One With the Shadows by Susan Squires Read Free Book Online

kind of a supernatural being? And then, when he could have choked the location out of her, he’d lost his nerve. What kind of a villain was that?
    But the night had been disturbing in other ways as well. First, word had come that the baronessa’s sister had died. Kate shook her head. Coincidence. It had nothing to do with the feeling she’d gotten about the tower struck by lightning card the other night.
    But what about the reading she’d given for that absurdly young man with the wispy mustache? She’d had another … well, whatever they were. She wasn’t going to call them visions. She’d just blurted out that he needed to avoid carriages at all costs on Thursday next. What happened to “love lost and found”? Well, it wasn’t as if she’d had any choice about whether to tell him or not. She had to make a push to avoid him losing his leg. And she’d seen it so clearly. Dear God, what was she thinking? It wasn’t real. It wouldn’t happen because she couldn’t possibly know what would happen on Thursday next.
    “No matter,” she muttered, taking out her key. “When he avoids carriages and nothing happens to him on Thursday, people will be standing in line for readings. It’s a ploy, that’s all.” She pushed the door open. She only wished she had more control over her strategies.
    It was then that she smelled it. Cinnamon. But this time, sweeter, lighter. Not like the man from whom she’d stolen the stone. Or Gian Urbano.
    She peered into the darkened room. A beautiful woman dressed in shades of plum strolled out of the shadows. Her black eyes snapped with an energy that hung around her in the same way Kate felt it around Urbano and the one whose pocket she had picked.
    Kate froze. “What do you want?” How had she gotten in? Had she found the stone?
    “Oh, I think you know that.” The woman’s eyes glittered like black diamonds.
    To protect herself, Kate took charge. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, and since I don’t entertain madwomen, I think you’d better leave.” She went to light the lamp. She’d feel better when she could see this woman more clearly. Still she didn’t turn her back. This woman radiated danger, even though she was petite. She couldn’t hurt Kate, could she?
    “I’m hardly likely to leave,” the woman snapped without ever removing her gaze from Kate’s face. The light came up. The woman exuded sexuality, a ripe flower in full bloom. “The trail always leads to you. First LaRoque loses it on the way to our rendezvous. Then he turns up dead in a burning building, which leads me to Urbano, since who else could kill one of us? I thought Urbano was still fighting in Algiers, or we would have used another city. But when I accosted Urbano, he didn’t have it yet. He had met his banker to arrange transference of a large sum, suggesting that he was going to buy it. He was always softer than he let on.
    “And you…” she continued. “You, my dear, gave a very public tarot reading about the emerald, no doubt to signal Urbano you had it and wished to sell. Foolish, really. What can I conclude but that you stole the stone from LaRoque and have it still?” The woman gave a throaty chuckle. Kate was sure she’d heard that chuckle before.
    “I have no stone. Is it a necklace? Perhaps antique?”
    The woman rose, and her eyes went red just like Urbano’s, even as the energy in the room ramped up almost past Kate’s ability to discern it. “Where is it?” the woman hissed.
    Kate had an almost overwhelming urge to tell her. She bit her lip and tasted blood. “Where … where you will never find it,” she managed.
    The woman looked shocked. Her eyes turned an even deeper shade of carmine. She must not know Urbano had tried to frighten Kate in just the same way. Kate peered at her. How did she do that? Even with lenses, there had to be a reflected light source to make them glow like that. The fire? But there was no fire now. Had Urbano had a source of light