Read Online Everafter Series 2 - Nevermore by Nell Stark, Trinity Tam - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Nell Stark, Trinity Tam
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what I hoped was my most intimidating stare. “You know as well as I do that our people need that kind of outlet. So tell me where they’re getting it now.”
He pushed the plate aside and leaned in close enough to kiss me. I didn’t move. “The Chinatown tunnels. Tomorrow night.” Uncertainty flashed over his face—an unfamiliar expression. “You really think the Circuit has something to do with what’s happened to Vincent?”
“It’s your baby. You would know better than I.” When Sebastian shook his head, I flashed my sharp canines to forestall him. “Don’t try denying it. ‘I put the Circuit on ice,’ you said.”
He grimaced. “So I did. Damn it. I can’t afford to slip like that right now.” He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. When he opened them, they telegraphed his anger. “I don’t like coincidences. The ADA starts snooping around at the same time a sick Were goes missing?”
“And there’s been no word from Telassar,” I reminded him. It wasn’t surprising that urbane Sebastian didn’t have a strong connection to the isolationists in Africa, but I knewsomehow that Alexa’s silence was part of this puzzle.
“Fine, yes, that too.”
I looked at my watch. I needed to be at the lab in an hour. “Will you be there tomorrow night?” I asked as I threw a few bills down on the faux granite tabletop. “Come to think of it, I’ve never seen you on the Circuit.”
Sebastian’s grin was pure wolf. He stood with a subtle grace that was both masculine and animal. “Nonetheless,” he said softly, “I’m always there.”
Chapter Six
I reached the Bloody Angle just as it began to rain. Earlier in the evening, dark clouds had rolled in from the west, smothering the sunset. But the storm had held off until I’d set foot on Doyers Street. Probably a bad omen.
At the turn of the century, crooked Doyers had been infamous as a good place to get mugged by one of the gangs warring over the turf of Chinatown and Little Italy. Now it was a tourist attraction. As the skies opened, I made a dash for the Wing Fat Arcade, stepping down into the tunnel only seconds before the first crack of thunder rent the night. In the moments it had taken me to get indoors, the rain had plastered my hair to my head and my shirt to my torso. Rivulets of water streamed down my face to drip onto the stone steps leading into the bowels of the city.
Shops, all closed for the day, lined the narrow underground street: acupuncturists, an apothecary, English schools. When I reached the first intersection, I looked right, then left. Both corridors ended in barred doors with signs in English proclaiming “Keep Out!” and signs in Chinese that probably said the same thing. The one on the left also featured a beautiful woman lurking in the shadows. The gatekeeper.
She pressed close as she handed me a raffle ticket. “Haven’t seen you in months.” When she breathed in deeply, frown lines materialized on her forehead. “Hmm.”
“What?”
“The cat. Her scent has faded.” Her lips skated lightly across my neck. “She shouldn’t be so cavalier about her territory.”
I stiffened and stepped away, tamping down a blistering surge of anger that made me want to sink my sharpened teeth into the tattoo just below her collarbone. Instead, I reached for the door handle. It didn’t budge. The gatekeeper smiled provocatively as she pulled her cell phone from the front pocket of her skinny jeans. When she punched three numbers into the keypad, I heard a click as the lock released.
“Have fun,” she said as I stepped into the gloom beyond. As soon as the door slammed shut, I crumpled up my ticket and tossed it onto the floor. I wanted what it offered too much to trust myself.
The corridor was sinuous, twisting every ten feet so that it was impossible to make out its destination. Naked lightbulbs hung from the ceiling, their harsh light illuminating doors that were set into the uneven stone walls at regular
He pushed the plate aside and leaned in close enough to kiss me. I didn’t move. “The Chinatown tunnels. Tomorrow night.” Uncertainty flashed over his face—an unfamiliar expression. “You really think the Circuit has something to do with what’s happened to Vincent?”
“It’s your baby. You would know better than I.” When Sebastian shook his head, I flashed my sharp canines to forestall him. “Don’t try denying it. ‘I put the Circuit on ice,’ you said.”
He grimaced. “So I did. Damn it. I can’t afford to slip like that right now.” He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. When he opened them, they telegraphed his anger. “I don’t like coincidences. The ADA starts snooping around at the same time a sick Were goes missing?”
“And there’s been no word from Telassar,” I reminded him. It wasn’t surprising that urbane Sebastian didn’t have a strong connection to the isolationists in Africa, but I knewsomehow that Alexa’s silence was part of this puzzle.
“Fine, yes, that too.”
I looked at my watch. I needed to be at the lab in an hour. “Will you be there tomorrow night?” I asked as I threw a few bills down on the faux granite tabletop. “Come to think of it, I’ve never seen you on the Circuit.”
Sebastian’s grin was pure wolf. He stood with a subtle grace that was both masculine and animal. “Nonetheless,” he said softly, “I’m always there.”
Chapter Six
I reached the Bloody Angle just as it began to rain. Earlier in the evening, dark clouds had rolled in from the west, smothering the sunset. But the storm had held off until I’d set foot on Doyers Street. Probably a bad omen.
At the turn of the century, crooked Doyers had been infamous as a good place to get mugged by one of the gangs warring over the turf of Chinatown and Little Italy. Now it was a tourist attraction. As the skies opened, I made a dash for the Wing Fat Arcade, stepping down into the tunnel only seconds before the first crack of thunder rent the night. In the moments it had taken me to get indoors, the rain had plastered my hair to my head and my shirt to my torso. Rivulets of water streamed down my face to drip onto the stone steps leading into the bowels of the city.
Shops, all closed for the day, lined the narrow underground street: acupuncturists, an apothecary, English schools. When I reached the first intersection, I looked right, then left. Both corridors ended in barred doors with signs in English proclaiming “Keep Out!” and signs in Chinese that probably said the same thing. The one on the left also featured a beautiful woman lurking in the shadows. The gatekeeper.
She pressed close as she handed me a raffle ticket. “Haven’t seen you in months.” When she breathed in deeply, frown lines materialized on her forehead. “Hmm.”
“What?”
“The cat. Her scent has faded.” Her lips skated lightly across my neck. “She shouldn’t be so cavalier about her territory.”
I stiffened and stepped away, tamping down a blistering surge of anger that made me want to sink my sharpened teeth into the tattoo just below her collarbone. Instead, I reached for the door handle. It didn’t budge. The gatekeeper smiled provocatively as she pulled her cell phone from the front pocket of her skinny jeans. When she punched three numbers into the keypad, I heard a click as the lock released.
“Have fun,” she said as I stepped into the gloom beyond. As soon as the door slammed shut, I crumpled up my ticket and tossed it onto the floor. I wanted what it offered too much to trust myself.
The corridor was sinuous, twisting every ten feet so that it was impossible to make out its destination. Naked lightbulbs hung from the ceiling, their harsh light illuminating doors that were set into the uneven stone walls at regular
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