Free Turn to Darkness (Offspring 5.6) by Jaime Rush Page A

feel certain that my, er, visits to Vegas did not result in any offspring. Once these two are dead, this ordeal will be concluded.”
    There was no need to tell Torus about his progeny. He would take care of the firefighter quietly and return to their enclave victorious.
    “We’re nearing a critical point in our project. We can’t have loose ends when everything comes together. Make it happen.”
    Torus disconnected, and Frost set the phone on the seat. A few minutes later it rang again. Torus. “Yes, sir?”
    “We were finally able to get a bead on Graves’s cell phone, courtesy of the GPS chip. Go to this address and find out what the hell is going on.”
    Frost wrote it down, programmed it into his GPS, and headed off to break up the sentimental father-daughter reunion.
    G REER WATCHED THE Lincoln Town Car pull into the driveway.
    “Those are the owners.” Shea glanced at Greer. “Good thing you insisted we get the yard fixed now. And helped me. They’re back early.” She put on her professional smile, pulled off her cap and approached the car.
    The older couple got out, saying how they were so excited to see the yard, they’d decided to drive home ahead of schedule. Shea introduced Greer and Darius as her crew and led her clients on a tour of her work. She knew the name of every plant and tree, giving them some tidbit of information about each.
    He could see her passion about foliage, and her work, in the light in her eyes. Of course, plants didn’t demand anything of her, didn’t press her to face the truth. Still, he enjoyed watching her, the way she twirled a strand of stray hair as the couple raved about the results.
    Darius’s energy bristled next to him. “You don’t own her.”
    Greer snorted. “No one does.”
    “I know what you’re trying to do. Bullying her to give in to your voracious horniness.”
    “My . . .” Greer shook his head. “You don’t know anything.”
    “I know that every time I see the two of you alone, she looks tense and you’re forcing her to face you. For a guy who has a lot of chicks hanging out in his bedroom, you sure don’t know how to seduce a woman. Probably a guy like you just crooks his finger. ‘I’m a firefighter. Wanna have sex?’ ” he said in a dumb, deep voice.
    Greer knew the jerk was trying to rile him, and he wasn’t going to let him. Not with Shea’s clients in the area. “Yeah, that’s exactly how I do it. You figured me out.”
    Darius actually nodded, as though Greer’s confession wasn’t a joke. “I figured. But see, Shea knows you. So it won’t work with her. And that must bug the hell out of you. You may have the chick-magnet looks and job, but crooking your finger at Shea doesn’t work. Does it?” Darius looked pleased about that.
    “I’ve never crooked my finger or tried to get Shea into my bed. As I said, you know nothing.”
    “She’s timid like a mouse. What she needs is a guy who can seduce her, take her in hand—”
    Greer grabbed his forearm. “Don’t you dare ‘take her in hand’ or whatever aggressive behavior you have in mind. That’s the worst thing you can do.”
    Darius flung him away, nodding like he knew Greer was just trying to warn him away.
    “She’s no mouse,” Greer said, hating the analogy for her. “She’s stronger than you think.”
    Darius chuckled. “Yeah, she does seem to be resisting your charm.” He waved his fingers. “Your magic spell.”
    Greer shook his head. The guy was such an ass. “I care about Shea. A lot. Whether she ends up with me or anyone else, or no one, I only want her to be happy.” He met Darius’s gaze, which was filled with disbelief. “Why do you want her?”
    Darius’s mouth opened but no words came out. Finally, he said, “Sometimes you know when someone is right. When she infiltrates every cell of your body, every crevice in your brain.” His mouth tightened as he looked in the direction Shea had gone. “When you know you’d do anything for