With Every Breath (Slow Burn #4) - Maya Banks Page 0,99

Thomas that she wasn’t alone and she had badass backup.

She moved slowly to the side, edging cautiously, careful not to draw undue attention, halting her progress when there was a momentary lapse in Thomas’s speech and then moving again when all attention was riveted on Thomas once more, his every word being hung on to by men and women, old and young alike.

She wasn’t the only one who’d spent years honing her skills. While she’d been working diligently to strengthen her mental barriers so they were impenetrable and not vulnerable to a psychic attack, Thomas had evidently been honing his powers, making him more powerful than before and an even bigger threat. He held the entire crowd in his thrall, had them all eating out of his hand. They looked at him like he was a God. They gasped in horror when he brought up any injustice to him and frowned, glared and even booed when he mentioned anyone responsible for his being sent to prison.

When she was finally clear of the crowd lining the very front of the gathering, she expelled a sigh of relief but didn’t make the mistake of letting her guard down or thinking she was out of the woods yet. She still had to make it to where she’d parked her car and that was a quarter mile away.

Head down, the hood of her jacket pulled over her hair, she strode in a straight line toward her vehicle. She should have felt jubilant and wildly victorious but her victory was hollow. She’d held her own against a master at bending people to his will and compelling them to do his bidding. He’d tried twice to slide into her mind and he’d failed both times. The second time, he’d used a hell of a lot more power and had doubled the intensity of his attempted assault. Her head ached vilely from the strain of fending him off and from the sheer force of his second attack.

But she’d won. She’d defeated him. She was no longer a weak, powerless pawn he used with little effort. Never again would she be anyone’s puppet. She’d die before ever allowing anyone so much control over her every dream, thought or action.

TWENTY-ONE

THE door opened before Eliza was close enough to put her hand on the handle to let herself in. Wade was there, his gaze fixed intently on her, worry reflected openly in his eyes. Without a word, he pulled her into his arms, wrapping them firmly around her, fully encompassing her in his warmth and strength. Before she even registered them moving, he had maneuvered them through the doorway, shutting the door behind them and then lifted her so her feet dangled inches from the floor so he could carry her farther into the house.

When they were in the middle of the living room, he eased her down until her feet were planted on the floor and he palmed her chin, tilting it upward so their gazes met.

“You okay?” he asked quietly.

She closed her eyes, holding them closed for a long moment as she fought the multitude of conflicting emotions and tried to process and prioritize the information to give to Wade.

“Baby?” he prompted, stroking his thumb down her lips.

She forced her eyelids open and stared up at him, drawing strength from the silent support so visible in his eyes. Then she took a deep breath.

“There’s so much,” she said wearily. “I’m not even sure where to begin.”

“Wherever you want,” he said softly. “However you want. I’m here. I’m listening. Whatever you need, I’ll give.”

She leaned her forehead into his chest, resting it there as she simply absorbed everything about him. The way he felt. His scent. The thud of his heartbeat. How safe she felt in his arms. How she wished she’d never gotten that damn phone call weeks ago.

“I told you that I needed to be there today. And why I needed to be there. I told you the truth. I just didn’t tell you the other reason it was so important for me to be there,” she admitted in a whisper.

She held her breath, waiting for his reaction, wondering if he’d be angry because he’d been nothing but honest and blunt with her. Brutally so at times.

To her surprise, he swept her up into his arms in an effortless motion and carried her to the couch. He turned his back and then simply sat down, her cradled on his lap as he leaned back, pulling her with