Read Online Reluctant Alpha by Kathi S. Barton - Free Book Online
Authors: Kathi S. Barton
Ads: Link
she had done. Finger marks, they were called; the potter’s fingers shaping the clay left grooves running up the sides of the piece as it was shaped by her. He pulled out his cell phone, knowing that the other party would be awake.
“ Hey, Aaron. I need a favor, can you help me?” He asked Aaron MacManus, his best friend and a vampire.
“ Yeah, I can help you out. You want me to bring Sara over so she can slap you around a bit too while we’re at it? You know her, always willing to help a friend.” Bradley closed his phone. When it rang back, he didn’t answer it. His night was shitty enough without having Aaron’s teasing to add to it.
About ten minutes later, Aaron was standing in his office. He just simply appeared there. He had been invited into his house numerous times so coming wasn’t a problem. Without saying a word, he walked over to his liquor cabinet and poured them both a whiskey, neat. It wasn’t until after taking a seat across from the massive desk and propping his feet on it next to Bradley’s that he spoke.
“ I’ve been around for fourteen hundred years and this is the first time since I was turned that I can remember being this relaxed and this happy and it’s because of Sara and the twins.”
Bradley handed him a cigar out of the box on the desk and took one for him. He had lit them both with the lighter on the desk and taken several puffs before he said anything. “I hurt that woman today. Not physically, but I hurt her nonetheless. I was a jerk and an ass. I don’t like the feelings one bit. Here, can you tell me what this says?” He threw a copy of a newspaper article dated over eighteen months ago at him after a few more minutes of careful contemplation.
He had done a Google search on Alastriona Bennett and found several thousand articles about her and her work. The one that caught his attention was an article run by the AP that told about a tragic accident that had taken the lives of her brother and father while they were touring Europe just under two years ago. It glossed over many details, but had hinted that the little family and a friend had gotten off the main path in a wildlife preserve and wild animals had attacked them, killing the two men instantly.
“ You want me to read it to you, or just give you details?” Aaron didn’t look up from the sheets Bradley had printed off, but read ahead in anticipation of his answer.
“ Just the details are okay, thanks. I know that it’s in Czech, but does it say that they were in a preserve of some sort?” Bradley leaned back against the chair and waited.
“ Preserve? No, it says that Alastriona Bennett was…wait! The artist, this is her? Ah shit, Bradley, you can’t be serious. It says that she and her family and a friend were touring the churches of Europe when a pack of wild dogs came from the nearby woods and attacked them. Mr. Bennett Sr. and his sixteen-year-old son were killed during the attack. Shit! Patrick Bennett had had his stomach ripped open and the younger Bennett, Jacob, had his neck broken. It says that the animals had done extensive damage to the two men and positive ID had to be made by dental records sent for from the United States. The women, Diana Lake and Alastriona, had been dragged away by the pack and severely injured. Ms. Lake, it says here, was bitten several times but was found the next afternoon hanging from a tree branch. A professional tracker had been brought in and at press time there was little hope of Ms. Bennett being found alive by anyone on the police force. Well, apparently, they found her alive. Is there anything else?” Bradley tossed the next two sheets over to him.
“ ALASTRIONA BENNETT, ARTIST, WAS FOUND TODAY DEEP IN A CAVE NEAR WHERE HER FAMILY REPORTEDLY HAD BEEN BRUTALLY KILLED SEVERAL DAYS BEFORE. IT WAS FIRST REPORTED THAT THEY HAD BEEN ATTACKED BY A PACK OF WILD DOGS, BUT IT WAS LATER REALIZED THAT IT WAS SOME MIGRATING HOMELESS MEN BENT ON STEALING WHAT THEY COULD NOT
“ Hey, Aaron. I need a favor, can you help me?” He asked Aaron MacManus, his best friend and a vampire.
“ Yeah, I can help you out. You want me to bring Sara over so she can slap you around a bit too while we’re at it? You know her, always willing to help a friend.” Bradley closed his phone. When it rang back, he didn’t answer it. His night was shitty enough without having Aaron’s teasing to add to it.
About ten minutes later, Aaron was standing in his office. He just simply appeared there. He had been invited into his house numerous times so coming wasn’t a problem. Without saying a word, he walked over to his liquor cabinet and poured them both a whiskey, neat. It wasn’t until after taking a seat across from the massive desk and propping his feet on it next to Bradley’s that he spoke.
“ I’ve been around for fourteen hundred years and this is the first time since I was turned that I can remember being this relaxed and this happy and it’s because of Sara and the twins.”
Bradley handed him a cigar out of the box on the desk and took one for him. He had lit them both with the lighter on the desk and taken several puffs before he said anything. “I hurt that woman today. Not physically, but I hurt her nonetheless. I was a jerk and an ass. I don’t like the feelings one bit. Here, can you tell me what this says?” He threw a copy of a newspaper article dated over eighteen months ago at him after a few more minutes of careful contemplation.
He had done a Google search on Alastriona Bennett and found several thousand articles about her and her work. The one that caught his attention was an article run by the AP that told about a tragic accident that had taken the lives of her brother and father while they were touring Europe just under two years ago. It glossed over many details, but had hinted that the little family and a friend had gotten off the main path in a wildlife preserve and wild animals had attacked them, killing the two men instantly.
“ You want me to read it to you, or just give you details?” Aaron didn’t look up from the sheets Bradley had printed off, but read ahead in anticipation of his answer.
“ Just the details are okay, thanks. I know that it’s in Czech, but does it say that they were in a preserve of some sort?” Bradley leaned back against the chair and waited.
“ Preserve? No, it says that Alastriona Bennett was…wait! The artist, this is her? Ah shit, Bradley, you can’t be serious. It says that she and her family and a friend were touring the churches of Europe when a pack of wild dogs came from the nearby woods and attacked them. Mr. Bennett Sr. and his sixteen-year-old son were killed during the attack. Shit! Patrick Bennett had had his stomach ripped open and the younger Bennett, Jacob, had his neck broken. It says that the animals had done extensive damage to the two men and positive ID had to be made by dental records sent for from the United States. The women, Diana Lake and Alastriona, had been dragged away by the pack and severely injured. Ms. Lake, it says here, was bitten several times but was found the next afternoon hanging from a tree branch. A professional tracker had been brought in and at press time there was little hope of Ms. Bennett being found alive by anyone on the police force. Well, apparently, they found her alive. Is there anything else?” Bradley tossed the next two sheets over to him.
“ ALASTRIONA BENNETT, ARTIST, WAS FOUND TODAY DEEP IN A CAVE NEAR WHERE HER FAMILY REPORTEDLY HAD BEEN BRUTALLY KILLED SEVERAL DAYS BEFORE. IT WAS FIRST REPORTED THAT THEY HAD BEEN ATTACKED BY A PACK OF WILD DOGS, BUT IT WAS LATER REALIZED THAT IT WAS SOME MIGRATING HOMELESS MEN BENT ON STEALING WHAT THEY COULD NOT
Similar Books
