Free Two To Go: Bayou Heat (Pantera Security League Book 2) by Alexandra Ivy, Laura Wright Page B

Drastically. She wanted to protect him as much as bring him home. One question hovered on her tongue.
    “Has Victor ever mentioned why you’re special, Max?”
    He flicked a brow upward. “I thought I just proved why I’m special.”
    Heat fizzed through her like champagne that had been shaken.
    Damn him. But, boy was he was right. He had been special.
    Epically special.
    Focus, Ely. With great effort, she continued. “Have they ever mentioned using your blood in any experiments? Or suggested training you for a secret project?”
    He shrugged, his gaze curious now. “No. Where are you going with this?”
    “Not sure. Just think. Please.”
    He sighed. “They just want me to fight and bring in lots of money, baby.” He hesitated then, as if struck by a sudden thought. “Victor did mention something about sending me to Vegas to fight within the next couple of days. I assumed it was for a televised match.”
    Oh, Victor, you’re so tricky. More likely it was a ruse so Max wouldn’t be suspicious when they loaded his hot ass into a van so they could take him some place quiet to kill him and dispose of his body. A task that wouldn’t be so easy in the middle of the city.
    The mere thought of Max being murdered, being taken from her, was enough to splinter her blood-deep sense of duty to the PSL. She was never leaving his side, no matter what Raphael said.
    “Let’s go,” she said. Any further questions could wait until she had this male hidden in a safe house. Far away from Benson and his nefarious plans. Under her eagle-eyed watch.
    With a small nod toward Max, she waited for him to head toward the door. She followed as he walked out of the loft and headed down the narrow flight of stairs.
    Her muscles tensed, her cat pressing beneath her skin. Who knew what they were going to encounter? She could already hear the sounds of voices in the gym, no doubt competitors preparing for the nightly cage matches. Which she was supposed to have been headlining.
    Whoops.
    They reached the main floor no problem, but even as they prepared to try and slip unnoticed through the back area where the cage was set up, Max reached out to grasp her arm.
    “In here,” he commanded under his breath, tugging her into a small storage closet beneath the stairs.
    Ugh. This was no airplane bathroom. They were crammed into a tiny space that reeked of old mats and moldering boxing gloves. Thankfully Max kept the door open a few inches to allow in some fresh air, as well as giving them a glimpse of the two large men who jogged across the floor and headed directly up the stairs.
    “What’s going on?” Elyon whispered.
    Max shook his head, his eyes narrowed as he watched the half dozen men who spilled through the door across the gym.
    “I don’t know, but something’s up,” he said, his tone threaded with unease. “There’s never this many guards on duty at the same time.”
    Elyon grimaced. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why there would be a sudden overflow of beefy security in the gym. Raphael was going to string her up for not getting Max out of there right away, against his will or not. She was so not looking forward to that conversation, and the questions about what exactly she was doing during that time.
    “They must know your parents have escaped,” she whispered.
    Max nodded, his expression grim. Before he could speak however, the heavy sound of footsteps pounding back down the stairs echoed through the storage room. Then Victor’s voice floated through the air.
    “Did you find him?” the older man demanded.
    “He’s not there,” a harsh voice responded.
    Was that the same idiot Elyon had met downstairs? Probably, although she couldn’t see more than his shoes and one leg through the small crack.
    She inhaled deeply, seeing if she could capture his scent over the mold and rank. Not possible. Though gagging was.
    “What the hell do you mean?” Victor snapped.
    “I mean he’s not there,” the man