Read Online Absolution by Jennifer Laurens - Free Book Online

of responsibility on my back. I was okay with that. I wasn’t afraid of what it meant.
    Weston slipped his arms around my waist and drew me against him.
    “I need to hold you,” he whispered. Warm tingles raced through my body.
    I returned the embrace. “You feel so good,” he laid his head against mine, sighing.
    He felt good too. I closed my eyes, relieved to have a friend. Mortal comfort and companionship.
    The roar of an engine and the screech of tires over asphalt trumpeted through the air. Weston and I jerked around to see where the sound came from. Britt’s white Mustang barreled toward us.

Chapter Six
    ____________________
    Weston’s arms snatched me, yanking me away from the side of the truck. We flattened ourselves against the building.
    Britt’s Mustang screeched to a halt, barely missing Weston’s truck.
    “She’s insane,” Weston blew out.
    Britt burst out of her car and wobbled over. The same dark spirits I’d seen in class earlier still leeched her body, stimulating her.
    “You!” She pointed at me, swaying like a blow-up punching toy. “You stay away from him.”
    “You’re out of your mind,” Weston hissed. “You’re drunk.”
    “’Course I’m drunk. ’S her fault.” Britt lunged at me, but tripped on her platform shoe and crashed onto the pavement, coming down flat. Patrons slowed to watch. Britt didn’t move.
    Weston and I exchanged glances.
    I inched forward. “Britt?”
    Gawking passersby annoyed me. Britt remained flat on the filthy gravel.
    “What the hell was she doing?” Weston twitched from head to toe, his face red as blood.
    “She’s pissed, dude.”
    The voice stopped my heart. Brady appeared behind Weston. He leaned casually against the building, one leg bent and propped up, his arms across his chest. Like Albert, he was dressed in black, only his ensemble wasn’t the designer-like suit Albert wore. Brady looked like one of the Beatles in his tight black pants and snug black turtle neck.
    “What are you doing?” I demanded.
    Weston’s angry gaze flicked from prostrate Britt to me. Brady laughed, and came away from the wall, strolling until he stood directly behind Weston’s shoulder.
    “She almost killed us!” Weston shrilled.
    “That’s what you deserve, loser,” Brady hissed into Weston’s ear.
    “Yeah, well, she didn’t.” I had to cool Weston down. “Don’t be mad, okay?” Weston knew I saw evil spirits, but he’d freak if I told him Brady was here. I voted to tell him after the fact. I had to get rid of Brady first.
    “You’re defending her?” Weston almost screeched.
    Brady grinned and circled Britt, stopping at her ankles, his lusty gaze traveling up her bare legs to her hiked-up mini skirt. “Nice.”
    Control, control, control. “No. I just don’t want to fight with you.”
    “Oh, please fight.” Brady clasped his hands at his chest as if begging.
    “Please.”
    Shut up! I thought.
    “Now what?” Weston shifted, set his hands on his hips.
    My mind scrambled. “Let’s get her out of here.”
    “Forget it. She did this to herself.”
    “Does she need some help?” A construction worker dressed in insulated overalls, stained overcoat and knit cap stopped, along with his ogling buddies, all of them trying their best not to stare, fighting the gravitational pull of Britt’s hiked skirt.
    “It’s okay,” I waved them on, hoping they’d split. They hemmed, then continued into the store.
    I didn’t want to go anywhere near Britt with the swarm of evil circling her like vultures honing in on the dead, and Brady’s presence added to the mayhem. What gave him the right to hang around, anyway? I hope he’s not going to make a habit of showing up every time Weston gets mad. That’s all I need.
    “We should put her in her car,” I suggested, then bent down, reaching for Britt.
    “And then what? How about we leave her here. She deserves a reality check.”
    “We can’t leave her in the middle of the parking lot,” I said,