New Moon Summer (Seasons of the Moon) by SM Reine Read Free Book Online Page A

said ‘I’m coming for you.’”
    The atmosphere in the hotel room was suddenly a lot less romantic. Seth held Rylie close, and she clung to his shirt, longing for a time that they could be together without the looming threat of mortal peril.
    Abel met Seth in the hallway outside the hotel room. Abel tried not to feel annoyance when Seth slipped out and quietly closed the door behind him, like he was trying to keep his brother from seeing into the room.
    “What did you find?” Seth asked, leading him a few feet down the hallway.
    “Isoba’s body, and a note written in blood. It said, ‘This is for you, Rylie.’ And it was signed by someone named Cain.” Abel kept his tone level, but he didn’t miss the Biblical implications of the name—Cain had killed Abel, after all.
    Seth didn’t miss it, either. “You think that’s really the killer’s name, or is that a direct threat?”
    “No idea. But Isoba was shot with a silver bullet.”
    “There’s way too much silver flying around today.” Seth turned off the phone and clenched it in his fist. “A hunter tried to shoot Rylie outside the hotel today. And someone sent her a silver bullet at the ranch.”
    Abel felt his eyes widen. “When?”
    “She said it was a couple of weeks ago.”
    And she hadn’t told him? A low growl rose in his throat.
    How the hell was he supposed to protect Rylie from hunters if she didn’t tell him when she was in danger?
    Seth blew a breath out of his lips. “I don’t think she needs to know about the note from this Cain guy. It’ll worry her too much. But we have to get her somewhere safe.”
    Abel nodded sharply. “The ranch isn’t good enough. We should stay on the move. We should—”
    “Rylie’s not the only one we need to protect,” his brother interrupted. “We should go home and fortify.”
    “And risk Rylie? They know where she lives.”
    “They haven’t attacked the ranch yet.” Seth glanced back at the hotel room. “Not until today, and I think that was an accident. Pagan didn’t know she was going to stumble on Rylie here. She must have been looking for me. No—something else is going on.”
    Abel wanted to argue further, but the hotel room door opened, and Rylie’s head poked out. She was wearing a bathrobe. Which meant that she had gotten undressed at some point.
    Anger surged through Abel, sudden and powerful. He knew that Rylie and Seth had sex. Lots of it. Their bedrooms at the ranch shared a wall, after all, so it was hardly a revelation. But he couldn’t shake the mental image of throttling his little brother.
    “What’s going on?” Rylie asked, glancing between them.
    “We’re going back to the ranch,” Seth said, joining her at the door. “Get your bag together.” She disappeared, and Seth tossed something to Abel. He caught it. It was the shirt he had given Rylie. “I think that’s yours.”
    He closed the door and locked Abel out.

N INE
    Surprise
    The drive from the airport to the ranch was silent and tense. Rylie wasn’t sure if she was imagining it or not, but Seth and Abel weren’t looking at each other. They didn’t speak—not even once—the entire time they were in the car.
    Gwyn met them by the Chevelle. She hugged Rylie first, but she embraced Seth extra tightly, too.
    “What’s the word?” she asked.
    Rylie didn’t bother sugarcoating it. Not for someone like Gwyn. “We found Isoba dead. There are hunters after us, and we need to prepare for the worst.”
    Her aunt didn’t even blink.
    “Possible war, huh? I’ll haul out the spare lumber in case we need to block the windows. Dinner is cooking. Check on it in five minutes, unless you want your meat burned.”
    She headed down to the shed, and Seth followed. “I’ll help you.”
    Rylie suppressed a smile. If she had been the hunters, she would have thought twice about attacking anywhere that Aunt Gwyn was protecting.
    After a moment, Abel and Rylie were alone aside from the bees and the summer heat. He