Free Dark Defender by Alexis Morgan

sterling character, his distinguished career, and how much he would be missed.
    But now, there was a different feel to their report. The first words out of the woman’s mouth had Blake on his feet, ready to punch his fist through the TV screen.
    “…an unnamed source at the police department has indicated that they are investigating allegations that Judge Nichols’s recent death may have been due to his suspected involvement in some questionable financial activities. Examination of his personal bank records have revealed sums of money that exceed the normal salary of a judge.”
    “Liars! I’ll sue them for every dime they’ve ever had!” Brenna’s eyes shot sparks. “Wait until I get my hands on them—they do NOT know who they are messing with.”
    “Brenna, can you tone it down? There’s more.” Her picture appeared on the screen behind the two reporters.
    “Ms. Nichols, also injured by the car bomb, has mysteriously disappeared from the hospital where she had an armed guard. However, both the police and a spokesperson for the hospital have denied knowledge of any such guards. Furthermore, a nurse was wounded when an unknown gunman shot through the window of Ms. Nichols’s room. In the resulting confusion, Ms. Nichols disappeared, apparently in the company of an unidentified male companion. It is not known at this time whether she went willingly or was taken by force.”
    With a look of feigned concern, the reporter leaned slightly forward and spoke directly to the camera as a phone number appeared at the bottom of the screen. “Anyone who has knowledge of Ms. Nichols’s current whereabouts should call the police at the number below.”
    “Son of a bitch.” Could it get any worse?
    Blake turned to Brenna only to find her flipping through the phone book on the desk, muttering under her breath. When she picked up the receiver and started dialing, he pushed down the button to disconnect the call. She tried to bat his hand out of the way.
    “Stop it, Blake. I need to set those people straight.”
    He didn’t budge. “Yelling at them over the phone is only going to make things worse. If you stop and think, you’ll know I’m right.”
    She was gripping the phone so hard her knuckles were white. “They’re spreading lies about my father. Isn’t it bad enough he was murdered, without killing his reputation, too? Being a judge was his life’s work. He would not have jeopardized that for any amount of money.”
    As a rule, the Regents didn’t involve themselves in matters outside their mission to prevent the world from being overtaken by the Others. But if they felt their secrecy was threatened, they could and would take decisive action. If Brenna began screaming loud and long that her father was being framed, she would be vulnerable to attack from the Regents, as well as the rogue members who were likely behind the car bomb that had killed her father.
    Trahern had enough on his plate, tracking down the corruption within the Regents, without having to ride herd on Brenna at the same time. Damn it all, he was going to have to break his vow of silence and tell her the truth—about the Regents, about her father, and worse yet, about himself.
    It was a total cluster fuck.

Chapter 4
    T rahern’s eyes took on a decided chill. “Look, I need to shower. When we’re both dressed, we’ll check out and then get breakfast and talk.”
    She should have expected him to duck out of answering her questions. “What excuse are you going to use next, Blake? When the weather cools off, we’ll talk? Or when the sun comes up in the west?”
    “Damn it, Brenna, give it break.”
    They stood in awkward silence until, unable to stand his hard gaze any longer, she turned away to face the bed—the one with the covers and pillows messed up on both sides, not just the one where she’d slept.
    “You slept with me? Without asking me if it was okay?” Brenna didn’t know whether to be outraged or disappointed that she