Jordan Summers - [Dead World 01] by Red (html) Page A

reaction from the
town when you go out?"
    "No." He chuckled. "This doesn't happen
when I'm alone," he answered, flicking
a gaze at the crowd.
    Heat filled Red's face.
    "I suppose lack of privacy is part of the joy of
small-town living." Sarcasm dripped from his words, but his eyes sparkled
with mirth.
    "I wouldn't know. I've never lived in a small
town."
    "Biodweller, eh?"
    Red giggled unexpectedly at the disdain in his voice
and her tension began to ease. "Born and raised."
    "I love it when you do that," he said,
staring into her eyes a moment before gazing at her mouth.
    "Do what?" Red licked her bottom lip. He was
giving her that look again. The one that said he'd eat her alive given half the
chance. Self-conscious, she brushed at her face.
    His gaze widened a fraction
before he lowered his lashes,
effectively concealing his amber eyes. "Laugh," he said finally.
    "Oh ... I knew that's what you meant." Red
actually felt the heat rising from her neck, trailing over her cheeks, until
it reached the tips of her ears. She couldn't believe he'd managed to make her
blush, li hadn't been his words as much as the infused meaning behind them.
    Morgan opened his mouth to say something more, but the
food's arrival stopped him. He acknowledged the server delivering the trays and
then turned back to Red. "Where were you sired?" he asked, cutting
into the rare factory-raised beef he'd ordered. Bloody juice dripped from his
fork as he brought the steak to his mouth and bit down.
    Red watched him chew, ecstasy clearly written on his
face. Her mouth went dry and she reached for her canteen before answering.
"I was born in the New Town biosphere,
but I grew up in various cities. We moved around a lot when I was young, before
returning to my birthplace." She took a bite of her steak and groaned as
the savory juices burst into her mouth be fore melting on her tongue.
"This is great," she said.
    "I'm glad you like it." Morgan smiled.
"Do your parents still live in New Town?"
    The food in her mouth turned to ash. "No."
Red shook her head. "They're dead."
    "I'm sorry."
    "Don't be. It happened a long time ago. I barely
remember them," she lied.
    Morgan watched her, his gold eyes probing into the
tender places she hoped to hide. "Who raised you?"
    The question brought a smile to Red's face. "My
grandfather, Robert Santiago."
    "The tactical team commander?"
    "That's the one," she said.
    He nodded, understanding dawning in his expression.
    "See," she chided playfully. "I knew
you'd read my file."
    "Guilty." He grinned.
    "Now that you know my story, what's yours?"
    He looked around casually, but the sudden tension in
his body betrayed him. "This is it," he said.
    "I may have read the file,
but I doubt I know your whole story."
    "Smart lady." He raised his canteen in
salute before taking a drink and setting it back on the table. "There's
not much to tell."
    Red began to regret sharing her
past with this man. What did she really
know about Sheriff Morgan Hunter?
    Nothing. The
answer came back swiftly in her mind.
    He'd played her, not that she'd told him anything that
couldn't be found in her data file. It was the thought that she'd relaxed enough around him to care lessly spill personal information that truly
angered her. And she'd done so after only a few kind gestures and words. This just wasn't like her at all. She
didn't go to dinner with men. She didn't share her life. And she
certainly didn't flirt. Red was about to excuse herself from the table when he
spoke.
    "I come from a very large extended family, some
of whom still live in the area."
    'That explains the same last names around town."
    He acknowledged her statement. "My family has
lived in this area for generations. I guess I never saw a need to leave."
    Red could barely comprehend what it would be like, feel like to have lived in one spot. With
her par ents dead, she only had her grandfather and they'd moved often.
It seemed like every time she got settled someplace he'd find something