Rule Breaker (Breeds 20)

Pulling the tough material of the form-fitting pants and long-sleeved shirt on, she slipped the scent blocker from a hidden pocket, tucked it quickly under her tongue and hoped she had enough time for it to take effect.

She was praying they weren’t expecting her to leave the apartment and weren’t watching for her. If they were, as well trained as they were, then her chances of escaping would be limited. And she was betting they would be watching for her.

Was that why Rule had jumped from her?

Had he somehow sensed or scented something that gave her away? Had she somehow managed to leave her scent behind the night she had searched his rooms? Whatever she had done, if she had done anything, there was no doubt no chances would be taken in their effort to take her now, if she was indeed his mate.

She’d heard whispers of mating, though not since Jonas Wyatt and his men had arrived in Window Rock.

Mating was forever, it was told. White-hot sexual need, blinding hunger, complete loyalty. Not a single Breed wife, lover or so-called mate had ever given the secrets of the Breeds to anyone willing to tell them.

Each one had fallen easily beneath her Breed’s spell.

She sure as hell wasn’t going to make it easy for them. She was going to get the hell out of there and get out fast. She had never depended upon her contact or the Unknown to ensure her safety. Mark had taught her better than that. He had died awaiting help, awaiting extraction. She’d always sworn she would never make the same mistake.

Less than a minute later she was moving silently down the narrow, dusty steps set between the walls, a little hidden access her brother had shown her in the old store when she was barely a teenager. This was the reason why she had taken the second-floor apartment rather than the first. There was no access to the staircase from the first floor. And no way to know that it led to a small tunnel that exited on the same small street where the only other person who might help her lived.

Cullen lived in a small house at the end of the street, his sheltered backyard less than ten feet from the exit.

Her contact had told her once that if she was ever in trouble with no way to contact him or, for whatever reason, unwilling to contact him, Cullen would help her. Besides, Cullen was her boss, and she knew he liked her. Surely he wouldn’t turn his back on her too?

But was it really only what she deserved?

The distant thought had her breathing hitching on a sob.

She’d never paid for leading her brother into a trap, not really. Not as she had expected to. Was this her penance instead? To realize that despite years of trying to ensure loyalties, she’d failed at the most elemental level and was just as alone as she had been the night she stood in the dark watching her parents turn from her?

If it was her punishment, she’d accept it. She couldn’t fight what couldn’t be changed.

But God, surely there was someone she could depend on.

She knew Cullen, and she trusted him.

At this moment, she had no other place to turn. The Unknown considered her compromised, Rule had thrown her away. He wasn’t sending Breeds to protect her. To secure her perhaps, but not to protect her. Somehow, she must have betrayed herself, that was all it could have been. There was no reason for Breeds to be surrounding her apartment other than to arrest her for some reason.

She’d read nothing in Breed Law about any statutes against running from the asshole Breed who didn’t know how to be a lover.

Climbing silently from the ravine above the storm drain the tunnel led into, she checked the area quickly before making her way into the tree line that surrounded Cullen’s adobe house.

The small house was inconspicuous. It was a bachelor’s home, but Gypsy knew things about that house that she doubted anyone else knew. Things her brother had told her about ways into it, out of it and a maze of hidden caves beneath it. She had no doubt in her mind that Cullen was well aware of them as well.

It wasn’t the only house in town with hidden access, or hidden tunnels. It wasn’t the only house with a history, and her brother had, for some reason, made certain she’d known about all of the ones he’d been aware of.

Moving slowly to the back of the house, she kept her eyes moving constantly, watching the shadows she hovered within, certain no one would be watching for her there, but unwilling to take any chances.

Sweat gathered along her body beneath the wicking fabric of the outfit she wore. The unusual summer heat soaked her skin and her hairline far quicker than usual. The fabric felt itchy against her flesh, the arousal Rule had left burning in her body tormenting her now. The fact that she couldn’t just ignore it was pissing her off too.

She wanted to hate him.

Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she paused next to one of the large trees at the edge of the house. Forcing herself to catch her breath for a second, she watched the area carefully, desperately searching for some sign of Cullen.

Or any Breeds that could have followed her.

Nothing moved but a light breeze. Nothing could be heard but the sparse traffic several streets over and the crickets that chirped playfully among the leaves of the trees.

Reaching to her hip, she slid the sat phone from her belt and activated it silently to call Cullen before barging in on him.

“No need to call. I’m right here.”