A Life Of Shadows (The Redemption Saga Book 1)

by Kristen Banet

  “Not at all.” He raised his hands. “I love the idea that you can handle something big and powerful. That’s a good skill to have. What do you ride?”

  Did everything he said have to sound like he wanted her to ride him into the sunset? This guy was gloriously good at making a woman feel wanted. Shivers ran up her spine at the thought. Very good shivers.

  “My BMW R 1200 R is my favorite, but I’ve owned a few over the years.” She shrugged. “You ride?”

  “I don’t have any motorcycles, but I have a few things I like to race. Don’t get to go out with them as much as I want.” He sighed and shrugged back at her.

  “I feel you,” she nodded. “Never enough time, and the nice days just go too fast.”

  “Amen.” He ordered himself a Jack Daniels and sipped on it. “Where you from?”

  “Georgia.” She smiled out to the bar, a little wistful for a moment. She missed the simplicity of it sometimes. Only sometimes.

  “Long way from home, then,” he said as he stepped closer to her. “I’m from Texas, but currently live in Georgia, myself. Miss the hell out of it while I’m away.”

  They talked about everything and nothing after that. Work (she kind of lied), family (she definitely lied), what hobbies they had (she didn’t lie on this one).

  “You like working on engines?” He sounded a bit shocked. “You’re a hobby mechanic?”

  “Yeah, give me a tool kit and a little fixer-upper and I’ll stay in the garage for days. I like doing things with my hands.” She grinned, raising one of her eyebrows. She hadn’t been able to work on anything in months, too wrapped up with everything else going on in her life. Bringing it up reminded her how much she missed toying around with mechanics.

  “You want to do something with those hands tonight?” He asked her seductively, leaning in close, his broad chest close to her own. Her hour was up, and this guy had a one-track mind she could appreciate.

  She put down the empty glass that had been her third drink and ran her right hand across his chest. She was a little tipsy at this point, so her sex kitten was coming out to play.

  “Damn right, I do.” She stepped back and beckoned him to follow with a finger. “My place?”

  “I think your place is perfect,” he growled softly, a smile on those full lips. She would be enjoying those soon enough. “I’ve got a rental for my trip up here, so if you’re okay riding with me…”

  “We’ll take my car. It’s nicer than a rental.” She smiled and continued moving toward the door. She also wasn’t leaving it in a parking lot all night.

  They rode in relative silence, Sawyer enjoying the buzz she had going and the anticipation of a nice night with this gorgeous man. When they got to her place, he helped her out of the car and pulled her close to him. Finally, a chance to get an idea of what he was packing.

  And he was packing. It pressed into her stomach, and she swallowed at the prospective size of it. Well. Her inner sex kitten was going to climb trees tonight.

  He kissed her, pushing her into the side of the Audi in the garage, and she gasped from the rough, sensual nature of it. His hands roamed her sides, pushing her tanks up and exploring the bare skin of her hips. He kissed her jawline down to her neck, then back up to her ear. He nibbled her ear lobe, making her moan from want.

  “We should go to my room,” she mumbled, distracted by what he was doing.

  “We should. Tell me how to get there,” he growled softly, grinding his hips against her own. He picked her up and led her legs to wrap around his waist. Now this was something she could get used to. “You got protection, sweet thing?”

  “I’m protected,” she whispered. She had magical protection, actually. It cost a pretty penny, but the enchanted ring on her right hand kept her from getting pregnant while she wore it.

  “Thank fuck,” he chuckled, wrapping a hand in her hair and kissing her before she was finally able to give him directions up to the apartment over the gym.

  The moment the apartment door was locked behind them, they were all over each other again. Her hands were under his shirt, and she let her nails trail over his exceptional abs, making him groan and squeeze her ass roughly. She thrilled at the strength in him.

  Once they were in her room, he dropped her on the bed and moved her hands over her head, kissing her as he held her down with one hand. She wasn’t paying attention to his second arm as it went above her head as well. She was focused on his mouth on her neck, on her jawline, on her ears, and finally her lips. Fuck, Evan knew what he was doing.

