Edge of Betrayal

Falling Blind

“Amazing and dramatic . . . heart pounding [and] heartbreaking.”

—The Reading Cafe

“A taut mixture of action and suspense.”

—Smexy Books

“I like this author’s voice and have enjoyed journeying with her into this paranormal world filled with monsters, aliens, talented women, and powerful men.”

—Fiction Vixen

Dying Wish

“You’ll be thrilled, entertained, enamored, and when it’s all done, you’ll be begging . . . for more.”

—Fresh Fiction

“[A] fascinating, gritty read.”

—Night Owl Reviews

“Unexpected twists and turns.”

—Romance Junkies

“I loved
Dying Wish. . . .
If you have not started this series, please do not miss it.”

—The Reading Cafe

Living Nightmare

“There’s only one way to describe this book to me: fabulous!”

—Night Owl Reviews

“[An] action-packed story of the brooding and angry warrior Madoc and his journey to the future. This series rocks!”

—Fresh Fiction

“Utilizing her ability to combine excellent characterization with riveting danger, rising star Butcher adds another fascinating tier to her expanding world. You are always guaranteed generous portions of pulse-pounding action and romance in a Butcher tale!”

—Romantic Times

“Ms. Butcher’s written word began to grab hold of my imagination and lead me on a ride unlike anything I have read before.”

—Coffee Time Romance & More

Running Scared

“I love it!”

—Fresh Fiction

“I cannot wait for the next book in this really fun series.”

—Night Owl Reviews

“Superb storytelling.”

—Romance Junkies

“A must read for all paranormal fans.”

—The Romance Reviews

“Keeps you hooked till the end.”

—Smexy Books

Finding the Lost

“The same appeal as Christine Feehan’s Carpathian series.”

—
Booklist

“Shannon K. Butcher’s world building is phenomenal.”

—The Romance Reviews (5 stars)

“A very entertaining read. . . . The ending was a great cliff-hanger, and I can’t wait to read the next book in this series.”

—The Book Lush

“Hard-hitting action and wrenching emotions. Butcher is a major talent in the making.”

—
Romantic Times

“Brings danger right up against a love of the centuries.”

—Joyfully Reviewed

“I can’t wait to read the next book in the series . . . fast-paced with great action scenes and lots of hot romance.

—Night Owl Reviews

Burning Alive

“Nonstop action. I look forward to the next installment.”

—A Romance Review
(5 roses)

“Ms. Butcher is carving her way onto the bestseller lists with this phenomenal nonstop ride.”

—
Affaire de Coeur
(5 stars)

“Absorbing. . . . Fans of Butcher’s romantic suspense novels will enjoy her turn toward the paranormal.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“Fresh and delightfully creative . . . [an] exciting new series.”

—Darque Reviews

“Butcher’s first foray into paranormal romance and what a doozy it is!”

—ParaNormal Romance

“A different twist on the paranormal genre.”

—Fallen Angel Reviews

Edge of Sanity

Razor’s Edge

Living on the Edge

N
OVELS
OF
THE
S
ENTINEL
W
ARS

Willing Sacrifice

Falling Blind

Bound by Vengeance

(A Penguin Special)

Dying Wish

Blood Hunt

Living Nightmare

Running Scared

Finding the Lost

Burning Alive

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) LLC, 375 Hudson Street,

New York, New York 10014

USA | Canada | UK | Ireland | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa | China

penguin.com

A Penguin Random House Company

First published by Signet Eclipse, an imprint of New American Library,

a division of Penguin Group (USA) LLC

Copyright © Shannon K. Butcher, 2014

Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

SIGNET ECLIPSE and logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.

ISBN 978-1-101-63263-5

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

For Gretchen Jones, who always has the best ideas and is constantly ready for an adventure, and whose sense of direction is so good, it must be some form of dark
sorcery.

Dallas, Texas, February 18

T
here were only two men in the world Mira Sage had ever hated enough to consider killing with her bare hands, and only one of them was still breathing.

