Read Blood Slave: A Realm Walker Novel for Free Online Page B

territory stopped at the Dead Zone. He had the largest territory in the country but even his reach didn’t go to Kansas City. There is no way Thomas Kendrick, master vampire, would allow her to enter a rival vamp’s territory without him. And a Thomas shadow would make it incredibly difficult to go undercover. Not only was Thomas well known among certain circles, he wasn’t exactly the sort of guy that blended in. “It’s not a big deal.”
    “Then why are you shutting me out?’ he asked quietly, his irritation evident.
    “Curse it, Thomas. You don’t need inside my brain all the time,” she bit out, angry with him for making her feel guiltier than she already did. And for causing her to fashion another lie. “If you must know, one of the Walkers coming to the conference is a telepath. I thought it wise to test my shields now and make certain I could put the strength behind them I need to and maintain it. If they’re shitty from disuse I need to work on it now, not when he’s in front of me.”
    She continued to pile things on the bed, not even really paying that much attention to what she grabbed. It was more to serve as a distraction from the conversation than anything else. Jeans and t-shirts didn’t take that long to pack. Now weapons, she could spend all day choosing the right gear for a mission, but undercover severely limited her options. And Thomas wasn’t going to believe her story for a minute if she started piling blades and small arms on the bed. She’d have to get that gear squared away later, picking it up at the armory at the Agency if she needed to.
    Realizing she had yet to get her duffel from the closet, she headed across the room.
     
    ***
     
    His mate was lying. He knew it, but saw no way to call her on it without it ending in a horrible, bloody fight. Perhaps not literally bloody, but when Juliana got her mouth running, it could be a close thing. That tongue of hers could shred him if she put enough effort into it. He also wasn’t entirely certain he wanted to know the truth. If she was keeping something from him, it was Agency business. And it most likely meant she was about to do something that would put her in jeopardy. Again.
    “I will leave you to your packing,” he said and went to find his brother-in-law. If Juliana insisted in putting herself at risk, he wanted a way to keep track of her. While he could just ask her to call and check in, he was no fool. She would probably go out of her way not to call just because he’d asked it of her. His bride was nothing if not stubborn. James, however, was another story. Until Juliana finished her training, she was tethered to their brother-in-law whether she liked it or not.
    James sat at one end of the sofa, Rachel curled up beside him with her head in his lap and her eyes closed. Thomas tipped his chin in greeting and positioned himself so he could see the bedroom door. It would do him no good should Juliana happen to catch them mid-conversation. “I need a favor, brother.”
    James frowned in thought and ran a hand over his bald head. Thomas couldn’t remember ever asking the man for anything before. James nodded once. “Anything.”
    “Juliana is leaving town. She claims it is for a training conference.”
    “But you don’t believe her.” James correctly guessed Thomas’s concern. “What do you want me to do?”
    “I understand her training schedule is at your discretion. She’ll ask you for time off, tell you she can’t possibly come back for her sessions. Don’t give it to her. Make her stick to the current timetable. At least then we’ll know where to find her occasionally.” And know she’s unharmed, he thought but didn’t say. There were some things he didn’t put a voice to if he could help it. Right now Juliana reported to James for training a minimum of every other day. More if she could fit it in.
    James hesitated but a moment. “Consider me her evil task master.”
     
    ***
     
    James scowled at Juliana as