  She was, however, paying attention to the handcuffs she heard click into place.

  “Well, Evan, I’m just not into that.” She leveled a stare at him and tried to go into her smoke form to get out of the cuffs. She couldn’t. Oh, fuck. The heavy sensation of her magic being locked away from her suddenly became very apparent. No.

  “Well, my name is Elijah,” he growled, lifting off her. His tone was still playful, but she was definitely not feeling this hookup anymore. “And those are enchanted, so they block your abilities. Specifically, yours, Sawyer. So, let’s not beat around the bush.” He pulled something out of his back pocket, and she felt the cold rush of realization at the badge he flashed and his use of her real name. “I’m actually Special Agent Elijah Grant with the International Magi Police Organization, and you are now in the custody of the World Magi Council and the IMPO.”

  “You fucking imp,” she growled, sitting up and bringing her hands in front of her. Imp was a derogatory term for agents of the International Magi Police Organization, or the IMPO for short. They hated getting called that most of the time, but this ass seemed completely unfazed.

  She couldn’t blink or phase. She couldn’t do fucking anything. She kicked out at him and he grabbed her leg and flipped her over, so she was on her stomach.

  “Fuck you, asshole!”

  “Calm down,” Elijah chuckled. “The rest of my team will be here soon enough, and then you are going to have a long talk with us.”

  “You can go rot,” she hissed, looking over her shoulder at him. He had her legs pinned to the bed, and she couldn’t kick at him anymore.

  “Sawyer, calm the fuck down. You’re only cuffed so you won’t run,” he groaned, and she was mildly disturbed by the fact that he still had a hard on while he held her pinned for his team to get there.

  She heard the front door open and close minutes later. Footsteps of several people could be heard, and she bucked wildly.

  She was fucking arrested. Of all the ways her Friday night could go, she went and found the one guy in the bar who would fucking arrest her.

  No, she didn’t find him. He had targeted her, and the fact that he knew she was there… That had implications she didn’t want to consider.

  When had she gotten sloppy?

  The fucked job when Axel had set her up. She’d been so worried about Axel that she’d forgotten to cover her tracks better. Holy fuck. She’d been so worried he would show up, she didn’t consider the fucking IMPO. Of all the fucking things.

  “Hmmm,” Elijah mumbled to himself. “I’ll have to remind Z that he owes me a hundred bucks when he gets here. He said this wouldn’t work…”

  “I’m right here,” another voice said. It tugged at a memory, but Sawyer couldn’t place it. “I’ll pay you later, asshole.” Elijah finally got off her, and she took the chance to throw a kick at him, hitting his thigh.

  “Holy shit, mother fucker, goddamn it,” he groaned louder, obviously in pain this time. Someone grabbed her leg, so she kicked with the other, rolling over to see who was stupid enough to touch her.

  The red hair left her stunned. The brilliant green eyes left her speechless. The freckles she could still count to the very last one made the blood leave her head, making her a little faint.

  The face from her past was staring down at her, trying to hold back a grin. Z. Zander Wade. Her best friend and the guy she gave her virginity. Standing in her bedroom wearing black combat gear and ho
lding her leg to keep her from kicking again.

  “Nice to see you, Sawyer.” He grinned and kept his tone friendly. “It’s been a long time.”

  A long time. Nine years. She didn’t respond, but she knew her mouth was open. He didn’t have gauged ears when she last saw him. He hadn’t been inked so much that even his neck was covered. But even with those superficial changes, he hadn’t changed at all. Well, he was taller. He looked to be about Elijah’s height.

  “Jasper’s here too, in the living room. We were recruited into the IMPO after a couple of years with IMAS. How have you been?” Zander didn’t move, only kept talking. Elijah was rubbing his thigh, looking between them, as if he expected a bomb to go off.

  “What the fuck?” Was the first thing out of her mouth.

  “Should have figured that would be what you had to say,” Zander sighed, looking at Elijah. “Help me get her out there?”

  “If she promises not to try and send my balls back into my body.” Elijah looked at her, and she hissed, baring her teeth. “I think that’s a no.”

