Free Flawed by J. L. Spelbring Page A

leaned over and softly brushed her lips reminded Ellyssa of Rein and they way he kissed her. Slightly embarrassed, Ellyssa closed the door.
    “Are you sure you want me to tell you what you’re thinking?” Ellyssa asked, cocking an eyebrow.
    Confident, Trista folded her arms across her chest. “Go ahead.”
    “Don’t you believe I can read your mind?”
    “It’s not that I don’t believe; it’s more like it’s hard to believe.”
    “Suit yourself. You’re thinking about Dyllon.” Out of respect and definitely not wanting to cause anymore problems, Ellyssa left out the kissing part. A vein was already pulsing in Rein’s temple at the mention of his name, and Woody didn’t look too pleased, either.
    “Nope. You’re wrong. I was thinking of the number seventy.”
    Smiling, Ellyssa shook her head. “Actually, you were thinking the number seventy-two, then Dyllon came into your thoughts.”
    Red flushed Trista’s face as her lips parted in astonishment. Woody chuckled, and amazement widened Tim and Sarah’s eyes. Rein’s chest puffed out in what Ellyssa assumed was pride, even with the pulsing vein. Dyllon was going to be a subject of controversy. Hopefully not tonight.
    Trista narrowed her eyes. “Okay, you can get out now. You made your point.”
    Ellyssa put her hands up in surrender. “I told you.”
    Her friend’s eyes shifted from side to side. When she made sure no one was watching, she mouthed, “Thank you.” For not telling exactly what she’d seen, Ellyssa assumed. Apparently, Trista didn’t want to get into it either.

8
    Rein stood in the shower. Hot water cascaded down his face and body and puddled on the blue tile before seeping down the drain. He wished the plague of his memory could join the water, but instead the images of his fallen family had engraved themselves into the folds of his brain, forever a part of him.
    Swallowing a growing lump forming in his throat, Rein looked up, willing the tears away, refusing to blink. Steam rose in humid clouds and escaped over the glass door into the bathroom.
    All his life, Jordan had tried to prepare him for the possibility of the demise of their band of Renegades, his family and friends. But nothing could have prepared him for the sight they’d found in the depths of their old home. All the faces frozen in surprise…in fear. Dead eyes staring into nothingness. Men. Women. The children. All had been gunned down as if their lives held no meaning.
    Rein pulled his fingers through his wet hair, then rested his head against the tiles. Water fell onto the back of his neck and ran between his shoulder blades. He wanted the thoughts to stop. Of course, they didn’t.
    The whole thing with the captain was another chapter. Dyllon was very lucky Ellyssa had been there, or his corpse would had been lying in a shallow grave. Rein could still feel his fingers digging into the man’s flesh, his intent to choke the life from Dyllon; he could still feel the cold satisfaction at the look on the man’s face, his eyes bulging in their sockets.
    At the sight of him, memories had flooded through Rein, like currents of a river. The blond bitch who’d captured him and turned him over to Dr. Hirch, then to…Aalexis. Even with the heat of the water, a shiver shot up his spine. The torture he’d endured; he’d never felt anything like it, and the blonde girl with the angelic features hadn’t even laid a finger on him.
    If Dr. Hirch had been able to carry forward with his genetic manipulation…
    Rein shook the thought away. Dr. Hirch didn’t pose a problem anymore.
    He couldn’t shake away the images of the lifeless bodies or the pain. Those were memories he wanted to leave buried, never to explore or think about again. He slid down the tiled wall to his backside, wrapping his arms around his knees.
    Rein didn’t know how long he’d sat at the bottom of shower, filing away all that had happened, but the water started to lose heat. He looked up into the