Read Online Every Which Way But Dead by Kim Harrison - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kim Harrison
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hadnât seen him in days, and I didnât want to ruin it with a bad temper. Besides, I had been worried sick the last three months about slipping my bargain with Al, and now that I had, I wanted to feel good for a while.
I hadnât told Nick, and the chance to come clean would be another weight off me. I lied to myself that I had kept quiet because I was afraid he would try to take my burdenâseeing as he had a chivalrous streak longer and wider than a six-lane highwayâbut in reality I was afraid he would call me a hypocrite since I was forever on him about the dangers of dealing with demons, and here I was, becoming oneâs familiar. Nick had an unhealthy lack of fear when it came to demons, thinking that as long as you handled them properly, they were no more dangerous than sayâ¦a pit viper.
So I stood and fidgeted in the cold as he parked his saltstained, ugly truck a few slots down from mine. His indistinct shadow moved inside as he shuffled about, finally getting out and slamming the door with an intensity that I knew wasnât directed at me but necessary to get the worn latch to catch.
âRay-ray,â he said as he held his phone up and strode around the front. His lean height looked good and his pace was quick. A smile was on his face, its once-gauntness muted into a pleasant, rugged severity. âDid you just call?â
I nodded, letting my arms fall to my sides. Obviously he wasnât prepared to run, as he was dressed in faded jeans and boots. A thick fabric coat was unzipped to show a bland, flannel button-down shirt. It was neatly tucked in and his long face was clean-shaven, but he still managed to look mildly unkempt, with his short black hair a shade too long. He had a bookish mien instead of the hint of danger that I usually liked in my men. But maybe I found Nickâs danger to be his intelligence.
Nick was the smartest man I knew, his brilliant jumps of logic hidden behind an understated appearance and a deceptively mild temperament. In hindsight, it was probably this rare mix of wicked intellect and harmless human that attracted me to him. Or possibly that he had saved my life by binding Big Al when he tried to rip out my throat.
And despite Nickâs preoccupation with old books and new electronics, he wasnât a geek: his shoulders were too broad and his butt was too tight. His long, lean legs could keep up with me when we ran, and there was a surprising amount of strength in his arms, as evidenced by our once frequent, now distressingly absent, mock wrestling, which more often than not had turned into a more, er, intimate activity. It was the memory of our once-closeness that kept the frown off my face when he came around the front of his truck, his brown eyes pinched in apology.
âI didnât forget,â he said, his long face looking longer as he tossed his straight bangs out of his way. There was a flash of a demon mark high on his brow, gained the same night I had gotten my first and remaining one. âI got caught up in what I was doing and lost track of time. Iâm sorry, Rachel. I know you were looking forward to it, but I havenât even been to bed and Iâm dead tired. Do you want to reschedule for tomorrow?â
I kept my reaction to a sigh, trying to stifle my disappointment. âNo,â I said around a long exhalation. He reached out, his arms going around me in a light hug. I leaned into the expected hesitancy of it, wanting more. The distance had been there so long that it almost felt normal. Pulling back, he shuffled his feet.
âWorking hard?â I offered. This was the first time I had seen him in a week, not including the odd phone call, and I didnât just want to walk away.
Nick, too, didnât seem eager to leave. âYes and no.â He squinted into the sun. âI was up sifting through old messages on a chat-room list after finding a mention of that book Al took.â
Immediately my
I hadnât told Nick, and the chance to come clean would be another weight off me. I lied to myself that I had kept quiet because I was afraid he would try to take my burdenâseeing as he had a chivalrous streak longer and wider than a six-lane highwayâbut in reality I was afraid he would call me a hypocrite since I was forever on him about the dangers of dealing with demons, and here I was, becoming oneâs familiar. Nick had an unhealthy lack of fear when it came to demons, thinking that as long as you handled them properly, they were no more dangerous than sayâ¦a pit viper.
So I stood and fidgeted in the cold as he parked his saltstained, ugly truck a few slots down from mine. His indistinct shadow moved inside as he shuffled about, finally getting out and slamming the door with an intensity that I knew wasnât directed at me but necessary to get the worn latch to catch.
âRay-ray,â he said as he held his phone up and strode around the front. His lean height looked good and his pace was quick. A smile was on his face, its once-gauntness muted into a pleasant, rugged severity. âDid you just call?â
I nodded, letting my arms fall to my sides. Obviously he wasnât prepared to run, as he was dressed in faded jeans and boots. A thick fabric coat was unzipped to show a bland, flannel button-down shirt. It was neatly tucked in and his long face was clean-shaven, but he still managed to look mildly unkempt, with his short black hair a shade too long. He had a bookish mien instead of the hint of danger that I usually liked in my men. But maybe I found Nickâs danger to be his intelligence.
Nick was the smartest man I knew, his brilliant jumps of logic hidden behind an understated appearance and a deceptively mild temperament. In hindsight, it was probably this rare mix of wicked intellect and harmless human that attracted me to him. Or possibly that he had saved my life by binding Big Al when he tried to rip out my throat.
And despite Nickâs preoccupation with old books and new electronics, he wasnât a geek: his shoulders were too broad and his butt was too tight. His long, lean legs could keep up with me when we ran, and there was a surprising amount of strength in his arms, as evidenced by our once frequent, now distressingly absent, mock wrestling, which more often than not had turned into a more, er, intimate activity. It was the memory of our once-closeness that kept the frown off my face when he came around the front of his truck, his brown eyes pinched in apology.
âI didnât forget,â he said, his long face looking longer as he tossed his straight bangs out of his way. There was a flash of a demon mark high on his brow, gained the same night I had gotten my first and remaining one. âI got caught up in what I was doing and lost track of time. Iâm sorry, Rachel. I know you were looking forward to it, but I havenât even been to bed and Iâm dead tired. Do you want to reschedule for tomorrow?â
I kept my reaction to a sigh, trying to stifle my disappointment. âNo,â I said around a long exhalation. He reached out, his arms going around me in a light hug. I leaned into the expected hesitancy of it, wanting more. The distance had been there so long that it almost felt normal. Pulling back, he shuffled his feet.
âWorking hard?â I offered. This was the first time I had seen him in a week, not including the odd phone call, and I didnât just want to walk away.
Nick, too, didnât seem eager to leave. âYes and no.â He squinted into the sun. âI was up sifting through old messages on a chat-room list after finding a mention of that book Al took.â
Immediately my
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