The Bloody City by Megan Morgan Read Free Book Online Page A

Sam rushed across the kitchen.
    They grabbed their guns from the kitchen cupboard where they kept a small arsenal of weapons and ammunition.
    “Go upstairs,” June told her brother. “And make sure Micha stays up there.”
    “Don’t treat him like a child,” Jason said. “He knows what to do.”
    She wasn’t sure when Jason decided to be Micha’s champion, but this wasn’t the moment to argue. “When he stops forgetting his blood is more coveted than a porn star’s dick, we’ll stop making him hide every time the alarm gets tripped. Go upstairs and lock yourselves in one of the bedrooms.”
    Jason left the room, scowling. If she babied anyone more than Micha, it was Jason. She had to protect Micha’s blood for their cause, but she had to protect her brother for their mother.
    “It’s like a nursery school around here,” June said. “I’m going to start putting people in time-out for their sass.”
    “Now do you feel my pain?” Sam tossed her a Glock.
    June turned off the TV so she could hear and moved stealthily around the house, peeking out windows.
    The street was quiet, no unfamiliar cars parked outside.
    Sam called from the kitchen in a loud whisper, “June!”
    She rushed to the kitchen. Sam stood in front of the sink, hunched over and peeking out the window above it. June joined him, hunkered down as well.
    “Someone’s outside,” he said. “A man. He was looking in windows at the side of the house, and then he walked around back.”
    Sam had his shotgun. June learned quickly why Sam chose such an unwieldy, un-concealable weapon: he hardly ever had to use it when the sight of it alone subdued most people.
    “Awesome,” June said. “Someone knows we’re here.”
    “Let’s not panic. If it was someone from the Institute, they would have sent a squadron to oust us.”
    “How do you know they haven’t and they’re not just lying in wait?”
    “Good point.”
    Maybe Micha would get his longed-for action.
    Staying below the windows, they slunk over to the glass doors of the patio. They positioned themselves on either side of them and waited.
    When no one appeared on the patio, Sam whispered, “I’m going outside.”
    “Are you nuts?”
    “If I have to shoot someone, I can’t do it through the glass.”
    Sam reached out and slowly slid one of the doors open. June held her breath. Sam crept out onto the patio. Tall shrubs grew around the patio, boxing it in on both sides. Sam moved behind them, peeking through the branches.
    June waited for a signal, her Glock clutched in both hands. She’d shot only one person ever, a vampire, and though her aim was a lot better these days, she still wasn’t ready to take a human life. She wasn’t sure she’d even killed the vampire she shot.
    Sam yelped, and June leaped up.
    Sam didn’t bother going down the patio steps to chase the interloper. Instead, he sprung up on the railing and jumped right through the shrubs, sending leaves and twigs flying. While this was certainly a more direct approach, it left June confused for a moment. She ran across the patio and jumped down into the yard.
    Around the side of the house, Sam had someone on the ground. The person lay flat on his back, hands raised in supplication. Sam had his shotgun pointed in his face.
    “Sam!” June ran over. “Who—” She stopped dead in her tracks.
    Shock nearly dropped her to her knees. The man on the ground wasn’t a stranger to her.
    The man widened his eyes, mirroring her surprise. “June!”
    “Diego!” She gaped at him, her eyes about to shoot from their sockets. “What the hell?”
    He dropped his hands. “Holy shit, it’s really you, June.”
    “You know this sneaky bastard?” Sam asked.
    She pushed the barrel of Sam’s gun away. “This is Diego, my best friend. We own the tattoo shop together.”
    She offered Diego a hand up. He clambered to his feet, all six-foot-three lanky inches of him. His dark, straight collar-length hair had streaks of bright red