Before the Fall by Sable Grace Read Free Book Online

hadn’t gone rusty. “Hold this.”
    He handed her the bag of weapons and the snacks, then shattered the driver’s window with his elbow. He popped the lock on the back door and opened it so Shanna could stash the goods inside, then shut it and grabbed her before he could second-guess his intentions. Tilting her chin, he forced her to look him in the eye. “We’re going to be okay, Princess. Believe me?”
    She shook her head but gave a contradictory half-smile. “Not sure anything’s going to be okay again. But I’m a big girl.” She lifted the hem of her t-shirt to dab at his bloodied elbow. She pulled out a piece of glass and winced before continuing. “The rest of the world is going to have to figure out how to deal—and I will, too. It’s not the first time in my life my world’s been turned upside down.”
    At first he thought she was referring to losing her parents when she was a kid, but something in her eyes made him wonder if she was referring to what had happened between them.
    Before she could protest, he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her mouth, and in an instant, he was in an all-too-familiar place that he didn’t want to leave. It took all of his strength to pull away and open the driver’s door—all his concentration to get the SUV running and pretend the kiss hadn’t affected him at all.
    â€œGet in,” he said, somewhat pleased to see she looked as dazed as he felt.
    He twisted in his seat to rummage through the bag of weapons, passing her the knuckle rings. She’d won the women’s division of the local boxing tournament last year, and he was pretty sure she’d be more comfortable with her fists than with a dagger.
    â€œThanks.” She took them, slid them onto her fingers, and made a fist. “I really hope I don’t get close enough to one of those things to use it.”
    So did he.
    He put the SUV in reverse. “Ready?”
    â€œNo,” she answered. “But I don’t suppose I have a choice.
    â€œIt’ll be all right.”
    Her smile was faint, but at least it was there. “You keep saying that, but you never were a good liar.”
    And yet, when it had really counted, she hadn’t been able to believe him.
    He brushed the hair from her cheeks and pressed his mouth to her forehead. It was all the comfort he could offer right now. As he pulled onto the road, he slipped one hand over hers and gave a light squeeze, watching as she set the knuckle rings in her lap, closed her eyes, and pressed her head into her seat.
    Occasionally, he found his gaze wandering back to her, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest as she fell asleep, and his desire to keep her safe only intensified. He’d allowed whiskey to fill the void she’d left inside him six months ago, but sober now, having her so close to him, he was remembering every perfect inch of her, every flaw that he’d adored.
    If anything happened to her, he was a goner.
    They’d only been on the road for about twenty minutes when she woke with a start, gasping for air as though she’d been held under water, and scaring the shit out of Zach. He swung the SUV off the main road and let it idle at a stop sign so he could reach for her.
    â€œYou all right?”
    She nodded. “Nightmare. I was hoping all of this was.”
    This was the reason the Order worked in secret. Humans weren’t meant to know that the creatures living in their fiction were real. Hell, he’d grown up with the knowledge and it was difficult for him to accept sometimes.
    â€œWe’re definitely going to have to stick to back roads now,” he said, turning down the volume on the radio that had been keeping him company and up-to-date on what was happening outside their little bubble. “Road blocks are popping up all over the interstate, redirecting evacuees around hazards. Could get a little