Free Savage Chains: Shattered (#3) (Men in Chains) by Caris Roane Page A

flavor and its scope. I believed with all my heart that the only way we would survive, if Sweet Dove chose as she did tonight to act against us, was if we had her level of power.
    “And Reyes, my God, your power. It surpasses hers. Did you know that’s how it would be?”
    He shook his head. “I’m convinced that I kept myself blind to my potential. Of course being her slave all that time and kept in a subservient position helped me feel constantly less than Sweet Dove. But I feared so much that I would become corrupt like her or like Engles. Even now, I know I’ll need to be vigilant.”
    She sensed his fear that being an Ancestral would change him, but she also knew his character and that so long as he lived he’d work hard to stay true to his deepest values, the ones his parents had taught him when he was young. “All I can say is, welcome home, Reyes. That’s what I want to say to you. Welcome home.”
    “That’s one of the most wonderful things you could say to me, and that’s how I feel. It’s taken all this time, from the first day of my captivity until now, to meet you and be with you in order to find my way home. You’re my home, Angelica. In fact, that’s where I want to go.”
    “But this is your home.”
    A slow smile overtook his face. “Venezuela. In the Cordillera system, high in the mountains near the Caribbean coast.”
    “Oh, you mean your family home. The one you took back when you made your fortune.”
    He nodded. “How about we get cleaned up, pack some clothes, and head there now?”
    “Sounds like a plan.”
    Angelica soon learned that the double-chain had changed the proximity issue so that while she showered, Reyes could remain in the sitting room as he continued to explore Sweet Dove’s laptop.
    By the time she’d emerged wearing jeans and a tank top, her makeup restored and her hair brushed out, she found Reyes at the table, in a robe. He still sat at the table, staring at the laptop, chin in hand.
    He glanced up at her, and she put her hand on the double-chain. He seemed to be in a state of shock.
    “What is it?”
    “It’s all here. Every last bit of information I need. It’s clear to me that Sweet Dove didn’t feel in the least threatened.”
    “Was it even password protected?”
    Reyes shook his head. “She seemed to have a love of numbers, though. The records here are careful to the penny. Her crimes are legion.”
    She rounded the table and sat on his lap. He surrounded her with his arms. “I like you in jeans.”
    She kissed him. “I’m all packed. Ready when you are.”
    He closed the laptop lid and headed for his turn in the shower.
    She stared at the laptop for a long time. Part of her was curious, and no doubt in the coming days and weeks she’d become completely familiar with Sweet Dove’s organization.
    For now, however, the horror could rest. More than anything she needed this time with Reyes, to just be with him.
    A half hour later he carried her in one arm, her satchel dangling from his free hand, and flew her at top speed to South America.
    I have no pain.
    What?
He squeezed her waist.
    There’s no more pain when I fly.
    Nor should there be because of my Ancestral power. But the truth is I didn’t even think about it. Although if you’d suffered in any way, the chains would have told me in a split second.
    Within minutes he slowed, flying into the coastal range of Venezuela where the mountains ran along the northernmost section of the country.
    He flew her to the highest elevation and passed through a forest, then finally drifted through the hard rock walls of the cavern system.
    My housekeeper has come and gone, so we’ll have privacy. But she’s left a meal of spicy chicken-filled empanadas and a salad. And beer.
    And suddenly I’m starved.
    Reyes touched down in the middle of the living room. A thin but very wide waterfall made up the wall opposite, tucked behind a low stone barrier. Soft lights lit the dark rock that sparkled with