Free Crystal Mac: A prologue novella to Captive Series Book 3 HELL'S HILLTOP by J. A. Dennam Page A

three years wasn’t what she feared would destroy her. It was the monster that lurked within. The person she’d become that loved the dark side more than the light, which didn’t want to lose the edge she held over the common man. To let that go would mean facing Elsa, the person she’d abandoned… and finding no justification for doing so.
    But, Mac made her feel not so alone. If he didn’t like her, he at least desired her… and seemed to appreciate his rare glimpse of the woman beneath the mask.
    Face devoid of makeup, forehead exposed, Crystal visualize d the pair of wire-rimmed glasses that used to rest upon the bridge of her nose. Elsa had been a mousy little thing whose only chance at getting noticed was to ride her beloved sister’s coattails. She’d worshiped Rena, used her as an example for everything she aspired to be.
    Disgust stormed her senses as it always did when she thought of those wasted years. Baring her teeth, Crystal stopped just short of ramming her balled fist into the mirror.
    No. She wasn’t ready to face Elsa yet. The people she loved, the dreams she’d made, the future she could have had… it was all ripped away when Rena decided to abandon them all.
    With firm resolve, Crystal willed her eyes to remain dry. She would not become a basket case, not now or ever again.
    A few minutes later, she left Mel anie’s bedroom in an oversized T-shirt and satin panties. Mac had settled down on the hide-a-bed again, in his sweatpants, staring at the ceiling in the dim light over the stovetop. She lifted the sheet, slithered right in.
    As she curled up on her side, she blindly reached behind her, found his arm and drew it around her middle. “I need you to keep the boogeymen away tonight.”
    Four silent, questionable seconds ticked by, then Mac tightened his arm, drew her in closer. His big body was so warm, so solid as it fitted against her backside. Crystal sighed deeply, lifted her head so his other arm could slip in underneath it. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt this safe before,” she murmured, snuggling deeper against him.
    Other noises, from the humming air conditioner to the choleric wind blowing outside, faded right away. The TV in the apartment upstairs had been shut off. No traffic rushed by outside. All was fin ally quiet in Crystal’s world… in the circle of Mac’s arms. But, her eyes still wouldn’t close.
    “How is your shoulder?”
    “I don’t feel it,” she answered honestly, her voice a foreign, tiny noise. “Quit worrying.”
    “How about your head?”
    What? Nothing happened to her head. “I’m good, Mac. Right now I’m good.”
    When the pillow dipped behind her, she realized he’d been studying her.
    “Close your eyes,” he commanded.
    The man was getting really comfortable giving her orders. “Why?”
    “Just do it. Tell me what you see.”
    At first she didn’t want to, knew what would loom behind that awful curtain of pitch black. Sure enough, when she finally braved it, the picture was so clear she could practically smell the blood. “Domino.”
    “Who’s Domino?”
    “The dead bastard who tried to bury his blade in my back.”
    Mac’s chest hummed against her as he spoke. “Why do you see his face out of the four men you killed?”
    “I guess it’s because I knew him better.” The ghost with the twinkly eyes was always trying to charm his way into her pants. It had become a harmless game… until they were forced to choose between friendship and duty. So much for romance.
    “When a choice like that comes along,” Mac said, “justification doesn’t mean squat.”
    Had he read her mind? And how the hell would he know? “I was justified.”
    “Right. It’s easy to say, but your head won’t know it for a long time.”
    It sounded as if he sympathized with her on a personal level. “How long?”
    “Depends on you.”
    Well, that didn’t help much. She moved her cheek against his bicep. “How long was it for you?”
    She almost