Cassius, Stevens, Madison [moboreader txt] 📗

door, and they entered the front lobby, which was currently empty. She shivered as the cool air hit her face. It was a big contrast from the smothering heat from the weather and bodies outside.

“So, what company do you represent?” she asked. “I want to say upfront that I only accept sponsorships from products I believe in. It doesn’t matter if I haven’t used them before. I’m willing to test things out, but if they don’t get the Champion seal of approval, I can’t have them on the show.”

“Of course.” Michael nodded slowly, his smile still there, but tighter. “We wouldn’t have it any other way.”

She wasn’t surprised he might be a little annoyed. Not everyone cared as much about their integrity as they did money, but there were certain things she wouldn’t budge on. She’d earned her reputation, and she wasn’t about to throw it away for a temporary payday.

Michael rubbed his chin. “I suppose you’d also understand if I said the company wants to be careful about who we associate with. We need to make sure we’re only sponsoring athletes of good moral character. We’ve been burned before by people.”

“Sure.” Kendra nodded. “That’s fine, but what do you mean by good moral character?”

“You were talking to a big guy earlier.” Michael’s grin turned a little too hungry for Kendra’s taste, and he stepped in front of the door. “And he was a damned big guy because he was even bigger than I am.”

“What about him?” Kendra asked. “He’s a… friend.”

“You know him well?” Michael asked.

“Well enough.” Kendra sighed. “I understand you wanting to be careful about who you do business with, but my personal life is still my personal business. It’s not something I stress or talk about on my channel at all. If submitting to micromanagement of my personal life is a requirement for your sponsorship, I’ll have to turn you down.”

Michael chuckled. “It’s okay. I was just testing you.”

“Testing me?”

He nodded. “I wanted to see if you’d give up the fact he was a hybrid the minute someone mentioned money. That speaks well to your character and means you’re trustworthy.”

“H-hybrid?” Kendra swallowed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’d be big news if there was a hybrid here.” She let out a panicked laugh. “I think everyone would love to see them run the course. They might be huge, but they have the speed and agility to pull it off. I know I’d love to see it.”

Michael clapped. “Good job. It’s okay. I know he’s a hybrid. I’m one, too. I’m his backup.”

“Backup?” Kendra narrowed her eyes. None of this seemed right. CJ wouldn’t send his partner to randomly pull her out of the crowd without warning her first, and he’d only mentioned having one partner, not two guys. Michael didn’t look like the man she’d seen CJ walk in with. “You’re a hybrid?”

Michael shrugged. “It’s always nice to run into a person who doesn’t freak out. I know the news is better about our kind these days, but they spent a lot of time telling lies about us before. There’s a reason we still hide.”

“Show me your eyes,” Kendra said.

“What?” Michael sounded surprised.

“If you’re hybrid, you should have amber eyes.” She backed away from him slowly. He blocked the door, but she could run down the hallway. “Isn’t that why you’re wearing the sunglasses?”

Michael grinned. “Not just a pretty face, are you? I was hoping you were a bimbo and wouldn’t question things.” He sighed. “Unfortunately for you, I don’t have a lot of patience. You’re going to make this hard, aren’t you?”

Kendra’s heart kicked up. She took slow, deep breaths. She was great on a course, but she didn’t know much about fighting and self-defense. It was time to go for her best bet.

She kicked toward his crotch, but the man grabbed her leg and yanked it back. With a yelp, she fell backward. Her head slammed against the hard hallway floor. Pain shot through her skull, and she groaned, her vision swimming.

Michael crouched beside her and grabbed her throat, squeezing enough to hurt, but not enough to cut off her air supply. “Asking questions is a good way to get hurt, girl. It’s too bad for you that you’re not dumber.”

“He’ll find you,” Kendra wheezed. “You stand no chance against a hybrid.”

“You don’t get it. You were halfway right.” Michael grinned. He reached up with his free hand and yanked off his glasses to reveal bright purple eyes.

“W-what?” Kendra wasn’t sure what she was seeing. She’d never heard of hybrids having anything other than amber eyes. “What are you?”

Grinning, Michael tightened his grip around her throat. Kendra clawed at his hand, the throbbing in her head intensifying as she gasped for air. She was going to die in some stupid hallway after finally finding her soulmate.

“Don’t worry,” Michael said. “I won’t kill you. I saw the kiss earlier. You must be his Vestal. My superiors have need of your kind. You’ll be a nice little bonus, but don’t think this means I’m above hurting you.”

Darkness crept into the edges of Kendra’s vision. Her head swam between confusion, terror, and pain. Her phone chimed, and the last thing she saw was Michael crushing it underneath his heel.

Chapter Nineteen

CJ passed by the registration tables, searching the crowd for any hint of his Vestal. Trying to track Kendra by smell was pointless in the seething mass of humanity.

He stared at his phone. Three messages and plenty of time. She should have responded.

He tightened his hand around the phone. “Something’s wrong,” he growled.

Julius leaned close to him. “Damn it. You don’t know that. You’re letting your feelings get in the way of the mission. I don’t care that you told her, but I’ll care a lot if you let it screw up this mission.”

“There is no future without her.” CJ gritted his teeth and turned toward Julius. “How can I not care?”

Frowning, Julius narrowed his eyes and inclined his head away from the thicker