

Then she remembered the feel of his erection against her ass and had an idea. She’d always known that Jorge had had a thing for her. She’d ignored it in the past because A) she was undercover and B) he’d been too bright-eyed and optimistic for her to dare bring him into the shady areas of her life.

But now that she knew her betrayal hadn’t affected his attraction, she’d use it against him if she had to.

Jorge was still staring at her in silence. She was about to repeat her question when he said, “I need information about Watkins to protect my sister Alejandra.”

She blinked. That was the last thing she’d expected to hear. “What are you talking about?”

He searched her eyes a second, and then leaned close. She could feel the heat of his breath against her cheek as he whispered, “Don’t play dumb. You’re the one who turned me in. The Collector pays handsomely for strange abilities like mine. If you had done your research, then you’d know the extent of what that bitch does to further her own goals.”

Sabrina was completely lost. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I turned you in to our superior to get you kicked out of the Fed League. That’s it. This is the first I’ve ever heard of anyone known as the ‘Collector’.”

She saw him hesitate a second, and then he shook his head. “Enough with the lies. Unless you want my sister to be tortured again, and most likely killed this time, you need to start talking. I don’t give a fuck about your appointment. You’re not leaving until I say so.”

 

 

 

Deep down, Jorge knew being an asshole was not the best way to get information out of someone. But his time with the Collector had erased any vestiges of patience and tact he’d once had.

Just remembering his sister’s chattering and cries for help—the Collector’s people had locked Alejandra naked in a freezer and broadcast her agony into his locked cell—made him even more pissed off. Sabrina, the woman he’d tricked himself into believing he loved, was responsible for Alejandra’s suffering as well as his own.

Still, the look of horror in Sabrina’s eyes as he told her about his sister almost appeared genuine. Had she really not known what spilling one man’s secret could do?

No.
He wasn’t going to let an old soft spot for this woman fuck with his head. “Well, Sabrina, say something.”

She opened her mouth and then closed it. He tightened his grip on her shoulder and she finally spoke up. “I don’t know who the hell you are anymore, Salazar. Even if I told you what I know, what guarantee do I have that you won’t kill me?”

He resisted a blink. “You think I’d kill you?”

“Considering how you’re hurting me right now, it’s certainly crossed my mind.”

Realizing the truth, he relaxed his grip a fraction. He wasn’t going to turn into the killer the Collector had tried to mold him to be, not even with this woman. “I won’t kill you. You’re more valuable alive.”

She poked a finger into his chest. “As much as I’d like to believe your little heartfelt promise, I’m going to need something more. Let’s make a deal.”

“A deal? I think I have the upper hand right now, princess. So stop stalling. I know you’re trying to think of a way to escape.”

She lowered her hand from his chest and let out a noise of frustration. “You want the truth? Then listen up, because I’m only going to say this once: I need to file a report with Watkins in the next forty minutes or he’ll throw me off the case. If that happens, we’ll both be fucked.”

His curiosity got the better of him and he asked, “What do you mean ‘we’ll both be fucked’? Does this have anything to do with you using another name?”

She raised her chin a notch. “Let me file my report, and I’ll answer more of your questions.”

“What guarantee do I have that you won’t backstab me later?”

“Believe nothing else about me, but I always told the truth about my mother. I swear on her grave that I won’t betray you unless you give me a reason to do so.”

Memories of Sabrina’s tears as she told him about her mother’s death flashed into his head. That had been the moment he’d started to fall for the woman he thought was Sabrina Ono. Had it been part of her ruse or had her tears been genuine?

More than likely, this was a trick. But he couldn’t risk losing the only lead he had on Watkins. “Fine. But I’m coming with you to watch you file your report. That’s my condition.”

 

 

 

Sabrina relaxed her hand and lowered it down from Jorge’s crotch. If he hadn’t agreed to her deal, she would’ve grabbed his balls and twisted. Making the bitter man angry was not the smartest idea, but it’d been all she had.

Luckily, he’d agreed. “All right then, let me go so we can get moving.”

“Until we get to wherever it is we’re going, I’m going to hold your hand the entire way.” He took her right hand—her dominant one, of course—and squeezed. “If you don’t want to attract attention, then you’d better act like my girlfriend.”

She tried to pull away—this would most certainly get her caught if anyone was following her—but all he did in response was to pull her close against his side and say, “If you stay close and act like you adore me, people are less likely to pay attention to you. So, are you ready?”

She glared and tried her best to ignore the heat radiating off Jorge’s body. She hated to admit it, but Jorge was physically stronger than her. She’d never get free until either he allowed it, or she found a weapon to help even the odds.

Her best option was to use side streets and back alleys to avoid running into any of her Fed League colleagues. The plan wasn’t foolproof, but it was the best she could do for now.

She squeezed his hand back, careful to dig her nails into his skin. To his credit, he didn’t even flinch.

She finally answered him. “Your plan is pretty shitty—and will probably get us both caught—but it’s not like I have a choice.”

He shrugged. “Hey, things could be a lot worse, princess.”

“Stop calling me princess.”

“I would think it wouldn’t matter, seeing as you use different names in different places.”

She grit her teeth. She wasn’t going to argue any further. The more she argued, the more likely she would spill secrets she couldn’t afford to spill. Why she wanted him to believe her, she didn’t know. He’d made his hatred of her clear.

BOOK: Shadow of Temptation (Asylums for Magical Threats #2.5)
8.97Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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