Read Online Blessed by a Demon’s Mark by E. S. Moore - Free Book Online

coat Sienna had bought me to conceal the shoulder holster.
    Within minutes, I was ready. I’d thought putting on my old things would feel strange, but I felt oddly at home. I never realized how much I missed having the comforts of my weapons close against my body. If that didn’t say what kind of person I was, then nothing would.
    “I’ll be back soon,” I said.
    Ethan nodded and remained downstairs as I headed up the stairs to grab my bulky winter coat. It didn’t quite match the rest of my outfit, but it would serve well enough.
    I double-checked to make sure I had everything, took a deep breath, and then walked out the door.

6
    Despite my agitated state, a wave of serenity passed through me as I pulled into The Bloody Stake parking lot. While it might not be the safest place in the world, it was surprisingly one of the few places I could go to relax and forget my troubles, though tonight I was there for another reason entirely.
    The bar still looked the same as the last time I saw it. The flickering neon lights in the windows, the grime that covered most of the outside, the big moving sign with a woman repeatedly staking an overdressed vampire, they were all indications that no matter how much everything else had changed, Bart Miller never would.
    I parked just inside the lot, as far away from the trash bin as I could get. It reeked of stale beer and garbage left out too long. I could smell it even from the road. The smell completed the image that The Bloody Stake was as sleazy as they came.
    Of course, an image was all it was. Inside, the floor was cleaned regularly, the tables were always polished. The chairs and booths were comfortable and sturdy. The subdued light kept the atmosphere calm, or at least as calm as it could be when hungry vamps and wolves were sitting at a table next to a likely victim.
    And that was part of the charm of the place. Danger lurked around every corner, and yet the danger typically behaved itself here. To do anything else was to invite a quick and painful death.
    I crossed the parking lot, feeling self-conscious in my heavy coat. I doubted anyone would care what I was wearing, but still . . .
    The doors opened without a sound and Bart’s eye immediately fell on me from where he stood at the bar. He looked like a street brawler, thick all around, with a scar running down the right side of his face. He had a limp that I noticed was a little more pronounced than usual. I wondered if there had been a fight while I was away.
    I took a quick glance around the room. I’d seen most of the patrons here before, but I didn’t know their names. People didn’t come to The Bloody Stake to socialize. You could sit down and talk, sure, but to give someone your name was just asking them to track you down and eat you later.
    Mikael Engelbrecht sat at his usual table. He was talking to someone, which wasn’t too surprising. He was a snitch who did his business from the same booth every night. I’m not even sure he ever moved. I don’t even think I’ve ever seen him get up to go to the bathroom.
    Usually when I came in, he was fingers deep in some young thing, and I mean that literally more often than not. It was pretty disgusting, yet no one else seemed to care. Mikael had his own sort of charm, albeit a greasy, slimeball sort.
    Tonight he wasn’t with one of his girls, which meant he was working. I was sure the girls were somewhere nearby, waiting for him to be done so they could cozy up next to him again.
    I went to the bar to wait for Mikael to finish his business. If I wanted to learn anything about who was hunting me, Mikael would know. Aside from the wolves at the Luna Cult and Ethan, no one but Mikael knew who I really was.
    Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Adrian Davis, the Luna Cult defector and all-around pain in the ass, did. He was the only one I didn’t trust not to talk. But he had kept my identity a secret before when it would have benefited him to give me up, so there was still