Read Online Against the Dawn by Amanda Bonilla - Free Book Online Page A

laughed as he stepped into my loft, though his amusement didn’t quite reach his eyes. He looked as tired as I was and I felt bad that he’d tailed me all night. “Yeah, even by dive standards, it’s disgusting. Were you able to shake Lorik down at all?”
    “I wish.”
    In a few short strides, Tyler made it to the living room and sat beside me on the couch. “Careful, Darian.”
    It took me a few moments to realize what I’d done. A sign of how exhausted I was. Usually so aware of what I said around Ty, I’d slipped and uttered the words that had a tendency to kick him into gear. “I’m sorry,” I said, sitting up straight as I turned to face him. “I wasn’t thinking. Don’t go into wish-granter mode and hang him off the edge of a building or anything. Not yet, anyway.”
    Ty shifted, and as he settled down into the couch, his hand brushed mine. The contact was so innocent, and yet, it ignited something inside of me that made me flush with warmth and anxiety all at the same time. His eyes met mine, his gaze intense, as though he felt the tightening of each individual nerve in my body.
    Ty sighed and combed his fingers through the tangles of his hair. My fingers itched to reach out and replace them, feel those silky soft strands. But he pushed himself off the couch and began to pace—probably not a good sign—before releasing a heavy sigh.
    “Going against my better judgment, I might’ve found a job for you.”
    I knew that he didn’t want me out in the field, but the fact that he was sending me out meant that maybe he’d acknowledged my feelings and knew I truly needed something to keep my mind occupied. A purpose. A cause. Anything that would make me believe I was serving the greater good. And I hoped that perhaps this job had to do with Ty wanting to keep me close. This awkwardness between us was killing me. If we had to start back at square one, with a simple working relationship, I could do that. We could earn each other’s trust back by small degrees.
    “I’m ready,” I replied, sitting a little straighter. I was totally anxious to get back to work. Besides, I needed an excuse so I wouldn’t have to spend all of my time with Lorik. No way could I keep up with his fast-paced lifestyle. Working for Ty would be sort of an equalizer. “Who’s the mark?”
    “Supernatural,” Ty said without making eye contact. “New in town and stirring up all sorts of trouble. He’s an arms dealer.”
    “Name?”
    “Mithras. I contracted the job through a human associate. His daughter’s an investigative reporter for The Seattle Times and she was looking into a terrorist organization with ties to Mithras. Apparently she got a little too close for comfort because she turned up dead two weeks ago.”
    “What do the local cops have to say about it?”
    Ty stopped pacing for about a half second and gave me a wry look. “Robbery gone wrong. She was killed in her apartment. But nothing was taken so I’m calling bullshit on the robbery angle.”
    Agreed. I doubted the poor woman had interrupted a robbery in progress. Though Ty’s lack of actual evidence failed to implicate anyone at this point. “How was she killed?”
    “Her throat was cut and she was left to bleed out.”
    A gunshot wound would have better fit the M.O. of a common burglar, but still... “Humans use knives, Ty.”
    “True,” he replied. “But her head was almost completely severed. I doubt a human with a knife could have done that. No prints, but her father let me into her apartment and I sensed a residual supernatural presence there. A powerful one. According to my sources, Mithras has amassed quite a following in the city. Devotees. A few weeks ago, one of my contacts said that Mithras had claimed responsibility for a reporter’s death. He wants it known that anyone who fucks with him, will meet a swift end. He takes the god complex to a whole new level. And he likes to brag about his kills. He’s not hiding the fact that he killed