Read Born of Fire for Free Online

older sister he worshiped.
    He balanced the carefully honed blade between his fingers and looked back at the tracer whose very name made most fugitives surrender immediately.
    And no wonder, given the way she fought.
    “So you’re the infamous Shahara . . .” He shook hishead in amazement that such a petite beauty could inspire so lethal a reputation. “I wonder what Caillen would say if he knew you were here?”
    I’m going to cut your balls off, Syn
.
    Yeah, that would probably be it . . .
    On the good side and
if
Syn was lucky. If Dagan was having a bad day . . .
    He shuddered.
    Rolling his eyes at his typical luck, Syn placed the knife on top of the other weapons and devices he’d taken off her. He picked up her blasters and locked them, along with everything else, in the wall safe in his bedroom.
    What was he going to do with her?
    Unbidden, an image of her writhing naked in his bed flashed before his eyes and he grinned wickedly. That was definitely what he
wanted
to do with her.
    But hormones aside, he had to be practical.
    The woman wanted to hand him over to the authorities. Seaxes were unfortunately notorious for their unshakable sense of justice and honor. And she was honor-bound to take him in no matter what argument he made.
    He wasn’t about to be executed for crimes he hadn’t committed and he damn sure couldn’t kill her without upsetting Caillen.
    So where did that leave him?
    Screwed blue and tattooed
.
    Maybe he should call Caillen after all . . .
    Syn scoffed at the thought. If he knew his friend at all—and he did—Caillen would kill
him
for stunning her.
    So what options were left?
    Kill her. Hide the body
.
    If only he could . . . Damn, stupid conscience. Whyhad the gods given them
that
gift? It definitely should have come with a return policy.
    In the end, he had no real choice about it. When she regained consciousness in another hour or so, he’d try to talk sense into her. With any luck, she’d share her brother’s reason and intellect.
    Gods, just let her be more reasonable than Kasen. Otherwise he
would
have to kill her.
    And lie to Caillen for the rest of their lives.
    Yeah . . .
    With that thought foremost in his mind, he moved to the front door and switched the scanner back on. Now she’d have no choice except to stay put until he could think of some way to escape this tangled nightmare with his life intact.
     
    Shahara moaned, her temples throbbing a painful beat. Blinking open her eyes, she wondered why she felt so terrible. Her sight focused on the white stucco wall before her where a beautiful Chinergov painting hung. As she stared at the impressionist’s interpretation of a huge, black bird in flight, she instantly remembered what had happened.
    Where she was.
    That slippery bastard had shot her!
    With a gasp, she sat up, her head protesting the sudden movement. Ignoring the pain, she forced her blurry eyesight to clear and scanned the room.
    It was empty. Thank goodness.
    Silence buzzed in her ears and she wondered where Syn had gone.
    Why had he left her alone?
    Well, she didn’t care about the answer. As long as he wasn’t here, he couldn’t kill her, or keep her fromleaving. Stealthily, in case he was in the bedroom or bathroom, she slid off the couch.
    Without a sound, she crossed to the door and reached for the controls. Before her fingers touched the keypad, she glanced up and gnashed her teeth in frustration. He’d reactivated the scanner.
    You double bastard, rat punk!
    You didn’t really think he’d make it easy for you, did you?
No, but a woman could always hope for a brain injury that would leave him stupid and make it easier on her.
    If only . . .
    She wanted to curse and strike out at the almost invisible beams that crosshatched the door, but she knew if she did that, they’d singe her flesh with a burn far worse than any fire. Worst of all, they’d trip an alarm.
    She was at his mercy.
    Instinctively, she reached for her weapons. As