She watched the man on her tablet, ignoring the fact that she was breaking about seven laws by doing so.

Adam Brink was up to something, and no matter how many bugs she had to plant, no matter how many traffic cameras or surveillance systems she had to hack into, she wasn’t letting the man out of her sight.

His tall, lean body glided swiftly over the cracked pavement in the alley behind a vacant distribution facility. His arms were filled with more boxes of who knew what—just like the boxes he’d been carrying in for the last hour. He glanced over his shoulder occasionally, checking to make sure he wasn’t being followed.

Even from this extreme distance, with the poor camera angle and night descending on the area, Mira swore she could see guilt riding his angular features.

Whatever he was doing, she was going to catch him in the act. Maybe then her coworkers at the Edge would believe her when she said Adam Brink was still the enemy.

Mira started her car’s engine and moved in on his location. Still out of sight, she slipped from her car and did her best to slink closer to the building where he was up to his nefarious deeds.

Without any windows in the building to peer through, she had no choice but to slip inside and follow him. There was no way to know what greeted her in there—dead bodies, illegal human experimentation, a meeting of twisted scientific minds—but she was ready for anything.

The gun holstered under her arm still felt awkward. She was a much better shot now, thanks to her boss’s insistent training, but skill and resolve were two different things. As much as she wanted to believe she could shoot someone if she had to, she wasn’t sure she had it in her.

She knew intimately just how much being shot sucked.

Bella had promised that the will to survive would shine through if Mira got into trouble, and that she’d be able to pull the trigger. She wished she had even half of her boss’s confidence.

The employee entrance, at the back of the brick building, was unlocked. There was no light spilling out from under the door. No sign that anyone was inside.

With a deep breath for courage, she drew her gun, turned the doorknob, and slipped inside.

There was little light to see by—just the glow from another room ahead beckoning her forward, and even with that, all she could see was dust and open spaces. She heard nothing but the frantic drum of her own heartbeat. Beneath her clinging black layers, sweat collected along her spine. The revolver in her hand trembled.

You can do this,
she told herself.
Bella has trained you well.

A deep, melodic sound rose from the glowing opening ahead.

Singing? The sound seemed so out of place here, she was sure she had to be imagining things.

As the sound continued, she realized that she knew that voice. It was filled with quiet strength and, like everything about Adam, skill.

Hearing him do something so normal gave her pause. There was no evil in the simple act of singing. It was all too human, shaking her resolve.

And that pissed her off.

Adam Brink had tricked her, lied to her, drugged her, abducted her, and delivered her to her father, who had been more than willing to kill her to get what he wanted. A sweet, crooning tune didn’t change any of that.

Mira steadied her weapon and moved forward, being careful to follow in the footprints left behind in the dust. For all she knew, this place had been filled with explosive traps to keep out unwanted visitors.

As she moved forward, the singing grew louder. There were no other voices, but she could hear low strains of music filling the lighted space that was blocked from sight by the wall on her left. She vaguely recognized the tune as one from the 1940s. Dramatic, romantic, and filled with the hope of new love.

The way Adam sang it almost made her forget he was a monster.

She steadied her weapon and eased around the corner just enough to get an idea of what faced her on the other side of the wall.

Adam sat at a table covered with a pristine white cloth. Atop it was a glass bowl filled with water topped with floating candles. She could smell something savory, sinfully rich, and loaded with garlic coming from the room. Two dome-covered plates were laid out, along with sparkling stemware filled with deep red wine. Candlelight glinted off the flatware and made Adam’s pale gray eyes sparkle with warmth as they met her gaze.

“I was hoping you’d come,” he said.

Mira jerked her head back around the corner and stood on the other side of the wall in shock. He was
alone. There were no instruments of torture, no screaming human subjects, no evil scientists. Just Adam and a candlelit dinner for two.

