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Logan wasn’t sure how well his work would hold. He’d have to check on it again later to ensure that nothing had come unraveled. Which meant he had to stay by her side, at least for a little while.
Time had no meaning while he worked, but they were out in the open and he needed to finish his task before it became dangerous.
He moved back in time, watching her body change and thin with adolescence. He wanted to see her parents so he could help uncover the mystery of her powerful bloodline, but he didn’t get far before his consciousness rammed into something. A wall. A barrier of some kind. He pushed against it, and felt an answering moan of pain coming from the woman he held in his arms.
It was too strong for him to break through without hurting her. Logan wasn’t willing to do that. At least not now. He couldn’t afford to ruin her newborn trust.
He moved within the stream of her memories, weaving through them until right before he hit that barrier. She was young. Cold. Afraid. Naked and shivering in an alley as she hugged herself. The world around her was strange, the building looming over her larger than anything she’d ever seen before. Through her eyes he saw her staring down at a chunk of wood. It had been rounded and sanded until it was as smooth as a river pebble. A thin leather strip woven through a roughly drilled hole. Burned into the wood was the name Hope Serrien.
Her name.
Why would that be? Why would someone strip her of her belongings and memories and leave her this one token of her identity?
Logan had no idea. What he did know was that it was no coincidence that the address scrawled in blood across his mirror was the same one where Hope’s memories ceased. The same one where the demon he’d killed last night had emerged. The same one where they stood now, pressed together, their minds connected.
This place held some kind of significance. Logan didn’t know what it was, but he was going to find out. And in the meantime, he had something to occupy his thoughts: finding Hope a suitable mate.
He removed himself from her mind, but couldn’t bring himself to ease away from her body. He held her, sharing warmth as the cold wind whipped around them.
“Hope Serrien,” he said, feeling her name roll from his tongue.
“What did you see?”
“Your life. Your memories. Where they began. Here, in this place. ”
She turned inside his arms, facing him. Her eyes were filled with a shame he couldn’t understand. “Do you know who I am?”
“I know no more than you do. ”
“You must. The things you can do . . . ”
The desperation in her voice called to him. He ached to wipe it away and replace it with pleasure. A woman like her deserved nothing less. The way she cared for others was rare—a gift to be treasured.
“I may be able to help. Given enough time. ”
“Time?” She sounded distant, almost distracted, as she stared at his mouth. She licked her lips.
The urge to bend down and kiss her was almost more than he could fight. Logan’s body tensed with the effort, his muscles clamping down to hold him in check. “Come with me. I have someone I’d like you to meet. ”
He wasn’t sure who that man would be yet, but he’d figure that out once he’d secured her agreement. Perhaps putting a name to the man who would belong to her would help him remember his place.
He was a matchmaker—a tool. Nothing more. Certainly not someone who should be thinking about how well Hope fit in his arms, or how her scent went to his head, driving away all rational thought.
Before things got out of hand and he did something irrevocable, Logan gently separated them and took a long step back. Cold air sucked her heat from his skin and he mourned the loss.
Hope blinked a couple of times as if the move had helped clear her head. “I can’t go anywhere with you. ”
“Why not?”
“People are missing. And even if they weren’t, I have a job to do. ”
“I’ll help you find your friends. I’m quite good at hunting people. ” Her face paled, and he realized his wording had been indelicate. “I mean finding people. ”
She had the loveliest amber-colored eyes. They reminded him of sunlight streaming through autumn leaves—sunlight he could see but never feel against his skin. In the moonlight, her hair was a paler gold, the color of honey. Shadows lay against her cheek like a lover’s caress, and the uncertainty in her gaze made him want to hold her close.
But what she needed right now was not his touch. She needed reassurance that he could help. That he was harmless.
Logan knew without a doubt the latter was a lie. He was more predator than man, scheming to get his way whenever necessary. And if he had to do so again now to gain her cooperation, so be it.
He forced a kind smile to curve his lips. “We’ll find your friends, and then you can come with me as repayment. ”
“Is that how you live your life?” she asked. “Counting the cost of your service to others so the debt can be repaid? I’m not sure I can accept the help of someone like that. ”
He looked at her in confusion, unsure of what he’d said to upset her. “It only seems fair that if I help you, you would offer me something in return. ”
“Fair. I see. ” She bent and picked up her flashlight from where it had fallen out of her grasp. The beam fell across his eyes, ruining his vision for a moment. “Thanks for your offer, but no thanks. I’ll find Rory and the others on my own. ”
It took Logan a moment to regain his mental balance. Usually when he offered his aid, people accepted. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been turned down. “What?”
