Free Hope (Other World Protection Agency Book 1) by Serena Simpson Page B

didn’t want it anymore. It was bad enough that
her mother had just turned up. Now her elusive father, the one she thought
might be dead, wasn’t dead. Not only wasn’t he dead, but he wasn’t showing up
in her life.
    “It’s complicated.”
    “I don’t care. I didn’t ask for
complications.”
    She got up and left the dress at
the table. Somebody else could wear it. Her mother, whom she had adored, had
disappeared one day. It was like she was just gone, it had created a gaping
hole in her heart. Her father had never been there, although sometimes she
thought she had seen him as a small child. Being left alone to fend for one’s
self was no picnic, but she had always reminded herself other kids had it just
as hard as she did. Seems she was wrong. No one had this cosmic load of junk to
deal with.
    “Tara, like it or not there are
still things you will discover when the time is right. This dress will look
beautiful on you tonight with those heels. Allow yourself to have one night of
fun. Come on. You have a man to make speechless.”

Chapter
Nine
     
     
     
    Tara descended the steps giving
him a flirty smile. She had taken her time getting dressed. She wanted to look
her best. If the look on his face was any indication, she had done well. She
knew when a man wanted her and Paul wanted her. It gave her a sense of power. As
if she had a vested interest in him. She had been sleeping in his arms for more
than a week now and she liked it. His kisses were hot. This was different. It
felt primal. Like his hot gaze was somehow branding her as his, before anyone
else could get a chance.
    “You look beautiful.” His eyes
took in the shortness of her dress that stopped mid-thigh. Then he slowly swept
from the end of the dress down her legs before retreating in the other
direction. “I never knew a woman could make a dress look so good.”
    She found herself smiling. Biting
her bottom lip to keep from giving herself away, she walked towards the door.
    “Have fun you two.” This came
from her mother, who she was still upset with. Truthfully, she had never gotten
over the abandoned thing, but she had been playing nice. She was tired of
playing nice. With a small wave of her hand, she walked out.
    “So where are we going?” She was
looking at Paul’s hands as he turned the key and smoothly took off. He had
strong lean looking hands. The kind you would expect a surgeon to have.
    “The club’s in East Liberty.”
    “How did East Liberty become the
hot bed of alien activity?”
    “It’s East Liberty. Where else in
the city would you expect it?”
    She thought about it. Yeah it
made some type of sense. You could find just about anything in East Liberty and
yet it always seemed to avoid attention.  She had hidden there more than once.
She always thought nothing happened in Pittsburgh. Now she knew better.
    She looked up as Paul pulled into
a parking lot.
    “The club is two blocks over. Can
you walk in those heels?”
    She looked down at her insanely
expensive strappy silver heels that complimented not only her dress, but her
legs. “Try and stop me.”
    They walked in silence, passing
the now closed Tea Room. The closer they got to the club, the more she felt as
if she was being watched. Stopping, she looked at him, but he nodded his head
slightly and kept walking. Following his lead, she kept up as she tried to see
if anything was hidden in the dark doorways they passed.
    The beat of the music invaded her
body before she was even close enough to open the door and yet she couldn’t
hear the music. She could feel her heart rate pick up and her pulse flutter
before taking off as in a race. A mixture of pure dread and excitement hit her
at the same time. She didn’t know if she should run away from or to the door.
The look on Paul’s face was a lot like hers, letting her know she wasn’t alone
in this. With a half-smile, he opened the door.
    The club was bright, as if
everyone there wanted to be seen. In the corners