Free Awakening: Montana Wolves, Book 2 by Chloe Cole

Her voice echoed like a whip crack in the tiny kitchen.
    Amber met her gaze and tried to look brave, but Chandra could smell her fear.
    “I am going to give you one chance. One. Chance.” She held up her index finger, irritated to note that it was shaking. She only hoped Amber realized that it wasn’t trembling from fear, but from barely suppressed rage. “If I don’t like your answer, I swear to you, you’re going to wish you were never born.”
    Chandra indulged in a feral smile as Amber’s throat worked furiously.
    “Let me tell you what I know so far, that way you don’t waste your one chance on a lie. I know you didn’t really leave in the cab this morning. We have cameras that run the perimeter of the property. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the security footage from today and saw you walking out of the driveway and getting into a different taxi parked on the street. That was more than an hour after the first cab had left, supposedly with you in it. Strange, isn’t it?”
    She tipped her head and shrugged.
    “Needless to say, I was curious…thinking maybe you’d left and then come back for something you had forgotten. But when I rewound the video further, I was surprised to see that the car I watched you get into was empty when it pulled onto the street, save for the driver. So you pretended to leave this morning, got out of the cab and basically trespassed on our property without informing anyone of your presence. That seems like highly suspicious behavior. Now, I’m going to ask you once again-” She stopped short as a faint scent tickled her nose. She began to rise as Amber cut in.
    “Listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t…” Her voice trailed off as her gaze flicked to something over Chandra’s shoulder. “Wait, no!” Amber called out, but before Chandra could turn, a sharp pain registered in her neck, and her world went black.

Chapter Eight
     
    Amber stared incredulously into the face of the man who had hired her, chilled to the bone. “What did you do to her?” she asked in a strangled whisper.
    “She’s fine,” he said as he walked across the room, a dart gun in his hand. “It was just a sedative.”
    He crouched in front of Chandra, who was slumped over in her chair. He stared at her for a long moment, then turned to face Amber, his eyes burning with an almost feverish light. 
    “She followed you. I had hoped, but I couldn’t be sure… Oh, what a specimen.” Sweat had broken out on his upper lip despite the cold, and he stroked Chandra’s hair. “She’s perfect,” he whispered.
    Amber’s body began to shake uncontrollably. “No, no, you can’t do that to someone,” she muttered through chattering teeth as she tried to make sense of it all. “I’m calling the police.” Like she should have done when he’d first come to her with his crazy offer.
    She reached into her purse for her cell phone but froze when she saw the expression on Tobias Wheeler’s face as he straightened, pointing the gun in her direction.
    “Go ahead and call the police the second I leave. Make sure you tell them about how you trespassed on their property, took pictures, and spied on them. But she and I will be long gone by the time they get here, and you’ll be the one in the cell. You’re knee-deep in this.” He screwed his flushed face into a twisted smile. If it was meant to reassure her, it failed miserably. “Or you could just let it go, forget we ever met, and everything can go back to normal for you. I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but I’m the good guy. You don’t know what you’re dealing with. Don’t you see? I’m not the monster here.”
    He stood, gun still trained in her direction, and grabbed the tote bag from the table. As he rifled through it, she took the time to look around the kitchen in search of a weapon. He stood directly between her and the wooden block that held all the knives, but if she moved quickly enough, she might be able to grab the cast iron