The Guardian by Connie Hall Read Free Book Online Page A

jacket, and she scrambled to pick them up. Sirens sounded in the distance—a lot of them.
    The door flew open and Brower almost tripped over her and Joe. The big guy looked as if he’d been running from an earthquake and the earth had opened up directly in front of him. He stood there, trembling, staring down at Fala, then Joe. The cloud of fear melted from his eyes and he realized Joe was lying in the stairwell.
    â€œSorry, I, uh— What happened to him?” Brower pointed a beefy finger at Joe.
    Fala stood up. “He had a run-in with a wild dog.”
    Brower’s forehead wrinkled on his bulldog face. “That was no freakin’ wild dog, Fala. Good God, if you could see what it did…” His words trailed off as if he were remembering the attack. He glanced down at the dark urine spot on his pants. He grew self-conscious and turned sideways out of Fala’s direct view.
    â€œI saw.” Fala heard the sirens surround the building. “The cavalry has arrived. You’ve got to get yourself together.”
    â€œI’m trying.” He gripped his fists to make them stop shaking.
    â€œThe captain is going to be down our throats for letting an animal overtake the station.”
    â€œWhat could we do?” Brower shrugged his tree-trunk-size shoulders. “It took us by surprise. Bullets didn’t stop it.”
    â€œSave that one for Internal Affairs and the tabloids.”
    Brower shook his square head like a lost bull. “You’re right. No one will ever believe that story. But that thing, that god-awful thing.” His face twisted. “It tore people apart. I just let that thing back me into a corner. If you hadn’t lured it away from me…” His voice broke with self-recrimination.
    Fala couldn’t help but feel pity for him. A full frontal with a demon wolf would give anyone nightmares for years. She knew from experience. She’d faced her first one at twelve and had bite marks on her right thigh to prove it. “You were traumatized,” she said. “No one saw what happened in there but you and me. Let’s stick to the story of a rabid animal.”
    â€œI don’t know.” He rubbed his wide forehead with indecision.
    She could tell him the truth that the werewolf was an evil sorcerer who was trying to kill her before she became the Guardian. Nope, that would blow his mind. And she couldn’t trust anyone with the truth about being a shape-shifter. Heck, it would be easier just to erase his memory of Tumseneha’s attack. It wouldn’t be the first human memory she’d erased.
    She reached over and touched his beefy shoulder. Power flowed down her arm and into him. She watched as the look in his eyes turned blank and she spoke in a low hypnotizing tone, “Listen to me, Brower. It was a pack of pit bulls that attacked the station. Strays roam the city all the time. Now what was it?”
    â€œPit bulls,” he answered in a vacant, parroted tone.
    Fala dropped her arm and knew she’d have to wipe away the memories of the SWAT team guys and anyone else still alive. Mortals tended to think along concrete references, a small little world of their own making. If they only knew what powers awaited their discovery in the metaphysical world, it would knock them on their asses. Better they remain in the dark. Brower would still have nightmares about it, like Joe. Nothing she could do about that. But at least they could wake up and realize they were only bad dreams. And Freud thought the libido controlled humans’ dreams. A lot he knew.
    Joe moaned, finally stirring.
    Fala heard frantic voices coming from behind the door. She envisioned the faces of the rescue squad workers and a battalion of cops as they found Processing.
    â€œLook, take care of Joe.” She turned and ran down the stairs.
    â€œWhere are you going? Don’t leave me here alone.” He sounded like a child who’d just had