Free Freaky by Nature by Mia Dymond Page B

conceal that lie.
    She placed her key against the lock and frowned when the
    added pressure popped open the door. Before she could analy ze why
    the door was unlocked, an eerie, m uddied red haze swirled from
    inside the house and pulsed around the door. Her heart rolled ov er
    and she sucked in sev eral gasps of air as dark brown-y ellow
    splotches m ingled with the haze and then flashed in blinding
    strobes of light.
    Evil. Hate. Anger .
    Holly forced herself to focus and eased the door open wider to
    discov er the chaos inside. In m ere seconds, her head pounded and
    she fell lim p against the doorfram e, sliding down until she sat
    braced in the opening. She felt her brain sum m on a com forting
    shroud of sleep in an effort to dull the pain. Fighting to stay
    conscious, she fum bled through the depths of her bag until she
    found her cell phone and pushed speed dial.
    “Brett,” she whispered into the phone, “som eone’s been in m y
    house.”
    Unable to wait for his response, she slum ped to the cem ent and
    succum bed to the darkness.
    CHAPTER EIGHT

    In what seem ed like hours later, Holly awoke to the sound of
    her nam e.
    “Holly .”
    She forced her way through the fog in her brain and braced
    herself for the excruciating pain she’d inv ariably find on the other
    side. Except, once she pried her ey elids open, she felt only peace
    and serenity . What happened to the pain?
    Brett knelt beside her, one hand resting on her shoulder and
    the other stroking the side of her face. Max stood behind Brett, his
    expression hidden behind his tradem ark Av iator shades and his
    aura doused in his usual soft blue calm . Thank goodness som eone
    could rem ain controlled in the face of danger.
    Brett grasped her chin and turned her gaze to his. “Are y ou
    hurt?”
    She blinked sev eral tim es to clear the fuzziness from her ey es
    before she answered. “No.”
    Turquoise bands with a silv er ov erlay wrapped the length of
    his body as he slid a hand under her back and helped her to sit.
    Relief ov ertook her when she recalled the m eaning of his color.
    Protector .
    Still puzzled about her lack of pain, Holly stood and touched
    one hand to her left tem ple out of habit. She wasn’t surprised when
    she heard Brett’s m uffled curse. “Were y ou attacked?”
    Holly returned her gaze to his. Heav y , thick gray stripes
    outlined the hard contours of his body and she fought herself from
    cowering from the force of his unm istakable anger. Her lips
    trem bled and she forced a sm ile to reassure him . “No, another
    headache.”
    Afraid to say too m uch m ore, she stood silent and waited for
    him to respond. She gav e his m ind a m ental push with hers,
    am azed when she m anaged to slip through undetected. He was
    deep in soldier m ode, determ ined to find and elim inate the person
    responsible for her distress. Yet there was m ore. Much m ore.
    Som ething beneath the pain and rage. Ray s of clear, bright, pure
    red spurted from his chest. Passion. Tenderness .
    Brett cleared his throat and the clink of arm or echoed in her
    brain. Holly bit her bottom lip as she brought his face back into
    focus. His head m ov ed m ay be a m illim eter from one side and then
    to the other. She froze, fearful of her next thought. No? Did he feel
    her intrusion? Holly quickly dism issed the possibility as
    im possible, confident he couldn’t hide that particular skill. Besides,
    the tell-tale color escaped him . Not a strip of y ellow in sight.
    “Holly ,” he prom pted, “hav e y ou been inside?”
    She concentrated harder on his color. Nothing. Holly wanted
    to kick him . She knew the extent of his anger. Where was the
    gray ? She inhaled and tried again. Come on, give me something .
    He reached to squeeze her shoulder. “Are y ou okay ?”
    Holly nodded. “I’m fine. I saw all I needed to from out here. I
    waited on y ou.”
    Scream ing sirens echoed in the quiet afternoon as Max shov ed
    the door all the way open and stepped