Read Online Forbidden (The Preternaturals) by Zoe Winters - Free Book Online

forget you saw me tonight.”
    She nodded, glassy-eyed as he helped her get into the Styleline and shut
the door behind her.
    “Drive safely.”
    She seemed lighter and happier as she started the car and drove away.
    Hadrian felt high, both on the blood and on the power he now possessed—the
ability to make a difference in lives even if it wasn’t with
sunshine and rainbows.
    “Excuse me?” a woman said as he strode down the strip. “Would you happen
to have a dime for the phone booth?” She pointed at a new glass
booth about a block away.
    Hadrian felt around in his pockets, and came out with a shiny thin dime.
    “Thank you! You’re a life saver.”
    He smiled. “Don’t mention it.” Too sweet for his tastes.
    A while later, he came across a con artist in the Dunes hotel and
casino. She was a femme-fatale type, all black stockings and dark red
lips.
    He stayed a distance away, watching, waiting for his moment. An issue of
Life Magazine had been abandoned on one of the tables. The cover
featured two showgirls from the Moulin Rouge hotel, their ruffled
skirts pulled up to show much of their thighs. They wore yellow
feathers in their hair. The headline read: “Las Vegas—is boom
overextended?”
    A few days ago, Hadrian would have said yes, but the city had gone from
too many people to a buffet in his perception.
    “Pretty girls,” a man nearby said, observing Hadrian’s interest in the
cover. “Saw ‘em last night in person. They’ve still got new
copies of that issue for twenty cents a few doors down from here.”
    “Thanks,” Hadrian said, as the guy moved past him.
    Father Hadrian put the magazine down and turned his attention back to his
prey.
    She stood beside a roulette table and took a cigarette from her bag.
Hadrian slid in, lighter in hand. He always kept one in his pocket
for lighting candles around the church before Mass started. She
smiled indulgently, sizing him up as she leaned into the flame. She
appeared to like what she saw.
    “So, how’s tricks?” he asked.
    “Pardon me?” She drew her head back as if she’d been slapped. “I’m
not a prostitute.”
    “Of course not. That would be honest work compared to the cons you’ve
been pulling.” He took her by the elbow and eased her away from
witnesses as he spoke, his tone low.
    “Are you a Fed?” she whispered, looking around to see if anyone was
eavesdropping on their conversation.
    He pointed to the Roman collar. “No. I’m a priest. Did the outfit
not give me away?” It was clear she’d thought he was dressed like
that as part of an undercover operation.
    She rolled her eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Is this a
bit?”
    “Come with me,” he said, unfazed by her tantrum.
    “No. Get your hands off me. If you aren’t a cop I don’t have to talk
to you.”
    Hadrian gripped her chin, forcing her eyes to meet his. “Come. With. Me.”
    Her expression became sweet and open. “All right. Whatever you say,
Father.”
    Leading her outside, he took an inventory of her mind. Her list of crimes was
impressive. Small cons, long cons, a couple of jewelry heists and a
murder under her belt—someone who had gotten in her way. She didn’t
seem to feel guilty for any of it. But he needed to be sure.
    In a deserted alleyway, far from witnesses, he interrogated her. “If
you’d like to confess your sins, I’m open to hearing them.”
Even though he already knew. He was careful with his wording to be
sure he didn’t coerce her to do anything she wouldn’t have done
anyway.
    Her eyes lit with condescending mirth. “That’s all right, Father. Why
don’t you go back to church where it’s safer? The company around
here seems a bit dangerous for you.”
    “Does it? Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. I’m more
concerned about you. I’m only trying to save you. Do you feel
remorse for your sins?” He held her gaze, peering inside her mind.
Whatever she said out loud wasn’t what mattered. It was what