  “Don’t be a coward” Zander chuckled. “You won a Benjamin from me, dick, but now you get to deal with the pissed off woman it cost you.”

  They both reached for her at the same time, and she finally snapped back into action. She didn’t care if it was Zander. He was IMPO, and she wasn’t going to fucking jail. She kicked out with both legs; but the guys were ready for her, each grabbing one leg and yanking her off the bed. Her back hit the floor with a thump, and the air got knocked out of her.

  “Fuck,” she groaned. “What the hell?”

  “We wouldn’t have done that, if you hadn’t tried to fight,” Zander sighed. “Now let us get you into the living room without any more stupid shit, Sawyer.”

  “Was she like this growing up?” Elijah reached down and hauled her up with one arm. She shook him off the moment she was on her feet, glaring at the gorgeous trap they had set. Gorgeous. Fucking. Trap.

  “Yeah.” Zander nodded, watching her. “Come on, Sawyer. Living room.”

  “I’m not seven, asshole,” she growled. “I can go where I damn well please.”

  “Actually, you’re in the custody of several IMPO Special Agents, so you can’t.” Elijah laughed, grabbing her elbow and hauling her out of the bedroom. Zander stayed next to her until she was nearly tossed into one of her dining room chairs.

  She looked around the room and frowned. Yeah, there was Jasper, still looking like the star of some football team, even though he had never played the sport a day in his life. Maybe he picked it up, but she didn’t think so, not with his old knee injury. She also recognized the other one. That fucking Italian.

  “Sawyer,” Jasper whispered, staring at her. She couldn’t identify the emotion on his face, but whatever it was, he wasn’t very good at hiding it. “You look…”

  “Let’s not go there,” she mumbled, looking away from him. “So, where am I going to prison?”

  11

  SAWYER

  “You’re not,” the Italian told her blandly. “You’re being forcefully brought into protective custody. For your own safety.”

  She snapped her head over to him and frowned, bringing her eyebrows together. What? She focused on the darks curls, refined face, and… olive-green eyes. Darker than Axel’s, but she instantly hated this guy because of them. He really looked nothing like Axel, even with the similar eyes. She hadn’t gotten this close of a look before, but she knew he irked her for a reason. He reminded her of Axel.

  “Can you elaborate?” She didn’t trust him, and it wasn’t just his looks. Something about the way he spoke and the way he behaved, disinterested and reserved, set off warning bells in her head. It was completely different than his attitude in the locker room had been.

  “Sawyer, our team was called in to investigate the LA incident with Axel,” Jasper leaned forward in his seat, closer to her. “We saw what happened there and tracked you down to keep you alive.”

  “Well,” the Italian kept his reserved tone and his nearly cold and calculating look, “they did. I’m here because I want you to tell me everything you know about him.”

  “Vincent,” Elijah swatted his arm. “Can you… just not with that for one night?”

  She still hadn’t found the right words to say, watching the men around her. They were here only because of LA? Only LA?

  “How did you know I would be at the bar tonight?” She asked evenly, leveling her eyes on Elijah. Stupid sexy-as-fuck cowboy. She nearly hated herself for still considering that jackass attractive. She did hate herself for falling for the ruse.

  “We’ve been following you around for a little while, now.” He met her eyes, unfazed by her stare. “And before you get even more upset, we didn’t want to just storm your home. We planned this, so I could get those on you. That way, you couldn’t run when we tried to have a conversation with you. I wasn’t out to take advantage of you.”

  “How kind,” she snarled, and the aggression in her tone shocked the cowboy, who swallowed and shifted a little uncomfortably, “especially since you were betting on it.”

  Silence met her. She turned her glare to Zander, who had the courtesy to become a wonderful, dark shade of red from embarrassment, and, she hoped, a fair amount of shame. She looked back at the Italian after that. He watched her with no interest, which told her that it was very much the opposite. She knew the technique. Feign a lack of interest so the target doesn’t know you are clearly following everything they did or said. Cute. Amateur.

