Kindred (Book 1 The Kindred Series) by Erica Stevens Read Free Book Online

had come o nto her porch. She held a beer bottle in one hand, a cigarette in the other , as she stared into space. A man emerged behind her ; he wrapp ed his arm tightly around her waist. Cassie had never seen him before, but then , she rarely saw any of Mary’s men twice in a row.
       T h e man explained why Chris was here tonight .
       Shaking her head, she hurrie d back up stairs, eager to get the food to Chris. She was also e ager to help ease some of the hurt that clung to him , eager to tr y and bury some of her own swirling emotions . She swung into he r room, not at all surprised to find the air mattress already set up. “Thanks,” he muttered as he t ook the plate from her.
       Cassie nodded and plopp ed herself on to the bed beside him. This was going to be one of the nights that Chris didn ’ t want to speak; one of the nights when he had no words to convey his unhappiness. That was just fine by her , she wasn ’ t much in the mood for talking either , but there was one thing that she had to know.
       “Chris?”
       “Hmm,” he murmured around a mouthful of lasagna.
       Swallowing nervously, Cassie’s hands knotted in her lap. “Do you remember that man from earlier?” When he shot her a confused look, she elaborated. “The one standing next to B’s and S’s?”
       He nodded as he t ook another large bite of lasagna. “What about him?” he inquired when he swallowed.
       “Did you um , well did you feel anything from him?” she hedged.
       Chris’s eyes narrowed on her. She never asked him these questions, never wanted to know anything about what h e or Melissa kn e w . But she could not stop herself from asking . S he had to know why she could not get the stranger out of her thoughts , a nd Chris might be able to help her with that. “No, not really,” he answered slowly. “Why?”
       She turn ed her attention back to the game, hoping that Chris wouldn ’ t notice or pick up on the anxiety, excitement, and fear wracking through her. “Just wondering, haven’t seen him around before.”
       It was not a lie, she tried to reassure h er self. But she didn’t think Chris bought it. Fortunately, he knew her well enough to know not to push her anymore. Si t ting silently, she gain ed some sense of comfort from his steady, reassuring presence. Without Chris in her life, s he had no idea what would have become of her. He kept her sane in a world of madness and confusion.
       Sighing softly, she dropped her head to his shoulder. For the first time all night , she finally began to feel normal again.
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 3
     
     
       Cassie slid her sun glasses on to the top of her head; she survey ed the crowded school parking lot as she stepped away from Chris’s beat up Mustang. Though the car looked like junk now, Chris planned to restore it to its former nineteen sixty four prestige. Cassie had no doubt that he c ould do it, t he only thing she doubted was that he would ever get the time he needed to devote to it. Just as he had n’t had time for his job once school had started again . Not with hunting vampires, thrown in with some school work and football practice.
       Melissa slid out of the car beside her; her black hair was pulled into a sleek French braid that hung almost to her waist. “Freaking death trap,” she muttered.
       “I heard that!” Chris shouted from inside as he fiddled with the on ly thing he ha d up dated in the car, the stereo . Disturbed blasted loudly from the large speakers stuffed in the trunk moments before Chris popped his head above the roof . “I’ll have you know that this car is a classic.”
       “More like an antique, ” Melissa retorted .
       He shrugged, dropping his hands on the roof as he leaned forward. “And one day it’s going to be awesome.”
       “Well , until that day , it is a death trap,” Melissa retorted sharply.
       Chris made a face at her before ducking away again and turning the music up