Read Online Absolution (Delroi Prophecy Book 4) by Loribelle Hunt - Free Book Online

They like to eat their meat live
and they’ve evolved smart enough to know just how to keep their meals alive for
days.”
    Her voice was chilling as she
continued. He approved. This man would have killed her if he could. He deserved
to die slowly.
    “Course it wouldn’t take much to spill
your guts all over the valley floor. Wonder how long you’d live then? It would
be a shame if you found mercy too soon.”
    “Oh I don’t think that will be a
problem,” his mate said.
    She didn’t try to block Xan from her
mind, but he sensed her withdrawal and wondered what she had planned that made
her fear his continued acceptance of her. Then he saw it, a small flame resting
just over her palm. The scent of burning flesh filled the air as she cauterized
the wound. Not to aid the Tel agent, but to scare him into talking.
Surprisingly it worked. He swore he didn’t know where the others were.
    “Do
you believe him?”
    “Unfortunately,
yes,” Anna Leigh said.
    As the agent continued, he felt his
mate’s surprise. He claimed five teams, not four had been sent to Delroi.
    “Could
he be lying?”
    “I
don’t know. Clark didn’t lie, but if someone is impersonating him on Earth
maybe they were able to slip in a fifth team.”
    The interrogation continued with the
agent insisting he knew nothing of the other attacks or the other teams. He and
his partner would report by coded message and received orders the same way. He
didn’t have a comm unit on him however, and refused to tell them anything else.
    “Rip
it out of his mind,” Zola said to Anna Leigh.
    “I
can do it,” Xan offered, feeling Anna Leigh’s
revulsion.
    “No,
I’ve got it.”
    She was precise and emotionless as she
extracted the address the agents had been using. He fought her though, putting
enough pressure on his brain to cause blood vessels to rupture. It trickled
from his nose and ears.
    “It’s done,” she said.
    Zola pulled her weapon and shot him
three times in the chest. She turned, gave Kaje the location, and requested to
see it later.
    “We’ll secure it for you,” the Steward
said.
    Zola turned to her mother. “Where are
you headed?”
    He didn’t know Zola well enough to
judge her current state of mind, but he felt his der’lan’s concern.
    “Bring
her home with us,” he said.
    “The house in the Keep’s city. Do you
want…”
    She didn’t complete the invitation and
the hesitation in her voice, the expectation of rejection, made his stomach hurt.
When Zola nodded, he exhaled a sigh of relief. As they walked to the shuttle,
Jarek moved to intercept them.
    “My der’lan ,” the healer said. “I go where she goes.”
    He approved of Jarek’s insistence. His
daughter needed a strong protector, a warrior with the strength to allow her to
be herself and take care of her when it was necessary. And by the time they
reached the house he’d decided Zola definitely needed the care. She was
withdrawn but he could feel a growing numbness. She needed to vent all that repressed
emotion and would only share her vulnerability to her mate. He showed them to
their suite. Zola went inside without a word, leaving Jarek to deal with the
niceties.
    “I’ll bring her some clean clothes,”
Anna Leigh said.
    Jarek shook his head. “I’ll have my
mother send something from the Keep. Don’t be surprised if she shows up
herself.”
    “That’s fine,” Xan said. “I haven’t
seen Lady Rona in years. It would be nice to catch up.”
    Next to him Anna Leigh stiffened and
he wondered if he’d said something wrong. He set his hand on the small of her
back and led her down the hall to their suite. Inside she wandered through the
rooms while he went to the bar and poured them each a glass of gazzi . She returned, picked up the
glass, and went to sit down on the sofa. He was certain he’d said something to
upset her but didn’t have a clue what.
    “It’s a nice house,” she said in a
smooth, emotionless voice.
    “What’s