Flamebound by Tessa Adams Read Free Book Online Page A

me one way or the other. It’s not like I trusted him more because you introduced us.”
    â€œBut still. I invited that monster into our house. Made you double-date with him.” She shudders as she finishes the second coat of toenail polish and recaps the bottle.
    But when she reaches for the martini shaker, I grab it away before she can pour another glass and drink herself straight into oblivion.
    She glares at me but doesn’t say anything. It’s proof that her bad mood is lifting a little. “So, how are things with you and Declan?” she asks. “I haven’t seen you much the last few days, so I figure that has to be a good sign.”
    â€œThey’re fine.”
    â€œReally?”
    â€œYeah.”
    I must not sound very convincing, because this time when she reaches for the martini shaker, she pours the drink and hands it to me. “Then what are you doing here?”
    â€œIt’s . . . complicated.”
    She laughs. “Sweetie, when you decide to tangle with a man like Declan, you’d better like complicated. It’s pretty much his middle name.”
    â€œIt really is. But that’s not why I came over. I actually wanted to talk to you about something else.”
    â€œOh yeah?” Her eyes narrow with interest. “Well, go ahead and spill then.”
    I take a long sip of the martini she handed me, searching for a little Dutch courage. The vodka burns on its way down my throat, but it takes only a moment for the fire to turn into a pleasant warmth. As it does, I settle myself on the couch beside Lily and reach for the tarot cards she always keeps in a basket on top of the coffee table. “It’s not about me.”
    She eyes the cards. “So, there’s another person’s future you want me to tell you about?”
    â€œActually, yes.”
    â€œDeclan’s?” She sits up straighter, pulls the cards to her.
    â€œNo. Not Declan.” I pull the picture of Shelby out of my pocket and lay it on the table in front of her. Then I tell her everything that Nate told me.
    She has tears in her eyes before I’m halfway done. Lily may talk a good game, but she’s the biggest softie in the book. Long seconds pass before she reaches for the picture of Shelby, runs her fingers over it once, twice. Then she sorts through the deck and pulls out the Sun card.
    After laying it in the center of the table, she hands me the deck and tells me to shuffle.
    â€œWhy me? This is for Shelby.”
    â€œYes, but you’re the closest thing to a seeker we’ve got in this room, so you’re elected. Besides, you know more about Shelby than I do.”
    â€œThat’s not true,” I say, even though I’m already shuffling. “I told you everything.”
    â€œYou think you did.”
    â€œWhat’s that supposed to mean?” I set the cards down with a definite slap.
    â€œYou want me to tell you the future, right? I’m telling you the future as I see it, so shut the hell up and let me do my job.” She picks five cards off the top of the deck and lays them out on the table—two on either side of the Sun and one crossing it.
    â€œThis is the World spread,” she tells me. “It’s the best place to start when looking for someone that’s alive.”
    I nod, but my head is still whirling with what she said—and what she didn’t. What did she mean about there being more for me to tell her? Am I missing something? And if so, what? I don’t know Shelby, don’t even know if it’s possible for me to do this. But if it is, and if there is something I’m not seeing, I better figure out what it is pretty damn quickly.
    I want to pepper Lily with questions, but she’s already in reading mode. Her fingers linger over the Sun card for long seconds before moving on to the others. I don’t know tarot very well—I have always relied on Lily for this part of