Free Bite the Bullet (Bitten Book 5) by C.C. Wood Page A

we were discussing a barbeque on Sunday rather than dealing with a centuries old vampire who wanted me dead.
    “Kerry made an amulet that will give any supernatural being the illusion I’m under Asher’s control.”
    He was silent for a long moment. “This is a dangerous game the two of you are playing.”
    I heard Ivie make a sound, but she didn’t speak.
    “I know. That’s why I called.”
    “You will have to follow his every command, without question or argument. You can’t show a physical reaction, even when he asks you to do something distasteful or that makes you uncomfortable. You must appear be a blank slate, no emotion or response other than what is asked of you. Do you think you can manage that?”
    I wanted to tell him I’d been in a similar position before, but kept my mouth shut. Ivie still didn’t know much about what I did for a living and I didn’t want her to start asking questions right now when I didn’t have time to answer. “I can.”
    “Shannon….”
    “Trust me, Lex. I can do it. I know it won’t be easy, but I can.” I also had an idea. “Thank you.”
    “Shannon, I’m worried about you,” Ivie interrupted.
    “I know and I’m sorry to worry you, but I have to do this.”
    “No, you don’t,” she argued.
    “Ivie, I promise you. I know what I’m doing. Now, I probably won’t be able to call you on Wednesday for the next week or two, but I’m sure Lex will let you know I’m okay. Right, Lex?”
    “I will,” he promised.
    “I have to go, but I’ll call you as soon as I can.”
    Without waiting for Ivie to respond, I hung up the phone. There would be hell to pay for that later, but it couldn’t be helped.
    Tossing my cell on the bed, I left the room and found Asher next door, packing clothes into a bag similar to the one he’d given me.
    “Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?” I asked.
    He looked up from the shirt he was tucking into the duffel. “Of course.” When he took in the expression on my face, he asked, “Is this about something Lex said?”
    I hadn’t thought. If I could hear Asher when he was on the phone in his room, then he could definitely hear me.
    “Yes,” I answered honestly. “He said that I would have to be emotionally blank and to show no reaction, even if you asked me to do something I didn’t want to.”
    Asher nodded. “That’s true, but I thought you understood that already.”
    “I did, but he reminded me of something that I used to do on assignments. It will be easier to maintain the facade if you could tell me what to expect before it happens.”
    “I can’t predict what Cornelius will do, Shannon,” he began.
    I shook my head. “I know, I know. What I mean is that I usually wore an earpiece so other operatives could talk to me during an assignment. We could do something similar, only you could speak to me telepathically, right?” I asked.
    He seemed to be thinking about it. “Yes, I could. Since I’ve bitten you, it should be easy to establish the connection.” Asher hesitated. “But do you understand that you’ll have to drop your mental shields for me? I’ll be able to hear your every thought, but you might not know mine. It will require you to trust me completely. Can you do that?”
    I realized that I already did. Somehow, I knew he would never hurt me. “I can. I mean, I think I already do.”
    He looked surprised. “You do?”
    I nodded. When he didn’t speak, I asked, “So, how will this work?” I’d spent so many years learning to keep vampires and witches out of my head, that I wasn’t sure how to go about letting one in.
    “Can you focus on me as you lower your mental guard?”
    “I can try.”
    Taking a deep breath, I centered my attention on Asher. Then I hesitated as second thoughts filled my mind. “I’m not sure if I can do this after all, Asher,” I mumbled, doubts seizing the conviction I’d felt just moments ago.
    This would shift the balance of power between us radically. He would know