“You heard me. I’ll figure it out on my own. ”
“But . . . why? I’m offering to help. ”
“For a price. ”
“So?”
She shone her flashlight along the brick wall and began to walk. Away from him. “So, I’m not the kind of person who is willing to strike a deal with an asshole. I lived on the streets long enough to know that it will only get me in trouble. ”
She’d lived on the streets? He’d sped through her memories so fast, he must have missed that part of her life. The news that she’d suffered like that made something fierce and dangerous rise up inside Logan. His claws began to extend, and he had to take several deep breaths through his nose to keep his fangs from showing.
He shoved his hands in the pockets of his trench coat and followed her. “Where do you live now?”
“None of your business. ”
“Are you afraid of me?”
She stopped and turned to face him. Her feet were braced apart, and her grip on the sturdy Maglite tightened. “Should I be?”
Logan truly didn’t know what to say. He meant her no harm, but the lengths he was willing to go to ensure her participation in Project Lullaby would frighten most humans.
He settled for the ever-present lie. “No. Of course not. ”
She stared at him, her amber gaze unwavering. “I saw what you did to that . . . monster. Didn’t I?”
The fact that she remembered enough of it to know it had been a monster proved just how inept he’d been at masking the memory. “I have no idea what you saw. ”
“Are you saying you didn’t kill it?”
“No. ”
“Then what are you saying?”
“Perceptions are tricky things. People see the same thing differently. ”
“And how do you see me?” she asked. “As some sort of gullible girl to be sucked in by a hot, mysterious guy?”
The idea that she found him “hot” held more than a little appeal to him. But that wasn’t what he needed from her, and it wasn’t what she’d asked.
He studied her, enjoying the path from the snow boots on her feet, up her slim legs, over the curve of her hips, past the puffy jacket that hid too much, and on to her lovely face. Every inch of the journey delighted him, and made him think of how she might look divested of all her trappings.
Including her angry glare. “You’re alone. Vulnerable. Afraid. ”
She glanced at the erection he couldn’t seem to rid himself of. Her lips tightened in disgust. “And that excites you?”
She was slipping away from him, growing cold, shoving so much mental distance between them that Logan would never be able to bridge the gap. Normally, women were much easier to deal with than Hope was. Normally, they stumbled over themselves, enthralled by his looks, offering him anything he asked for and some things he didn’t. While she may have liked his appearance, she was far from enthralled.
“No. Your beauty excites me. ”
She let out a derisive snort. “Good-bye, Logan. ” She walked away, searching for something along the wall.
Logan hurried to catch up. He had to mend things with her, but every time he opened his mouth, he seemed to muck things up. “Your past intrigues me. ”
She glanced over her shoulder. “What do you know of my past?”
“Not as much as I’d like to. ”
“That makes two of us. ”
“I could help you with that. I could help you break through that wall. ”
“And what would that cost me? Wait, let me guess. All I have to do is sleep with you. ”
Her words made lovely images explode in his mind. Long, tanned limbs draped in shadow. Her slender fingers gliding over his naked skin. The sweet curve of her breasts. His cock buried inside her while he fed from her beautiful neck.
All powerful, compelling daydreams. All completely out of the question.
Logan cleared his throat so he could speak. “I offer my services as a gift. Free of charge. ”
She stopped and turned, and as her gaze fell upon him once again, he felt satisfied and somehow more complete.
A slight smile played at her lips. “I see you’re a fast learner. ”
Her eyes slid down his body. Logan shifted, closing his coat to hide the inconvenient effect she had on his body. “The swiftest. I assure you. ”
“Why? Why would you help me?”
“Most people would ask how, not why. ”
“Most people would trust whatever words came out of that lovely mouth of yours, no doubt. ”
So she did find him appealing. He smiled. “You’ve learned my secret. ”
“So now you have to kill me?”
“Hardly. I’d give my life for yours. ”
A blond eyebrow twitched upward. “Laying it on a bit thick, aren’t you?”
“It’s the truth. I need you. My people need you. Whatever it takes to gain your cooperation, I’ll do. ”
“Ah, so this is about what you want. ”
“I mean only to remove any barrier that stands in the way of your acceptance of my proposal. ”
“What proposal is that?”
The truth seemed to be making more progress than manipulation did, so Logan decided to give it a try. The novel approach felt clumsy to him, but he was an adaptable creature. “There’s a man I’d like you to meet. ”
She laughed, the sound echoing off the brick building. “You’re doing all of this to set me up on a blind date?”
She didn’t seem worried by the notion. Only amused. “What if I am?”