Darkness Awakened (22 page)
Authors: Katie Reus
Her flat sandals snapped softly against the marble as she entered the security floor. A giant glass wall greeted her. Behind it she could see desks, and too many television screens to count. Some huge, some small, focused on dealers’ hands, patrons, the various bars and pretty much anywhere legal a camera could go. The array of them still astounded her. Stopping at one of the glass doors, she placed her hand on the biometric scanner. Once it scanned her palm, the door immediately opened with a whoosh. She had no business up here but about eight months ago Hayden had programmed her into the system so she wouldn’t have to bug him every Thursday. Sometimes she got off earlier than him and preferred to wait in the security room as opposed to the bar in her restaurant. She was there enough during the week; she didn’t want to hang out in her off time too.
Stepping inside she was inundated with noise and frantic chatter. Men and women were talking into their headsets, some clearly worried. There was normally a fast pace up here but today it seemed different.
Glancing around, Sierra didn’t see Hayden anywhere but assumed he was in his office. Before she’d taken two steps in that direction, Marty, one of the tech guys, jumped up from his desk when he saw her. “Hey, honey. What are you doing up here?”
She normally didn’t like nicknames but Marty called every female honey. She smiled. “Just stopping by to see if Hayden could sneak away early.”
Marty’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh…he’s not here. He said something about a date.”
A date? The word was like a punch to her gut. For a moment she was totally stunned, but she wasn’t going to show it in front of anyone, especially not a coworker. This place was worse than a middle school when it came to gossip. So she pasted on a smile. “Oh, right. He mentioned that, I totally forgot.”
Marty started to respond but Iris Christiansen strode through the glass doorway looking fierce in black pants, a crisp white button down shirt and a sleek, clearly custom-made black jacket. Everything about the other woman was, well, fierce. She was gorgeous but also a little scary, especially since Sierra knew the former Marine was always well-armed. The tall woman gave Marty one look and he scampered away.
Luckily she gave Sierra a bright smile. “What’s up, Sierra? You got a problem at the restaurant?”
Still struggling to find her voice, she shook her head. “No problem, just leaving. See you tomorrow.” Sierra tried to hurry away, but Iris followed her to the elevators.
“What’s going on? You don’t look okay.”
Sierra swallowed hard. Lord, was she that transparent? “Just had a long day. Busy, you know?”
Gah, why wouldn’t the elevator hurry up?
Iris raised a dark eyebrow. “Do I need to kick his ass?”
Staring at her, Sierra frowned. “What? Who?”
“Hayden. What’s he done now?”
The mention of his name made Sierra’s stomach flip-flop. It also pissed her off. If he’d had a date he could have had the decency to tell her. Shrugging jerkily, she breathed out a sigh of relief when the elevator stopped and dinged. “Hayden hasn’t done anything.” And she wondered why Iris would assume this had anything to do with the man. It wasn’t like they were dating.
Iris didn’t respond, but her lips pulled into a thin line as the doors shut behind Sierra. Once she was alone, Sierra didn’t bother to keep up a happy face. Hayden hadn’t mentioned dating anyone in the past year, though she knew the man had to be dating. He was walking, talking sex appeal. Absently she rubbed the center of her chest. So, he was dating. No big deal. Right? Ugh, yeah right. Swallowing back the traitorous tears threatening to overwhelm her, she hurried into the below ground parking garage. Normally Hayden or someone else walked her to her vehicle but she didn’t want to bother asking anyone else. Not when she felt like crying. No way was she embarrassing herself and becoming a source of casino gossip.
Picking up her pace, her sandals slapped quickly across the concrete. As she reached the second row of cars, a tiny scream escaped her lips as a man wearing a mask jumped out from behind her Jeep. The guy was huge, maybe six feet tall, and when she saw the flash of metal—a knife!—in his hands, her chest constricted as a hundred horrible scenarios raced through her mind. Knowing she’d only get one chance she let out a blood-curdling scream at the top of her lungs as she backtracked and started running in the other direction.
Blood rushed in her ears as she continued screaming and digging in her purse for her pepper spray. She knew she wouldn’t be a physical match against anyone and—pain exploded in her scalp as he grabbed her by the hair and jerked back.
Instinctively she reached back to try to stop him and quickly realized her mistake. Using a lot of force, he slammed her forehead against a nearby car. Another burst of pain launched inside her skull as she tried to shove away from the vehicle. He pulled her head back again and she struggled to find breath—suddenly she was falling.
Acknowledgments
Thank you so much to Kari Walker, Carolyn Crane and Joan Turner for their valuable input into this story. For my readers, thank you for reading my stories! I’m deeply grateful for your support. I’m also incredibly thankful for the beautiful design work by Jaycee with Sweet ‘N Spicy Designs. She’s done many of my covers and each time I wonder how she’s going to top the last one. Somehow she always outdoes herself! Last, but never least, I’m thankful to God for so many wonderful opportunities.
Complete Booklist
Red Stone Security Series (romantic suspense)
No One to Trust
Danger Next Door
Fatal Deception
Miami, Mistletoe & Murder
His to Protect
Breaking Her Rules
Protecting His Witness
The Serafina: Sin City Series
First Surrender
Sensual Surrender (2014)
Deadly Ops Series
Targeted
Bound to Danger (2014)
Non-series Romantic Suspense
Running From the Past
Everything to Lose
Dangerous Deception
Dangerous Secrets
Killer Secrets
Deadly Obsession
Danger in Paradise
His Secret Past
Paranormal Romance
Destined Mate
Protector’s Mate
A Jaguar’s Kiss
Tempting the Jaguar
Enemy Mine
Heart of the Jaguar
Moon Shifter Series (paranormal romance)
Alpha Instinct
Lover’s Instinct (novella)
Primal Possession
Mating Instinct
His Untamed Desire (novella)
Avenger’s Heat
Darkness Series
Darkness Awakened
Taste of Darkness (2014)
About the Author
Katie Reus is the
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author of the Red Stone Security series, the Moon Shifter series and the Deadly Ops series. She fell in love with romance at a young age thanks to books she pilfered from her mom’s stash. Years later she loves reading romance almost as much as she loves writing it.
However, she didn’t always know she wanted to be a writer. After changing majors many times, she finally graduated summa cum laude with a degree in psychology. Not long after that she discovered a new love. Writing. She now spends her days writing dark paranormal romance and sexy romantic suspense. For more information on Katie please visit her website:
www.katiereus.com
. Also find her on
twitter @katiereus
or visit her on Facebook at:
www.facebook.com/katiereusauthor
. If you would like to be notified of future releases, please join her
newsletter
.
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