Read Online Darkness Unbound by Keri Arthur - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Keri Arthur
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police academy in Glen Waverley. Riley hadn’t wanted them to become cops, but Liana and Ronan were very much their mother’s offspring. When they had their minds set on something, neither hell nor high water could convince them to do otherwise.
I drove up to the metal gates at the back of the building, then pulled off a glove and pressed my hand against the scanner. Red light swept it, then the gates swung open. I parked beside Riley’s somewhat battered Mercedes SUV and kicked the side stand out. After pulling off my helmet and dropping it onto the seat, I ran up the metal stairs and leaned on the back doorbell.
Footsteps echoed, then the door opened and Aunt Riley was standing there, her hair a blaze of red and gold in the weak sun struggling through the still-threatening clouds. Her gaze swept me, then her gray eyes narrowed, glinting dangerously. “I hope like hell you made them pay for what they did to you.”
I grimaced. “The odds were a little in their favor.”
She grunted, then stood aside and motioned me in. “Let’s get you cleaned up. You can explain what happened and who we have to chase after.”
I grinned. I might not have come here for that sort of help, but it was always nice to know she was ready to kick some ass for me. Then again, she’d always treated me like one of her own.
She slammed the door shut and fell into step beside me, her gait long and easy. She was dressed in her usual jeans and T-shirt, but her feet were bare and half her toenails were painted an iridescent orange that clashed wildly with the vivid red of her hair.
“I’m gathering Uncle Liander has found a new nail color?”
She rolled her eyes, her smile warm and amused. I’d known her all my life, and she looked as young now as she had when I was a kid. So did Uncle Rhoan. Liander was the only one who’d aged, and even then you could only see it in the fine lines around his eyes and near his mouth.
“He never wears it himself, you know. I think he just enjoys painting my toenails.”
“Well, Uncle Rhoan never sits still long enough, so I guess you’re the next best option.”
She laughed and pushed open the door that led to the huge expanse that was their main living area. It was actually very similar in design to my own place, with the metal and brick of the old warehouse in plain view, and enhanced with lots of chrome and glass. But unlike ours, this place was filled with a riot of colors, from the green and rust of the huge sofas dominating the center of the room to the cherrywood and black of the kitchen. Huge paintings were dotted around the old walls—family portraits intermingled with light frames containing rolling images of forests and beaches. Aunt Riley had become so proficient at photography that she’d recently had her first exhibition. If the success of that was anything to go by, she was going to make a name for herself in the art world.
Not that that was her aim. Shoes were her true passion, and she’d been designing her own for years now. I had prototypes of the latest line in my wardrobe, and I have to say, they rocked.
Liander was sitting on the huge glass-and-chrome coffee table in the middle of the U-shaped line of sofas, but his welcoming smile faded as he looked at me. “What the hell happened to you?”
“Some shifters decided it would be a nice day for an ambush,” I said, then changed direction as Riley nudged me toward the bathroom. “Although they weren’t actually shifters.”
“Strip and shower,” Riley ordered. “And I’ll get you some clean clothes. You,” she added, as Liander made to follow us in, “go make me a coffee and grab Ris a Coke. The explanations can wait until we get her cleaned up. Or do you want to explain to Dia why we let her little girl stand around and bleed to death?”
“I’m hardly bleeding to death,” I commented.
“That is not the point,” she said. “I’ve seen your mother annoyed. And trust me, it isn’t pretty. Go shower.
I drove up to the metal gates at the back of the building, then pulled off a glove and pressed my hand against the scanner. Red light swept it, then the gates swung open. I parked beside Riley’s somewhat battered Mercedes SUV and kicked the side stand out. After pulling off my helmet and dropping it onto the seat, I ran up the metal stairs and leaned on the back doorbell.
Footsteps echoed, then the door opened and Aunt Riley was standing there, her hair a blaze of red and gold in the weak sun struggling through the still-threatening clouds. Her gaze swept me, then her gray eyes narrowed, glinting dangerously. “I hope like hell you made them pay for what they did to you.”
I grimaced. “The odds were a little in their favor.”
She grunted, then stood aside and motioned me in. “Let’s get you cleaned up. You can explain what happened and who we have to chase after.”
I grinned. I might not have come here for that sort of help, but it was always nice to know she was ready to kick some ass for me. Then again, she’d always treated me like one of her own.
She slammed the door shut and fell into step beside me, her gait long and easy. She was dressed in her usual jeans and T-shirt, but her feet were bare and half her toenails were painted an iridescent orange that clashed wildly with the vivid red of her hair.
“I’m gathering Uncle Liander has found a new nail color?”
She rolled her eyes, her smile warm and amused. I’d known her all my life, and she looked as young now as she had when I was a kid. So did Uncle Rhoan. Liander was the only one who’d aged, and even then you could only see it in the fine lines around his eyes and near his mouth.
“He never wears it himself, you know. I think he just enjoys painting my toenails.”
“Well, Uncle Rhoan never sits still long enough, so I guess you’re the next best option.”
She laughed and pushed open the door that led to the huge expanse that was their main living area. It was actually very similar in design to my own place, with the metal and brick of the old warehouse in plain view, and enhanced with lots of chrome and glass. But unlike ours, this place was filled with a riot of colors, from the green and rust of the huge sofas dominating the center of the room to the cherrywood and black of the kitchen. Huge paintings were dotted around the old walls—family portraits intermingled with light frames containing rolling images of forests and beaches. Aunt Riley had become so proficient at photography that she’d recently had her first exhibition. If the success of that was anything to go by, she was going to make a name for herself in the art world.
Not that that was her aim. Shoes were her true passion, and she’d been designing her own for years now. I had prototypes of the latest line in my wardrobe, and I have to say, they rocked.
Liander was sitting on the huge glass-and-chrome coffee table in the middle of the U-shaped line of sofas, but his welcoming smile faded as he looked at me. “What the hell happened to you?”
“Some shifters decided it would be a nice day for an ambush,” I said, then changed direction as Riley nudged me toward the bathroom. “Although they weren’t actually shifters.”
“Strip and shower,” Riley ordered. “And I’ll get you some clean clothes. You,” she added, as Liander made to follow us in, “go make me a coffee and grab Ris a Coke. The explanations can wait until we get her cleaned up. Or do you want to explain to Dia why we let her little girl stand around and bleed to death?”
“I’m hardly bleeding to death,” I commented.
“That is not the point,” she said. “I’ve seen your mother annoyed. And trust me, it isn’t pretty. Go shower.
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