Free Redemption by Cara Carnes

Just the notion of someone aside from him touching her made her skin crawl.
    But the embers of her past attraction had burned bright during her captivity. Every moment she suffered at the hands of the NAH made her want him more, long for his lips on hers again. She’d lived for this moment. Well, not this one exactly. She looked around and captured Peyton’s hateful leer.
    She definitely wasn’t digging the grouchy bitch on a bus. Of all the six sentinels he had, why did he have to bring her?
    “If I’d left her there, her rank would’ve put her in charge since Ren and Marek are with me and the dragons are out on a mission. Doc would’ve hurt me. Peyton is a damn good warrior, but she’s not cut out to handle leading Redemption.”
    “Did I ask that aloud?”
    “Yes, you did,” Peyton answered.
    Oops.
    The levity of the moment burst through the bus. First Ren chuckled. Then Marek. Adrik grinned and drew her closer. “In case I forget to say it a million times later, it’s great to have you back in our pack, sweetheart. Fuck but I’ve missed you.”
    The words sent a shrill of pleasure through her as she drank in his handsome smile. She drifted in the golden swirls of his mocha gaze. Any residual doubt melted under his fiery intensity. Going straight to Redemption hadn’t been a mistake.
    We’re coming for you, Deimos. Hang on. Adrik will save you, even if I couldn’t.
     

Chapter Six
     
    “This shit stinks worse than the backed-up cesspool behind the bath houses,” Marek grumbled.
    Adrik couldn’t agree more. It’d taken a couple of hours of questioning locals in the hovels outside Baton Rouge, but they’d tracked down the mythical Blade. The name alone had made everyone respond in a hushed whisper, as if the man would hear them.
    While he admired the man’s ability to garner respect, they didn’t have time for the unfolding drama. They’d tracked him down at the bustling former restaurant, which turned out to be a soup kitchen of sorts. The man hadn’t seemed too surprised to see them.
    “And all he said was to wait for him outside?”
    “Yep. Then he went to dishing up bowls of gumbo as if he hadn’t just been tracked down by an Other.” Adrik crossed his arms and stared across the street at Mama Pierre’s. The crowd had thinned out over the past hour they’d been waiting.
    “This is bullshit. We should go in and drag his ass out,” Peyton said as she paced.
    They’d hidden the NAH bus a quarter mile down the road and left Ren with Mira. Adrik hated leaving her behind, but until they got a full read on Blade he wasn’t putting her at risk. While they were waiting, though, he might as well air the laundry with his sentinels. He couldn’t have dissension within the ranks, especially if he wanted the pack to support Mira.
    Fuck. Was he really considering her as a mate? It’d been less than two days since she’d reentered his life.
    “I’m gonna borrow the lecture Doc gave me when he was patching up Mira. Whatever issues y’all got with her, get over them quick.”
    “You asking us as a friend or telling us as our Alpha?” Peyton asked.
    “Whichever gets results faster. We need to get on the same page before we find the facility.” He wouldn’t risk anyone because of dissension. He’d seen too many warriors lost during battle because they didn’t agree with their Alpha’s decision. “Our pack survived The Rending with far fewer losses than the others because we always trusted each other, were of one mind and thought.”
    “Look, I understand she’s important to you, man, but Peyton’s got a lot of good points. The mysterious reappearance after two years of being gone—especially when the flyers happened to be at Redemption—is way too convenient. And she remembers her time in a facility no one’s ever heard about before?” Marek shook his head. “We have a right to be leery.”
    “Yes, you do.” Adrik sighed. “But don’t let anger or whatever you feel about her