Dark Mysteries by Jessica Gadziala Read Free Book Online Page B

again, she was going to buy him a new pair. Even
if she had to ship them while on the run. It was literally the least
she could do.
    Moving
to the kitchen, she cleaned up the mess she had made from breakfast,
looking at the coffee pot distastefully. There was a time when she
loved coffee. Drank it with just a splash of skim milk. Ten cups a
day. On the weekends enjoying going to specialty coffee shops and
critiquing the different flavors and roasts. With him. She did all of
that with him.
    It
was all about the tea since then, providing a similar kick of
energy... without all the unpleasant memories.
    The
papers were still sitting on the dining table and she tried to sit
and read them, but finding all the news depressing, she stacked them
neatly and went to make Xander's bed. Despite not having actually
laid underneath the blankets, he had still managed to muss them into
a pretty mess. God, when was the last time she had actually gotten up
out of bed and got ready for her day without having given a second
thought to the sheets not being straightened? Years, she decided
grimly. It had been years.
    She
moved to sit on the red couch, staring off into hall, trying to
convince herself that being a little bit obsessive-compulsive wasn't
always a bad thing. It came in handy since she was on the run. She
kept very few things on her when she moved from place to place so
there wasn't a need for a long, drawn-out event to be made out of
leaving one place for another. There was no mementos to be left
behind and missed dearly. No random pieces of paper betraying her
next move.
    It
kept her safer.
    Standing
up, she walked over to the closet Xander had reached in for hangers.
The one he had been hiding from her. Or at least he seemed to be. She
never considered herself a nosy person, but curiosity was getting the
better of her. She pulled the door open and her breath escaped her
lips in a whoosh.
    Because
there attached to the inside of the door was the widest assortment of
weapons she had ever seen. And considering where she had come from,
that was saying something. There were things she recognized: brass
knuckles, cans of pepper spray, knives, three different kinds of
tasers. She pulled out a small metal rod shaped object, looking at it
curiously, before swinging out with it and watching it extend. A
baton. Then there was something plastic that wrapped around your
knuckles with a few metal plates in the front. She decided it must
have been some kind of stun-gun you wore on your fist. Which was a
really cool idea. Then at the bottom was an assortment of chains and
handcuffs. No guns. She wondered if the one in his drawer was the
only one he had. Judging by his assortment of other self-defense
weapons, that probably wasn't the case.
    Were
those kinds of weapons even legal?
    She
closed the door, moving away from it, feeling a strange wave of
relief. If he was the kind of man who was willing to own that many
illegal weapons, then he was just the right kind of dangerous she
needed on her side.
    There
was a loud rapping on the front door, making her jump and back up
several feet, her heart flying into her throat. She looked at the
solid glass windows in dismay, then at the closet of pain and death
with a sort of resignation. She could use one of those weapons. If
she really needed to, she could do it. She felt herself moving toward
it when a voice yelled through the door, loud and impatient.
    “Open
up, sweetheart. I'm not gonna murder you,” Xander called.
    Ellie's
hand fell from the doorknob, moving through to the office with a fist
of fear still settled deeply in her stomach. She unlocked the door,
stepping back from it quickly.
    Xander
walked in, looking at Ellie, her eyes wide and fearful. She was
standing slightly on her toes, looking like she was one wrong move
away from running out the door. Her hands were balled into fists at
her side. He felt himself smile, shaking his head.
    “I
went to your apartment,” he said, holding out the