Hear No Evil (Alpha Guardians Book 2) by Vivian Wood Read Free Book Online

area. Aside from candles, the only light was from dim bulbs strung overhead, leaving plenty of room for the sultry New Orleans moon to make the courtyard romantic.
    Cassie skirted the tables filled with laughing, happy twenty-somethings and stopped a dozen paces from where two armed, suited guards stood. Above them hung a simply-lettered sign that read bellocq — a craft cocktail bar .
    “Here we are,” Cassie announced, stepping up to the guards and giving them a nod. “Gentlemen.”
    “Miss Chase,” both of them replied at once, dipping their heads reverently and pulling the double doors open to let her in.
    “That was suspiciously easy,” Aeric rumbled.
    “Those were just the human guards,” Cassie said, rolling her eyes. “They don’t even know what I am, just that I’m a VIP.”
    They stepped into the human half of Bellocq, a dark and intimate lounge room done up in crimson velvet, black silk, and silver accents. Couples and small groups stood around and sat on overstuffed chaises, laughing and talking over the persistent beat of the music. Booths were built into the walls, lined with rich cushions and partially hidden by thick curtains of silver and black beads.
    There was a stunning backlit bar to their right, but Cassie swept by it in favor of heading straight through the room. When she neared the back she veered left toward a small corner, stepping through a gap between two of the booths. Here there were two more guards, and they eyed Cassie and the Guardians with a great deal more suspicion. They stood in front of a blank stretch of black-painted wall, and they were armed with both guns and wands.
    “Jacques, Redford,” Cassie said, greeting the guards by name.
    “Oracle,” Redford replied. He was the bigger of the two men, his suit straining to fit across his massive chest, and he seemed to be in charge.
    “My friends and I are looking for some… diversion,” Cassie said, fluttering her eyelashes.
    Redford’s brows shot up as he looked between Cassie and the Guardians, obviously drawing some inference at which Cassie couldn’t begin to guess.
    “You will vouch for them, Oracle? You know the rules,” Redford said, giving Cassie a meaningful look.
    “I do,” Cassie said, giving Redford a rueful smile.
    Redford glanced at Jacques, who shrugged.
    “All right, Oracle. Enjoy yourself,” Redford said, pulling his wand from his belt and tapping it on the wall.
    The wall wavered for a moment, the illusion dispersing to reveal a soaring, cavernous entrance to the Kith club, the doorway covered in a thousand tiny gold spikes that gleamed in the dim light.
    “Do not touch these,” Cassie said to the Guardians. Gabriel and Rhys frowned, but Aeric appeared unruffled. For the tenth time that day, Cassie had the distinct feeling that Aeric was not only older than the other Guardians, but perhaps something else entirely. Something… more .
    They headed into the Kith side of Bellocq, walking single-file until they emerged into a single massive chamber. Gold shimmered on nearly every surface in the room, candles flickering in a thousand tiny sconces carved in the slick stone ceiling.
    There were booths and overstuffed furniture on one side and a dazzling bar on the other, a close imitation of the human side. The main difference was the dance floor set between the booths and the bar, a hundred tightly packed bodies gyrating to a thunderous bass line that Cassie could feel in her very bones.
    Gabriel stopped beside her, and Cassie saw him mouth a word of surprise. Bellocq was pretty impressive, after all. It was the most exclusive, expensive, and elite Kith bar in the city, mostly because there was a labyrinth of private rooms leading from a hallway behind the bar, catering to any and every taste.
    Or so Alice had told Cassie, at any rate.
    The thought of her friend straightened Cassie’s spine, and she touched Gabriel’s arm to get his attention.
    “Let’s get a drink first,” she said, raising her