Whisper of Shadows (The Diamond City Magic Novels) by Diana Pharaoh Francis Read Free Book Online Page A

any makeup, and grease smudged her cheek and chin.
    “Keep it down,” she ordered in her crisp, low voice. “This meeting is off the books.”
    “You think I’m not going to tell the world you shoved a gun in my back? Think again, sister. And I’ve got a witness.”
    Arnow grimaced and slid her gun into the holster beneath her coat. “There’s no surveillance in the garage right now, and as far as anybody else is concerned, I’m miles away in Denver. So you can try to make accusations, but you won’t get far. Especially as the girlfriend of a Tyet soldier.”
    “What do you want?” Taylor asked, still in that wide-eyed, breathless fashion. She set her hand on my lower back and tapped twice. Yep, it was totally an act.
    “I need your help,” Arnow said to me, totally ignoring Taylor. Did the rest of us do that to her all the time, too? No wonder she was pissed.
    “Not on a bet.” Helping Arnow was nothing I planned on doing, now or ever. She’d pulled Josh into the trouble that got him kidnapped and tortured, and her raid on Touray’s warehouse nearly got me killed. Plus, I was fairly sure she’d set up the ambush with the other Tyet members once we’d escaped. I didn’t have any evidence, but how else had they known to where to set their trap? The only way was if Arnow had tipped them off.
    I couldn’t interpret the flicker of emotion that swept her narrow face at my refusal to help. It came and went too fast.
    Her expression flattened. “Maybe I should rephrase. You’re going to help me. I’m not asking. I’m telling.”
    “Just how are you going to make me?”
    She smiled. “Whatever it takes.”
    “So you’ll what? Put Price in jail? Done. His lawyers will have him out by dawn. Threaten to kill me? Fine. Do it. I’d rather die than give you the time of day.”
    Taylor curled her fingers tightly into my coat, but didn’t say a word, even though she knew me enough to know I’d probably follow through. Sometimes winning mattered more than living. At least, that’s what my inner nine-year-old was saying. Fortunately for me, I didn’t usually let the inner nine-year-old win.
    “Maybe it’s not you I’ll kill,” Arnow suggested.
    My insides went cold even as the rest of me flared into a ball of flame. I lunged forward, grabbing her collar. “Listen, bitch. Even think about going after my friends or family, and I will make your life a living hell.”
    I don’t generally hold grudges, and I’m not really that into revenge. But for Arnow, I could definitely make an exception. I had friends in very low places who’d relish the chance to have at her. I wasn’t planning physical harm, either. I’d make sure to pull the rug out from under her so she lost everything—identity, security, job, money, sanity. Then I’d make sure she could enjoy her losses for a good long time.
    Maybe I had more Tyet in me than I’d thought. I pushed her away from me, my heart pounding, lungs pumping like I’d been running uphill.
    Arnow’s face twisted. “Look, I don’t have a lot of time. I’ve got people who are in trouble and you’re my only hope of getting them back alive.”
    “And I should care about them because . . . ?”
    “Because they have families,” she said flatly. “Because they need help and that’s what you do.”
    The worse part was that I did care. I didn’t want to, but I’m a sucker for people in trouble, even obnoxious FBI agents. Not that I was going to tell her that.
    “Gee, since you asked for the meeting so nicely, what with the gun in my kidneys, how could I possibly say no?”
    “Get over it,” she said. “I wasn’t going to shoot you.”
    “Of course you weren’t. I mean, that was so obvious.”
    “We don’t have time for this. What will it take for you to help me?”
    I folded my arms. “I don’t know.” My inner nine-year-old was feeling smug.
    “What do you want?”
    I was surprised when Taylor answered, her voice low and tight. “I want Josh back.