She was so confused by the sight, she looked again. Sure enough, nothing had changed. He hadn’t even shifted in his seat.

“Will you join me, Mira?” he asked.

He’d seen her. There was no sense in pretending he hadn’t.

She stepped around the corner, revolver raised and aimed at his chest.

“Your hand is shaking. I’d really prefer not to be the victim of an accidental shooting.”

“Wouldn’t be an accident. Bella told me never to point a gun at anything I didn’t want to kill.”

A sad flicker of disappointment wrinkled his brow. “I see.”

“Who else is here?” she demanded.

“No one. You’ve doubtlessly been watching me all day.”

How had he known? She’d been so careful in her surveillance.

Adam continued. “Have you seen anyone else enter the building?”

Mira hadn’t, but she wasn’t about to say so. “I’m the one asking questions here.”

He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. His shirt pulled tight across his shoulders, and for a second, the memory of him covered in blood sprung back into her mind. She wanted to feel some kind of satisfaction in his pain, but all she felt was a queasy swell of nausea.

“Ask away, then,” he said.

She swallowed hard, shoving the bloody image from her mind. “Why are you here?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

She steadied the weapon, forcing her shaking to even out. “I don’t assume anything you do is what it seems.”

“In this case it is. All that’s going on here is dinner.”

“Who’s coming?”

“You.”

That news rattled her, but she tried to hide her surprise. “You didn’t know I was coming.”

“Of course I did. You’ve been watching me for weeks. All I had to do was give you an enticing enough reason to investigate.”

“All this trouble so I’d come to dinner with you? Even you aren’t that desperate.”

“I’ve tried to talk to you at work. Repeatedly. You walk away and lock me out of your office every time. I went by your house. Twice. You refused to answer the door even though I knew you were home. You’ve left me no choice but to resort to extreme measures to gain your attention.”

“I don’t have anything to say to you.”

He glanced pointedly at the barrel of her revolver. “I beg to differ. You’re speaking eloquently right now.”

“Are you mocking me?”

“Never. All I want is a few minutes of your time. After that, I’ll leave you alone.”

Mira didn’t see how that was possible, considering they worked at the same office. She had made it clear to her boss that she couldn’t stand the man, but Bella had made sure that Mira knew that hiring decisions were none of her business. She would work with Adam, or she’d find a new job.

No way was Mira going to let Adam scare her away from the job and friends she loved.

“The weapon isn’t necessary,” he said. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Again, you mean.”

Adam winced but didn’t break eye contact with her. Nor did he try to pretend that he hadn’t done to her what he’d done. “Yes, Mira. Never again.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I understand why you wouldn’t, but I’m trying to do the right thing by you. Please, just have a seat.”

“If you think I’m going to let you drug me again by eating your food, you’re insane.”

“Fine. Don’t eat. Just listen.”

“Why would I listen to you? I know how well you lie.”

Adam stared at her for a moment, regret plain in the lines on his angular face. Somehow, the emotion made him even more handsome than he was naturally. She knew it was an act—everything he did was a carefully planned series of lies meant to fool her into trusting him—but that didn’t mean she didn’t notice his appeal. Being honest about her feelings was the only way to combat them.

There had been a moment not too long ago that she’d actually believed she could fall for this man.

How wrong she’d been.

Mira had always been gullible like that—willing to trust any kindness offered her, no matter how fake, no matter the ulterior motives.

His posture shifted, moving from relaxed to alert. She could almost feel him coiling to strike. Even so, his voice remained quiet and gentle. “You’ve been ignoring me since I started working at the Edge. I gave you time to heal from your wounds. I gave you weeks to accept that we are now coworkers, but it seems that you’re as immovable as your father.”

A violent surge of fury consumed her, clenching her jaw around her words. “Don’t
ever
compare me to him. Do you understand?”

“Finally, a reaction. You’ve been so cold I wasn’t sure there was any fire left in you.”

