Talent to Burn (Hidden Talent #1)
Page 28
“So what’s your interesting information?” she asked, eyebrows raised and her hands itching to hit something.
Dane moved closer to Hugh, attempting to cut her off from the conversation. “They told me—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Hugh slid down the car. In. Slow. Motion. His legs slipped out from under him until he landed on his butt. His head lolled forward as if he’d fallen asleep.
“Jesus Christ,” Dane said, moving to Hugh’s side.
Tess moved too, kneeling to the ground beside Hugh. Dane lifted Hugh’s head and the blue eyes that had mesmerized her hours ago were almost completely drained of color. Thankfully, he blinked a few times, allowing her to catch the breath she’d held when he slumped to the ground.
“Fuck,” Hugh said, a groan following.
“Where is it?” Dane asked. “I’ll run and get it. Be back as fast as I can.”
“Where’s what?” Tess hated being left out of the loop and worried that whatever it was wasn’t going to get to Hugh in time.
“It’s an antibiotic. An antidote. In case of emergencies like these, we usually carry a small vile of liquid to drink to counter the effects of certain poisons that affect our tissue replacement. Small amounts of poison don’t affect us, but larger amounts… Fuck, Hugh. How long were the Banoth’s fangs in you?”
“Too long,” he said, turning his head to peek at Tess. “But necessary.”
“I’ll go get it,” she offered. “Tell me where it is and I’ll go get it.” The words flew out of her mouth without a second thought.
“I’m not sure there’s enough time.” Hugh’s gaze remained on her.
Don’t get emotional. Let him die. Your life will be so much easier. The job will be done. Finished. The boss will be happy.
Dane stood and pivoted. His brisk steps told Tess he was thinking about what to do. But there wasn’t time to think. They needed to act. Do something now. And then a thought struck her.
“Where’s your vial?” she asked, standing. “Can’t Hugh use yours?”
“You don’t think I would’ve offered already?” he said, his tone spiteful. “I gave mine to a friend last week and keep forgetting to replace it.” He hung his head with a small shake.
A golf-ball-sized lump sat in her throat. Maybe she’d misjudged Dane.
Hugh let out a choke, startling Tess and bringing Dane closer. They squatted beside him. She put her hand on his shoulder.
“There is something you can do.” This time Dane spoke to her as if they’d been friends for years.
Tess didn’t want any more friends. The rapid pulses migrating back and forth between her chest and her gut were a clear indication that she did not—should not—get involved with these two wolfen.
Yet she said, “What?”
“I know this is going to sound strange, but your saliva—”
“No.” Hugh shook his head in protest and let out probably the last deep breath he had.
“Your saliva,” Dane continued, ignoring Hugh, “can save him. The enzymes in it act as a natural disinfectant and when they mix with the protein in the nerve growth factor of Night Runners, it breaks down the poison at the molecular level.”
Biology was one of Tess’s favorite subjects in school, but this was a little over her head. “Is human female saliva in your vials?”
“Not just female, but given the circumstance, I think you’re in a better position to help,” Dane said.
“So what, you want me to lick his wounds?” There was no way she’d lick her own, let alone the shifter she was supposed to eliminate in the next few days.
Hugh let out a small gurgled sound. “I said no.”
Dane still wasn’t listening. “No. I want you to kiss him. The mouth will absorb the saliva much quicker than anywhere else and we’re running out of time.”
“Kiss him? I don’t think so. I just met him.” She’d wanted to kiss Hugh five minutes after meeting him. Of course, she thought his name was Trey and he was human. And the beer sliding down her throat had lowered her inhibitions, and lessened her nervousness at being on a date with someone for the first time since Jason.
Jason.
He’d died in her arms and there hadn’t been a thing she could do to save him. Her eyes met Hugh’s. She could save him. Right here. Right now. With only a kiss. A little mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
“If you don’t, Tess, he’s going to die.”
Talent to Burn
Laura Welling
Passion burns. Betrayal scars.
Cat Wilson grew up a misfit among misfits. She couldn’t read minds, see the future, or start fires like the other Talented kids inside the shadowy Grey Institute. Finally she ran, leaving her beloved brother, Eric, behind. She’s been running ever since.
When she learns that Eric has escaped, leaving deadly fires in his wake, Cat is torn between fear for her brother, and unwanted attraction to the messenger, a charming, Talented ex-con who lives for the next adrenaline rush.
Jamie Murphy is sure his group of outcast Talents can help Eric—if they can get to him before the cops or the Institute, and before he kills again. Cat’s aversion to Talented bad boys is like a wall of ice, but to his surprise, he doesn’t have to use an ounce of his own unique gift to find a way through it.
Yet locating Eric is only the beginning. In the battle to pull him back from the brink, Cat must find the courage to unlock a fearsome Talent of her own. And pray the psychic backdraft doesn’t destroy everyone she loves.
Warning: Contents are hot. If you smell smoke, keep reading and ignore those pesky smoke alarms on the ceiling. Okay, just kidding! But oven mitts might come in handy.
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
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Talent to Burn
Copyright © 2014 by Laura Welling
ISBN: 978-1-61922-325-7
Edited by Holly Atkinson
Cover by Kanaxa
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: June 2014
www.samhainpublishing.com
Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
About the Author
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