Read Online Shadow Bloodlines (Shadow Bloodlines #1) by A. R. Cooper - Free Book Online Page A

added, “So what I did back there at Jacqui’s with the shadow smoky things, are they dead? Do I just need to do that again and we’ll be safe?”
    “No. They are harder to kill than that. This is why they are winning this war against shifters… and have been for thousands of years. We have yet to determine how to kill them so they cannot resurrect.”
    “They have to have a weakness.” I tucked my legs underneath me to get more comfortable. With Amar in the backseat and his wings filling the space, I felt like I was in a Mini Cooper rather than a plush BMW. I checked my cell again; still not enough battery to call my mom.
    “Is your phone charged?” I asked her.
    She tossed it to me, but it was in lockdown for some type of update.
    “No weaknesses that I am aware of. We need to go to Egypt and search the records. Maybe something has been discovered since I left.”
    “Not with terrorists around,” I mumbled. Jacqui was quiet and I guessed she’d let me fume for a while about her news. It stung that she hadn’t trusted me. If I hadn’t found out I was a shifter, she probably never would have told me. I needed to see about my mom.
    “Terrorists?” Amar scanned the area around us as we drove. “What do you mean?”
    “Just the middle east is not the best spot for Americans.” I rolled my shoulders.
    Maybe the next town would have a payphone. We drove for ten minutes until we reached a mini-town crammed with buildings and lined with homeless. At a stoplight, an elderly homeless man held a sign begging for money.
    “Where are we going?”
    “Shopping,” She answered.
    “No! We can’t. There are smoky goons after me, maybe after both us if they find out you’re a shifter too.” I bit my lip. Leave it to my best friend to think of shopping as a cure for anything. But I’d seen those guys materialize into smoke, vanish, then reappear.
    “Look. We can get a change of clothes,” I said and when she frowned, I added, “or two, but we can’t waste time.”
    “Right.” She slumped back in her seat.
    I’d seen enough spy shows to know one thing. “We need cash, but can’t use credit cards or they might trace them. And I have to check on my mom!” I pointed to a gas station in the distance. “Cash and a bite. Then I’ll snag some clothes while we check on my mom.” But I didn’t see any payphones.
    “Would you come with me to my mom’s?”
    She pulled into the gas station and put the car into park. “Of course.” Her voice was slightly shaky like she was glad I wasn’t mad at her. “I think you should call her first. Maybe warn her and find out if they…”
    My face must have paled because she didn’t finish her sentence. Guess she knew what these crazy things could do to people. I swallowed against the pressure building in my throat. God, I hoped my mom was okay. She was the only family I had, besides my shifter-absentee father.
    I was still peeved that she’d never told me, but at least I understood.
    “Here.” She handed me her wallet. “Go grab some cash while I pump the gas.”
    After digging through her wallet, mine was who knew where, I asked her the pin number and how much money she had in her account, then went inside. Somehow, I would pay her back. The cash, the dress, and the nightmares that were sure to be with her forever.
    The man behind the counter glared at me, but I smiled and went to the ATM machine. I drew out three hundred in twenties. I hoped it was enough. Jacqueline had tons more, but I didn’t want to carry around that much cash. I knew Ms. Moor and whoever worked with her could trace the ATM usage, but maybe if we were smart about spending, they wouldn’t know where we were headed. Hell, I didn’t even know.
    In a handbasket, I gathered a couple of beers and cartoon t-shirts, two pairs of shorts, and the last pair of flip-flops they had.
    Then I grabbed sodas, chips, and candy before paying for it all and rushing to the car. Jacqui finished pumping the gas.