Her fingers tightened around the butt of her revolver and she lifted her aim. She wasn’t sure if she was brave enough to pull the trigger, but after what Adam had done to her, scaring him was the least he deserved.

Not that anything she did could scare a man like Adam Brink.

He ignored the weapon aimed at his head and stood. As he glided closer, she swore she could feel the heat of his body shimmering out of him. There had been a time—a few insane moments last December—when she would have done anything to get closer to him. He’d fooled her into thinking he was a decent man. Right before he’d drugged and abducted her for reasons she still didn’t fully understand.

“Be as angry with me as you like,” he said. “It’s no less than I deserve. But it’s a wasted effort. All it’s going to do is wear you out. There are other things that demand our attention.”

“Like you care. You don’t get to pretend like you give a shit about me now. I know better.”

His mouth shifted slightly, his lips pressing together. A flicker of pain wrinkled the skin between his pale gray eyes. Regret hung around his shoulders, making them droop more than she remembered.

It had been a mistake to come here. He was too handsome, too intriguing. Once her gaze was on him, she started to forget that inside that lean, masculine package was a monster. A cold, calculating beast willing to use whoever crossed his path.

“I’m not pretending,” said Adam. “Not anymore.”

“And you just expect me to believe it? How the hell did you get Bella to agree to hire you, anyway? Is she so blown away by your good looks that she lost every bit of good judgment she ever had?”

“Bella doesn’t find me attractive.”

“How do you know?”

“She doesn’t look at me like that.”

“Like what? With drool running down her chin?”

“No, like you look at me.”

Mira hated it that he could see through her so easily. She wanted to deny it, but what was the point? It was better to send him away than to be lured into conversation with him. That’s what he wanted.

“I’m leaving.” She lowered her revolver and started to turn.

Before she could, he reached out, offering her an envelope. Only then did she realize exactly how long his arms were and that she had been within his grasp the whole time. He could have touched her if he liked, just as he had the night they’d gone on their one and only date.

A shiver of something raced through her, gone before she could tell if it was nervousness or excitement.

“What is that?” she asked, diverting her gaze to the envelope.

“Open it. It’s important.”

“If I do, will you leave me alone?”

“Yes, as much as our work will allow.” He seemed sincere.

It was probably another of his lies, but that was a chance she was willing to take. She holstered her weapon and did as he asked. Inside the envelope was a lab report listing test results for a series of diseases. HIV, hepatitis B and C, and a whole list of things she’d never heard of. All test results were negative.

“I’m sorry it took so long to get the results. I didn’t think clearly enough to have myself tested until I’d recovered from my injuries. And then, of course, there was the issue of your unwillingness to speak to me.”

He’d been in the hospital for three weeks after that horrible night last December. Her father, Dr. Richard Sage, had shot him. Shot her, too. But her father was dead now, unable to hurt anyone else.

For that Mira rejoiced. Most of the time.

Confused, she looked up at Adam. Way up. She’d almost forgotten how tall he was, towering over even most men. “What’s this for?”

“The bullet that struck you went through me first. I thought it might bring you some peace of mind to know that I’m healthy, that you couldn’t contract any diseases from my blood.”

That whole horrible night flooded back to her in a heartbeat. The horror of seeing that gun aimed at her. The panic of watching Adam move to block her body just as the shot was fired.

She absently rubbed her chest where the scar puckered the skin along her ribs. The surgeon had told her that if Adam’s body hadn’t slowed the bullet, it would have killed her. He’d saved her life and he’d never mentioned it until now.

“You didn’t need to do this,” she said. “My doctors knew I’d been exposed to another person’s blood. They took precautions.”

“And how many more tests must you endure before they’re sure you’re safe?”

“It’s none of your concern.”

“I’ve done you enough harm for one lifetime. All I want is for you to find some peace.”

“Who says I haven’t?”

“I’ve seen you around the office. In the gym. At the range.” His pale gray eyes caught her gaze and his voice quieted further. “You’re afraid.”