Second Grave on the Left by Darynda Jones Read Free Book Online

they wanted me, the portal, a way into heaven. I had no idea they would go to such lengths. “Are you still alive?”
    “My corporeal body is like yours. It’s harder to kill, much harder, than most humans’.”
    Relief flooded every cell in my body. I took a deep breath and said, “Tell me what’s going on. Exactly.”
    “Exactly. Okay, they’re waiting for exactly one of two things to happen.”
    “Which are?”
    “For my body to die so they can take me back to hell or for you to find me. One would give them access to the key,” he said, indicating the smooth, flowing lines of his tattoos with a nod. Amazingly, his tattoos were a map to the gates of hell. Without it, the hazardous journey through the void of eternity rarely ended well for any entities trying to escape. “And the other would give them access to heaven.” He looked at me point-blank. “Either would make them exceedingly happy.”
    “Then tell me where your physical form is, and we can … I don’t know, hide you.”
    He shook his head in regret. “Afraid I can’t do that.”
    My brows shot together. “What do you mean, you can’t do that? Reyes, where are you?”
    A humorless grin tipped one corner of his mouth. “In a safe place.”
    “You’re safe from the demons?” I asked, my voice full of hope.
    “No,” he answered. “You’re safe from the demons.”
    When he went for a jugular again, I pulled back. “So, they know where you are? They’re trying to kill you?” What he was proposing sounded like my worst nightmare. Injured and helpless somewhere, with a madman trying to kill me. I’d never considered the culprit to be demonic, but now that I had new fodder, surely my reoccurring nightmare would update its software to reflect an evil presence. Wonderful.
    With a loud sigh, he stepped back and sank into the chair at my computer desk, propping his feet up and crossing them at the ankles. “Do we really have to do this now? I may not have much time.”
    My heart stumbled in my chest. I wondered how much time he had. How much time we had. I didn’t have a table and chairs, but I had a snack bar with a couple of barstools. I sat at one and turned to him. “Why won’t you tell me where you are?”
    “Lots of different reasons.” His gaze slid over me like a veil of fire. He could ignite my deepest desires with a single glance. I decided right then and there no more reading romance novels by candlelight.
    “Can you tell me what those reasons are, or should I guess?”
    “Since I probably can’t stay all day, I’ll tell you.”
    “At least we’re getting somewhere.”
    “The first one is because it’s a trap, Dutch. Set for you and you alone. Why do you think they haven’t killed me yet? They want you to look for me, to find me. Remember, you don’t see them, they don’t see you.” He’d mentioned that before, but the truth was difficult to comprehend. Not to mention disturbing.
    “And if I see them?” I asked.
    He let his gaze travel over me once more. “Let’s just say, you’re hard to miss.”
    “So, we’ll do this incognito. You know, like Navy SEALs or SWAT or something.”
    “It doesn’t work that way.”
    “That’s not good enough for me.” My hands curled into fists. “We have to try. We can’t just let them kill you.”
    “You haven’t heard the second reason.”
    That sounded foreboding. “Okay, so tell me.” I crossed my arms and waited.
    “You won’t like it.”
    “I’m a big girl,” I said, raising my chin a notch. “I can handle it.”
    “Fair enough. I’m going to let my corporeal body pass away.”
    Every muscle in my body stilled.
    “It’s not like I need it,” he continued with a callous shrug. “It slows me down and, as you have witnessed yourself, makes me vulnerable to attack.”
    “But in the camera, when you woke up from the coma, you disappeared. You dematerialized your human body.”
    “Dutch,” he said, casting me a chastising gaze from underneath his dark