B006P1R39O EBOK by Lorraine Kennedy Read Free Book Online

fight.”
    Without another word, he walked to the opposite end of the room and stared out the window. This window was intact, unlike the one they had entered through.
    Kathrina followed his gaze, but it was difficult to see anything but distorted light through the thick layer of dust that covered the small window.
    Luciano was silent, seemingly entranced by the radiant glow of the city lights.
    The more time she spent with him, the less she understood him. One moment he was a cold-blooded killer, the next he was angry because that is what she saw him to be. He would touch her intimately, but then push her away. Luciano intended to kill her, but seemed to worry about her safety at the same time. His actions contradicted his words, and that made her wonder if the icy indifference that he showed others was simply a barrier to hide behind.
    “You act like it will be difficult for me to find someone. Is that what you think?” she asked, ignoring the part about her ultimate defiance in the end. He was right about that.
    She waited for an answer, but he said nothing. Just as Kathrina opened her mouth to ask again, Luciano held up his hand to silence her.
    “We have company,” he warned.
    Kathrina stepped closer to him and listened, trying to detect whatever it was that had alarmed him. All she could hear was her own rapid breathing and the groaning of the floorboards as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
    Luciano gently grabbed her arm and moved her away from the window.
    “What is it?” she asked in hushed tones.
    Before she could get the last word out, she heard the shuffling of feet on the roof outside the window. Luciano’s eyes lit up with rage; at the same time he drew back his lips to reveal sharp - white fangs.
    She swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the tight feeling in her throat. Any second now the intruder would break through the window and she didn’t even want to imagine what would happen after that. The grisly images of her birthday party, and what she had witnessed earlier in the evening, were still too fresh in her mind.
    Kathrina yelped at the sound of a loud knock against the glass. The furious energy radiating from Luciano actually made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. He was in full attack mode.
    It had probably been years since the window had been used; evident by the way the frame moaned in protest as it was forced open. A head emerged from the darkness beyond the window.
    “Wait!” Kathrina blurted out before her vampire captor could fly at the window.
    There was something familiar about the man that stuck his head inside, but in the dim light it was difficult to tell for sure. It was not until he spoke that Kathrina allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief. It was Dash’s voice.
    “Thought you might need a little help …  you know with all those rogue vampires and wolf men after you.”
    “How dare you come here and try to sneak up on me!” Luciano growled.
    “I don’t know if you’ve noticed … but you don’t exactly have a front door to knock on.” Dash defended himself.
    Luciano said nothing so Dash climbed through the window.
    “You okay?” Dash directed his question to Kathrina.
    Nodding, Kathrina rushed to Dash and threw her arms around his neck. “You shouldn’t have risked coming after me.”
    “Nonsense!” Dash winked. “You’re just a bit of a girl. Can’t see letting you deal with this all on your own.”
    “So what can I do to help?” Dash looked at Luciano.
    Luciano’s dark eyes bore into the other vampire. “Why are you so anxious to help? Are you planning to steal from me again?”
    A contrite grin spread over Dash’s face. “I’m sorry about that bit. That medallion was just sitting there in plain sight. I just thought I’d borrow it for a little while.”
    “Where is it now … if indeed you took it on loan … an unauthorized loan,” Luciano added.
    “Well now …” Dash shrugged his shoulders, “they kind of