Read Online Crusader (Battle Born Book 1) by Cyndi Friberg - Free Book Online
Authors: Cyndi Friberg
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not exploit her vulnerability.
She shivered then her eyes drifted shut. “As tempting as I find you—” she eased her hands between them and pushed him back, “—what I really want is information about my father’s death.” Only after she’d delivered the rebuff did she open her eyes again.
“I’m going to look into your father’s death regardless of what I find in the morning.” He lowered his arms and closed his hands into fists, unsure if he was capable of keeping his distance. He’d felt drawn to Ashley from the first moment he saw her, huddled on her living room floor covered in blood. She’d ignited a possessive sort of protectiveness that hadn’t subsided since.
Never before had the mere sight of a female shattered his composure. It had to be because she was human. But Morgan was human. Why hadn’t he felt this way with her?
“Thank you.” Ashley’s soft voice pulled him back from his convoluted thoughts. She stood just out of reach and a hint of sadness crept into her expression. She’d pushed him away, so why did she look so miserable?
She’d said this research was her legacy. Perhaps she just wanted to remain in the loop. “I can update you on our progress, if you like. It will all become public knowledge at some point anyway.”
Her brow arched and her head tilted as she processed the implications of his careless statement. “You’ve been hiding your presence for decades. Why go public now?”
If and when Garin’s scientists found a way to unlock the latent powers of the battle born, hundreds of thousands of battle born sons would swarm to Earth ready to pay whatever price demanded of them to access the treatment. Still, that day could be years away or it might never happen at all. Many had tried to solve this mystery and many had failed. He had no idea why he’d brought up the possibility now.
“It’s almost impossible to hide our activities when every human has a camera built into their phone.” Bandar shrugged with forced indifference. “It’s almost inevitable that we’ll be discovered. That’s all I meant.” It was obvious she didn’t believe him and another lame excuse would only reinforce her suspicions. So he didn’t waste his time or insult her intelligence by trying to smooth over the blunder.
“You still need to take me with you.” She squared her shoulders and raised her chin. He was rapidly becoming familiar with that stubborn expression.
“And why is that?” He glanced at the loveseat, wondering if he should sit back down. What he really wanted to do was take off as many of their clothes as she’d allow and get into bed. He knew she wasn’t ready for sex, but he desperately wanted to hold her, touch her, see how far she’d let things progress.
“Even if you managed to find the cabin, which is doubtful, Dad had a thing for biometric security. Unless you have his retina scan on file, you’ll need me to get into his safe.”
He sighed, a bit of his desire receding. Circumventing biometric security was time-consuming. A fast, stealthy operation made more sense. Finding the information was just the beginning. Then Garin’s research team would need to complete the work. “You’re certain your scans will trigger the locks? I thought you and your father were estranged.”
“Our relationship was rocky, but he needed to set up a beneficiary and the only alternative was my mother. I think he knew he was in trouble. He made sure I knew where everything was and he sent me updated passwords and encryption keys every time he changed something.”
Bandar milled that over for a moment. Nazerel could scan her mind for the location of the cabin then teleport her to the spot. Then the Crusader could use Nazerel’s signal to stream Bandar to their location. It would be much easier than tromping around in the woods for hours, hoping to stumble across the secluded cabin. “We’d have to be fast and focused. In and out. No distractions.”
A triumphant smile
She shivered then her eyes drifted shut. “As tempting as I find you—” she eased her hands between them and pushed him back, “—what I really want is information about my father’s death.” Only after she’d delivered the rebuff did she open her eyes again.
“I’m going to look into your father’s death regardless of what I find in the morning.” He lowered his arms and closed his hands into fists, unsure if he was capable of keeping his distance. He’d felt drawn to Ashley from the first moment he saw her, huddled on her living room floor covered in blood. She’d ignited a possessive sort of protectiveness that hadn’t subsided since.
Never before had the mere sight of a female shattered his composure. It had to be because she was human. But Morgan was human. Why hadn’t he felt this way with her?
“Thank you.” Ashley’s soft voice pulled him back from his convoluted thoughts. She stood just out of reach and a hint of sadness crept into her expression. She’d pushed him away, so why did she look so miserable?
She’d said this research was her legacy. Perhaps she just wanted to remain in the loop. “I can update you on our progress, if you like. It will all become public knowledge at some point anyway.”
Her brow arched and her head tilted as she processed the implications of his careless statement. “You’ve been hiding your presence for decades. Why go public now?”
If and when Garin’s scientists found a way to unlock the latent powers of the battle born, hundreds of thousands of battle born sons would swarm to Earth ready to pay whatever price demanded of them to access the treatment. Still, that day could be years away or it might never happen at all. Many had tried to solve this mystery and many had failed. He had no idea why he’d brought up the possibility now.
“It’s almost impossible to hide our activities when every human has a camera built into their phone.” Bandar shrugged with forced indifference. “It’s almost inevitable that we’ll be discovered. That’s all I meant.” It was obvious she didn’t believe him and another lame excuse would only reinforce her suspicions. So he didn’t waste his time or insult her intelligence by trying to smooth over the blunder.
“You still need to take me with you.” She squared her shoulders and raised her chin. He was rapidly becoming familiar with that stubborn expression.
“And why is that?” He glanced at the loveseat, wondering if he should sit back down. What he really wanted to do was take off as many of their clothes as she’d allow and get into bed. He knew she wasn’t ready for sex, but he desperately wanted to hold her, touch her, see how far she’d let things progress.
“Even if you managed to find the cabin, which is doubtful, Dad had a thing for biometric security. Unless you have his retina scan on file, you’ll need me to get into his safe.”
He sighed, a bit of his desire receding. Circumventing biometric security was time-consuming. A fast, stealthy operation made more sense. Finding the information was just the beginning. Then Garin’s research team would need to complete the work. “You’re certain your scans will trigger the locks? I thought you and your father were estranged.”
“Our relationship was rocky, but he needed to set up a beneficiary and the only alternative was my mother. I think he knew he was in trouble. He made sure I knew where everything was and he sent me updated passwords and encryption keys every time he changed something.”
Bandar milled that over for a moment. Nazerel could scan her mind for the location of the cabin then teleport her to the spot. Then the Crusader could use Nazerel’s signal to stream Bandar to their location. It would be much easier than tromping around in the woods for hours, hoping to stumble across the secluded cabin. “We’d have to be fast and focused. In and out. No distractions.”
A triumphant smile
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