Free Enslaved in Shadows by Tigris Eden Page A

she knew the truth. Her body naturally reacted to the words I love you. Instead of joy and happiness, she felt immense pain and betrayal. Those three words had the power to undo her in a bad way.
    Marcus bit her painfully on the ear . That was the last thing she felt before her took the knife he held at his side and slashed the duffel from her shoulder. He’d purposely slashed the blade deep into her skin. He continued pulling the blade , careful not to nick an artery until she had a gash that ended at her hip and stomach. He’d done it as a warning and then had the bastard Vince patch her up as he’d wiped her blood on her own soaked pant leg. She’d pas s ed out from the pain after the tenth or so stitch. Vince hadn’t used anything to numb her. She could feel each pinch of the needle and the feel of threa d through her skin as he sewed her back together.
    Stephan stared at her when she finally straightened and came back from her memory. Jes stood from her chair. She knew her expression wasn’t a pleasant one and she didn’t give a damn. Whoever this Agent Stone was could go to hell. Why wasn’t Oliver on the case? It was his daughter. Theresa was one of the ones that had gone missing. It would have made more sense. He would be the one best suited for the job and h e had as much to lose as she did.
    “Stephan, why isn’t Oliver the one watching over me?” She asked with an air of authority. She was not going to let them call all the shots. Her safety and Faith’s were on the line.
    “Oliver is still cons idered new to his H ouse. There are protocols he must follow that even I can’t counter act. Agent Stone is a werewolf and is able to be with you at all times no matter what. He is not held by such things.”
    Jesminda didn’t believe for a second Agent Stone would take his assignment serious. She needed to be sure she and Faith would be safe. Agent Stone should have been at this debriefing. Not off doing whatever the hell it was he was doing. She snorted loud enough to get the attention of the other men in the room. She didn’t care. She wanted them all to know she was unhappy. No one said a word as she looked around the room trying to decide how she was going to play her next move. She needed any hand she could get.
    Jesminda took a step back from the table and begin ticking off reasons why Agent Stone was not going to be of any use . If she had to go on Oliver’s protocol to accomplish what she needed, then so be it. She would do it for her; she would do it for Faith. Even the guy who could read minds would be better. Every man in this room was better than Agent Stone as far as she was concerned. They at least showed up.
    “Don’t say it honey. Forget it.” This came from the twin with the bald head. Ronin was it?
    “Yeah. Ronin. ”
    She cleared her mind. She was not going to be baited into saying some thing in her head she normally would not say aloud .
    “That definitely works for me.” Ronin nodded over in Dravaggio’s direction and stood. “I got some things I need to handle.” H e looked over at Jesminda and nodded his head. At least he had manners.
    “Stephan, I would prefer any other of your men take on this assignment than Agent Stone.”
     

Chapter 6
     
    The fucking smell w ouldn’t leave his nostrils. He had purposely not gone to that meeting. He wanted to be there to get the information necessary to do the job, but getting as far away from the scent as possible was priority. She’s not even here. Whoever it was would have immediately seen the state he was in and that would be inappropriate . He couldn’t bring himself to go to the debriefing with a hard on. Or have the twins all in his shit. All because of a fucking smell that drove his insides insane. He’d dreamed of it and the woman attached to the sensual aroma for five years. Talk about obsessed. H e bordered stalker when it came to her. He couldn’t tell Melissa what he dreamt about, even if he did take his sexual