Free Seal of Destiny by Traci Douglass

skin. She raised tentative fingers and tapped the heat pulsing from its surface. What the hell was wrong with her? First she had weird cravings for a man she knew nothing about — her fucking abductor, no less — and now her birthmark threatened to explode from her skin? She pulled on her clothes, taking care not to disturb the welting mark, and glanced at her cell phone. The screen still flashed with the missed call.
Zoe
. Clacking the toilet seat closed, she sat and hit redial.
    Zoe picked up on the first ring. “Where the hell have you been? I was worried sick last night! By the time I made it out of the back kitchen, all I caught was a flash and you were gone.”
    “Hey I texted you, remember?” She tried to make light of the situation. “Glad you made it home safe last night.”
    “It was
him
, Mira.” Zoe’s voice lacked her usual spark of warmth. “McClaine.”
    She hated the idea their scumbag molester might still be walking around —
was
walking around, if Kagan spoke true. “Maybe it was only someone who looked like him.” She rubbed her forehead.
Lame, Mira. Pathetic and lame.
    “We both know it wasn’t, Mira. I saw the bodies too.” Zoe hesitated. “And I swear I’m not crazy, but he’s still alive.”
    While stalling for a rational explanation, Mira went with the obvious. “Zoe, he got shot in the heart four times. Nobody lives through those kinds of wounds.”
    “Yeah? Tell that to the guy who’s watching my apartment.” Zoe’s panicked tone jangled along Mira’s already frayed nerves. “It’s McClaine, Mira. And he’s messed up. Worse than before.”
    Shit.
“Could you get a read on him?” Mira leaned back against the toilet tank.
    “No,” Zoe’s voice dropped to a barely audible whisper. “All I see is darkness. And pain. He thrives on pain.”
    Mira retraced the steps of her recent conversation with Kagan and Xander.
Their story sounded more believable by the second. With dwindling choices and an influx of intuition, Mira made a decision.
“Zoe, listen. The guy I left with last night, he’s in security. He might be able to help us, and he’s got friends.” Zoe didn’t respond. Mira kept going. “I’m going to have him take me to my apartment later today. I want you to pack up what you can carry and meet us there.”
    Silence. Mira checked to see if the call had disconnected. Several long seconds passed before Zoe’s tired response carried through the line. “That’s it, then. We’re leaving?”
    “What other choice do we have?” She couldn’t lie to Zoe. Not after everything they’d survived together. “It’s not safe here anymore. We have to figure something else out, okay?”
    Zoe gave a weary sigh. “You’re right. What time?”
    Mira checked her watch. “I’ll text you after we get there.”
    Running a last check over her appearance, Mira was surprised to find the dark circles beneath her eyes faded and her cheeks flushed a healthy pink. She appeared normal, maybe even attractive.
Good.
She’d need all the help she could get to convince Kagan to go along with her plan.
    • • •
    Mira’s gaze flicked up from where she sat on the sofa, surfing through cable channels. Kagan emerged from the bathroom, half naked, his hair damp from the shower. Her eyes dropped fast as her heart raced and her mouth grew dry. She waited for the now familiar knot of dread that always accompanied her being alone with a man. The one born of pain and torment and long nights of forced intimacy. When it didn’t arrive, she was beyond perplexed.
    Kagan moved through the bedroom, his powerful strides threatening to undo the loose towel plastered to his hips. He stood before the closet and leaned against the doorframe, giving Mira an unobstructed view of his sculpted back and brawny arms. The biceps tattoo she’d glimpsed the night before was visible, along with several others adorning his torso. Her gaze traced a scrolled cross between his shoulder blades, the muscle