Something Deadly This Way Comes by Kim Harrison Read Free Book Online

you!
    Throwing my head back, I looked at the stained ceiling. Someone had put graffiti up there, and I blinked. Barnabas silently stood and shook out his long duster like it was his wings. “I’ll take you home,” he offered to Josh.
    â€œPuppy presents,” I swore softly, standing as well. “Do you think you can come back?”
    Josh hoisted his gym bag to his shoulder and brushed the cookie crumbs from his shirt. “I don’t know. I’ll cover for you best I can, but if anyone asks, I left you at The Low D with a couple of girls.”
    I made a face. Yeah, that was likely. I only had one girlfriend, and she was out at the curb, afraid I was going to ditch her.
    Josh glanced at his watch, still set for Illinois time. “It’s almost six thirty at home.” Frustrated, he dropped his hand and grimaced. “I might not be able to get away until after midnight, which will be ten here. Everything might be done by then.”
    â€œIf we’re lucky.” I glanced at Barnabas, knowing that he wasn’t going to sit and wait for Josh. He’d come right back. “Well, I’m going to have to put in an appearance tonight, too,” I said, thinking of my curfew. At least it was the weekend. “Call me?”
    Josh smiled at that, and my entire frame of mind changed when he edged around the table and took my hands and pulled gently, hesitantly. I leaned in as he did, and he gave me a kiss.
    He smelled like soap, and his lips quirked in a soft smile when he pulled away. “Soon as I know what’s up, I’ll call,” he said. “Maybe I can get away sooner.”
    â€œOkay.” I felt soft and squishy, and I let his fingers slip from mine reluctantly. Outside, Nakita was frowning, but Barnabas patiently waited.
    Shifting his gym bag higher, Josh leaned toward me again, and after one last kiss, he rocked back, smiling.
    â€œCome on, Buck Rogers,” Barnabas said as he motioned to the door. “Let’s go.”
    Giving me a last look, Josh headed for the parking lot. “Who’s Buck Rogers?” he asked as the door opened, Barnabas catching it before it hit the wall.
    I slowly sank back down in my chair, still feeling the warmth of those two kisses. Such a small thing, but not really. My smile fading, I watched Barnabas talk to Nakita. The dark reaper glanced at me, then away. I couldn’t help but wonder what he’d said to her as he started walking away with Josh.
    Stretching out my leg, I shoved the dryer door shut with my foot, then stood to push the button to get it started again. The soft hum and sliding schlummp , schlummp , schlummp of someone’s jeans slowly filled the steamy room. Head down, I leaned over the adjacent dryer, wondering if Nakita would come in or continue to boycott me. I wished that Josh could have stayed, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that having him at home to help me if I needed it was a comfort. Being two time zones from home made it hard to cover one’s tracks. Even if one was a timekeeper.
    The faint humming in my legs grew stronger. Realizing it wasn’t coming from the adjacent dryer, I pulled my head up. The world had gone blue. Like I was in a gigantic fishbowl in reverse, the parking lot beyond the huge plate-glass windows was a sunny, inky blue, but even as I stared, the fluorescent lights in the Laundromat began dripping an insidious indigo. I was going to flash.
    We’ve done it! I thought joyfully, eyes alight as I looked for Nakita, her back to me as she watched Barnabas and Josh leave. Why else would I flash forward unless Tammy had indeed changed her fate?!
    My hand rose to grip my amulet, shocked to find it more than warm. It was hot! “Nakita!” I shouted, and she turned. Her eyes widened at something she saw in me, and I heard her mental shout to Barnabas echo as it hit the top of the atmosphere and bounced back.
    And then the inky black poured from