Page 1 of Hidden Desires
PROLOGUE
BLADE
The sound of heavy breathing cut through the silence of the dark as he surged ahead.
Beneath his feet, twigs snapped with every heavy step he took.
His chest burned, and his forearms had been all scraped up from the attack.
Well, it wasn’t an attack when you were the one doing the attacking. His wounds were what police would call defensive wounds—cuts and bruises brought on when someone tried to stop you from ending their life.
But what choice did he have?
When your name was on his list, your life was forfeit.
He grabbed onto a tree as he made a sudden turn to his right.
They were almost there.
At the clearing, not far from where the forest meets the street.
If the guy could just get past the clearing and through the last set of trees, he might actually have a shot at getting himself help.
But Blade wasn’t about to let that happen.
No. When someone’s name was on the list, they never made it past the clearing.
A cry of pain pulled Blade’s attention back to the young man he was pursuing.
Jimmy.
A twenty-something, aspiring musician, with a heroin problem and no means to pay his debt.
Blade watched the young man scramble up from the dirt and continue running into the clearing.
This was it. This was the moment when the person being pursued had a glimpse of hope as they spotted the thin line of trees leading out to the busy street and, ultimately, their salvation.
But none of them knew.
None of them knew Blade and his special… talent.
Stepping into the clearing as well, Blade watched his victim charge across it, running toward what he thought was his salvation.
Poor lad.
Blade reached into his belt and pulled out one of his several blades.
The cold, sleek steel shone as it caught the last glimpses of the evening moonlight. It was just after one a.m. on a Saturday night, and the air around them was raw and thick.
Still. As if the air around them knew what was coming.
Blade did, but poor Jimmy didn’t.
Raising his blade above his head, he concentrated on his breathing and relaxed his mind.
Without thinking twice, Blade released the blade and watched as it landed in the square of Jimmy’s back.
The man let out a yelp before falling to the ground, still only halfway across the clearing.
