Read Online Savage Sanctuary 2: Panther Moon by Regina Carlysle - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Regina Carlysle
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and purposes, it will be abandoned.”
“I don’t think anyone will suspect a thing.” Trea nodded. “We kept to ourselves
and the place is small. It will just appear as though we packed up and left.”
“My thinking exactly. It will simply appear to any casual observer that your family
made arrangements. They have already loaded the bodies of your parents.”
A tense silence swept the room. Mahara finally stood and walked over to the small
red bag she’d set on the floor. “I took the liberty of packing a few things for you. We look to be about the same size. I’ve packed some cosmetics, a hair brush, and a few
clothes. Nothing fancy.”
53
Regina Carlysle
Trea got up to reach for the bag. “Thanks, Mahara. You don’t know how
embarrassing it is to have arrived with only the clothes on my back.”
“No need to be embarrassed, honey. Really. I’m just glad you got out of there and
came to us. Tomorrow, why don’t you come to the house for lunch and we’ll raid my
closet. See if there’s anything else you can use until your things get here.”
“I couldn’t.”
Mahara smiled kindly. “Sure you can. Believe me, honey, you need more than those
borrowed sweats of Hudson’s.”
Trea smiled shyly and slanted a gaze at Hudson. “They are a little roomy.”
Hudson stood, facing Titus. “There is one detail we haven’t discussed. The men
who did this, the men who followed Trea here know who she is. They also know what she is and I doubt they will stop coming for her. She is too big a prize.”
Titus turned to Trea. “Did you recognize them?”
She nodded. “One of them was called Walt and I didn’t know him but I sure as hell
knew the other man. His name is Tom Hawkins. A local guy, a thug. We went to school
together. It was he and this Walt guy who killed Mom and Dad and came after me.”
Hudson felt the rage that swept through her. She practically vibrated with it. In an
act of solidarity, he put his arm around her and pulled her close. “They’ll never get you, Trea. Not as long as there is breath in my body. I promise you that. And if it’s the last thing I do, I’ll make the bastards pay.”
54
Panther Moon
Chapter Five
“Brought you some coffee. Looks like you could use it.” Rio Santana halted briefly
in the doorway of Hudson’s office at Declan Technologies and narrowed his blacker-
than-sin eyes before carrying two mugs to his desk and setting them down with a snap.
Today might have been like any other workday in the security wing of the giant
corporation but they both knew it wasn’t. Rio had just returned from a grisly task and they hadn’t talked in several days. Both security specialists with a background in
violence, they were closer than brothers.
Hudson eyed the steam rolling from the dark liquid and then glanced at his friend
of more years than he could recall. “Did you make this?”
“Hell no.” Rio sprawled his long, sturdy frame into one of two big, leather chairs
that set in front of his chest and stretched out his denim-clad legs. An ever-present scowl graced lips that a woman might call beautiful. The Latino panther was moody
and dangerous but possessed of a sharp and surprising wit that was as lethal as the
blade he carried in the top of his battered, ostrich cowboy boots. Today he wore his
long, black hair tied back at the nape of his neck.
Hudson picked up the cup, inhaled the pungent fragrance and took a sip. “Good
thing. Your coffee tastes like piss.” They sat in comfortable silence for a minute or two, old friends who knew each other well, then finally he asked what was uppermost in his mind. “How did it go in east Texas?”
Rio shifted in his chair and stared into the depths of his cup before meeting his
eyes. He shrugged. “Loading the contents of the house wasn’t a big deal. After a call from Titus, we went looking for the two men but there was no sign of them. I have a
feeling they are hiding out around here
“I don’t think anyone will suspect a thing.” Trea nodded. “We kept to ourselves
and the place is small. It will just appear as though we packed up and left.”
“My thinking exactly. It will simply appear to any casual observer that your family
made arrangements. They have already loaded the bodies of your parents.”
A tense silence swept the room. Mahara finally stood and walked over to the small
red bag she’d set on the floor. “I took the liberty of packing a few things for you. We look to be about the same size. I’ve packed some cosmetics, a hair brush, and a few
clothes. Nothing fancy.”
53
Regina Carlysle
Trea got up to reach for the bag. “Thanks, Mahara. You don’t know how
embarrassing it is to have arrived with only the clothes on my back.”
“No need to be embarrassed, honey. Really. I’m just glad you got out of there and
came to us. Tomorrow, why don’t you come to the house for lunch and we’ll raid my
closet. See if there’s anything else you can use until your things get here.”
“I couldn’t.”
Mahara smiled kindly. “Sure you can. Believe me, honey, you need more than those
borrowed sweats of Hudson’s.”
Trea smiled shyly and slanted a gaze at Hudson. “They are a little roomy.”
Hudson stood, facing Titus. “There is one detail we haven’t discussed. The men
who did this, the men who followed Trea here know who she is. They also know what she is and I doubt they will stop coming for her. She is too big a prize.”
Titus turned to Trea. “Did you recognize them?”
She nodded. “One of them was called Walt and I didn’t know him but I sure as hell
knew the other man. His name is Tom Hawkins. A local guy, a thug. We went to school
together. It was he and this Walt guy who killed Mom and Dad and came after me.”
Hudson felt the rage that swept through her. She practically vibrated with it. In an
act of solidarity, he put his arm around her and pulled her close. “They’ll never get you, Trea. Not as long as there is breath in my body. I promise you that. And if it’s the last thing I do, I’ll make the bastards pay.”
54
Panther Moon
Chapter Five
“Brought you some coffee. Looks like you could use it.” Rio Santana halted briefly
in the doorway of Hudson’s office at Declan Technologies and narrowed his blacker-
than-sin eyes before carrying two mugs to his desk and setting them down with a snap.
Today might have been like any other workday in the security wing of the giant
corporation but they both knew it wasn’t. Rio had just returned from a grisly task and they hadn’t talked in several days. Both security specialists with a background in
violence, they were closer than brothers.
Hudson eyed the steam rolling from the dark liquid and then glanced at his friend
of more years than he could recall. “Did you make this?”
“Hell no.” Rio sprawled his long, sturdy frame into one of two big, leather chairs
that set in front of his chest and stretched out his denim-clad legs. An ever-present scowl graced lips that a woman might call beautiful. The Latino panther was moody
and dangerous but possessed of a sharp and surprising wit that was as lethal as the
blade he carried in the top of his battered, ostrich cowboy boots. Today he wore his
long, black hair tied back at the nape of his neck.
Hudson picked up the cup, inhaled the pungent fragrance and took a sip. “Good
thing. Your coffee tastes like piss.” They sat in comfortable silence for a minute or two, old friends who knew each other well, then finally he asked what was uppermost in his mind. “How did it go in east Texas?”
Rio shifted in his chair and stared into the depths of his cup before meeting his
eyes. He shrugged. “Loading the contents of the house wasn’t a big deal. After a call from Titus, we went looking for the two men but there was no sign of them. I have a
feeling they are hiding out around here
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