Free Sid (The Protectors Series) Book #4 by Teresa Gabelman Page A

I get blamed for something when I wasn’t even here?” Sid stood and walked toward the door. “Changing my damn name to Sid ‘Scapegoat’ Sinclair.”
    ******
    Lana slammed the car door as hard as she could. “Are you crazy?”
    The car started and took off. “That Warrior Sinclair got me all messed up. And look who’s talking. You hit a damn Warrior. Punched him right in the face.”
    Looking at her partner, Lana rolled her eyes. “Don’t even go there. You gave my real name.” She tried to keep her anger in check, but this was bad. “What the hell were you thinking?”
    “I’m sorry.” Susan, aka Amy, sped down the road while lighting a cigarette. “I messed up. Why in the hell did you run?”
    Lana wanted to smack the side of her friend’s head. “Because VC…. shit …Sinclair…whatever in the hell his name is, kept asking questions, questions that made me think he was on to us. I had to do something to make it legit.”
    “Yeah, he was getting a little weird ,” Susan frowned. “That should have clued us in when he started questioning us like a cop.”
    Lana cursed , “What a damn mess.”
    “But we did pull it off.” Susan blew a long stream of smoke , and then grinned, pulling her wig off. “What was that shit all about not double-dating with me you were spouting?”
    “These Warriors are smart. I figured they were listening , so I didn’t want them suspicious of us whatsoever.” Lana rolled down her window, letting the smoky air out. “And you do have the worst taste in men.”
    Susan shrugged , not really disagreeing. “Yeah, you’re right about that.”
    “ And never mention my sister again. She is off limits.” Lana frowned at her, grabbed the rest of her cigarette and threw it out the window.
    “Hey!” Susan cried out. “Those cost money.”
    “Yeah, well, you need to stop bumming money off me, so I say you can’t afford to smoke.” Lana frowned, and then cursed. “And next time, give me time to disguise myself. Dammit, Susan, how could you use my real name? This is going to bite me on the ass.”
    “I’m sorry ,” Susan repeated, pulling into their parking lot. “I’ll take the heat for this one.”
    “ Yes, you will.” Lana looked at her, surprised that Susan thought she would take the blame.
    Susan parked , turning off the car, but neither moved to get out. “What happened when you touched that vampire, Lana?”
    Lana stared out the window. “ The man who I saw, whoever he is, is very strong.” She swallowed hard, her throat tender. It was hard to admit aloud, but deep inside, she wondered if they weren’t in over their heads.
    Susan pulled into a busy parking lot, parked and turned off the car. Both women just sat staring at the building.
    “Well, guess it’s time to face the music.” Susan grabbed her bag taking the keys.
    Lana got out of the car, impending doom settling around her. “Let’s just hope he’s in a good mood.”
    “Have you ever seen him in a good mood?” Susan snorted, unbuttoning two more buttons on her blouse.
    “What are you doing?” Lana’s eyes shot from her blouse to her face.
    “We fucked up big time.” Susan pushed her boobs up as she looked down at her handy work. “We need all the help we can get.”
    “There is no way….” Lana’s tone was outraged until she glanced back at the building and frowned. “Better undo one more button. Have a feeling this is going to go very badly.”

Chapter 8
    Jill had just arrived at her room when her phone buzzed again. Sid had sent a group text wanting everyone to meet in Sloan’s office. “You have got to be kidding me.”
    Tossing her sketchpad on her bed, she flopped down , lying back with her arms spread wide. Closing her eyes, she blindly reached for her sketchpad. With eyes still closed, she opened it to the page she knew by feel, by heart.
    Slowly , her eyes opened to Slade’s handsome face looking back at her. She captured him, as she would like to see him, smiling at