  “I don’t know anything about him. He tried to kill me.” she shrugged. “I’ve been wondering if maybe I did a job that interfered with something of his, but I don’t know.”

  “Assuming that’s not a lie,” he whispered, “and I very much believe it is, then please explain why he brought out his entire inner circle. He never does that. Or why you thought you needed to spit at him.”

  “He’s a fucking creep,” she raised an eyebrow at him. She wasn’t going to give him a real answer. He had to know that. “There’s not a female criminal on this planet that doesn’t know that Axel loves women and will do whatever he wants to them, whenever he wants. A bit weird, really, since it’s not exactly loving, but what can ya do? He said some shit, and I thought it was disgusting. So, I spit at him.”

  She watched Vincent’s jaw tighten and wondered what she had said that would have pissed him off. Except lie to him, but, while he might believe she was lying, he had no evidence of it. She wasn’t completely untruthful, either. Axel loved women and had zero respect for them. If he wanted one in his bed, whomever he targeted normally found herself there. Sawyer knew that from experience.

  “You always talk about him like that?” Elijah chuckled softly.

  “Everyone does when he’s not looking.” She grinned at the cowboy. “We’re also not stupid enough to say it to anyone who will tell him. You know, the entire criminal world doesn’t revolve around his crazy. He’s just another fucking crime lord. He’s got enemies.”

  “They die fairly quickly though,” Jasper was frowning at her. She only shrugged.

  She needed to tread a fine line between knowing about Axel but not really knowing him. At this point, it was obvious to her that they had no idea just how close she and Axel had once been. They had no idea they had handcuffs on Shadow. Shadow was dead, and it was better for everyone if she stayed that way.

  “Either way,” Zander interjected, “you are being taken into our custody as a person of interest in the ongoing investigation into Axel and his organization, the Ghosts.” Zander stopped and looked over to Vincent. “Who came up with that name? Really?”

  “It wasn’t something they chose,” Sawyer answered without thinking. “They got it because their enemies tended to end up shells of themselves, losing everything; only ghosts of what they were before they toyed with Axel. And they’re freaks who love to wear white.”

  “That’s right,” Vincent confirmed. He eyed her from head to toe, and she k
icked her long-ass legs out, letting him enjoy the sight. When he made it back up to her face, she gave a smirk. He didn’t react to her and just looked back the other agents. “Let’s get her on a plane and get out of here. I don’t want to stay in this city any longer than necessary.”

  “Wait!” She looked between them. “You can’t just drag me off in the middle of the night! I need to make arrangements, plans.”

  “Arrangements and plans for what?” Vincent stood up and turned back to her. “Who’s going to pay the hospital bills of the guy you sent to the ICU tonight?”

  “No, dickhead,” she snapped. “Who’s going to teach my classes here at the gym? Charlie will need someone helping him out. I normally make a schedule for my students to work around the gym so Charlie doesn’t get too overworked when I’m gone.”

  “Charlie can take of that.” He was stern, and she shook her head.

  “I’m not fucking leaving this city without a fight until I can tell my students that I’m headed out,” she lifted her chin and glared at him.

  “Sawyer, why are you fighting with us?” Zander glared at her in turn. “Axel could be here any fucking day looking for you. We’ve wasted enough time. You need to come with us, now.”

  “I’m not leaving without telling the kids and Charlie goodbye,” she said with steel, her back straight. She stood up and jingled the inhibiting handcuffs around. “And they can’t see me in these.”

  “Why?” Vincent asked her with just as much steel.

  “Why the fuck do you need to know?” She growled. Finally, Elijah walked over and put his hands up between them.

  “We can take the handcuffs off, but you need to put this on first,” he told her, placing a thick bracelet on the table. She grabbed it and held it out to him.

  “I can’t do it myself,” she hissed. He took it and slid it over her left hand. It resized itself to fit her snugly, and she knew she wouldn’t be pulling it off. Damn thing was probably enchanted to make sure she couldn’t remove it. She saw the way he eyed the mostly missing ring finger before he released her wrist. It had been removed at the second knuckle, leaving her a bit of a moving stub that couldn’t hold anything. “Don’t ask.”