Read Online Shadow Borne by Angie West - Free Book Online Page A

the edge of my sheets and my
muscles relaxed another delicious degree. Sleep was near and oh how
I welcomed the peace. The week had been a long and tedious one, par
for the course whenever a new rescue mission was getting underway,
but right now I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and drift
into a peaceful slumber.
    And really I couldn't think of a single
reason why that shouldn't happen, why I shouldn't take a page from
Claire's handbook and let my guard down, truly enjoy falling asleep
instead of forcing myself to do it just because it was
necessary.
    My eyes drifted lazily over the soft silvery
glow of moonlight that spilled onto the sheet next to my head. I
yawned, blinking when my eyes began to water. And then the light
flickered, shifted, and was gone. Wide-eyed, I snapped to
attention, instantly alert even though I hadn't yet moved a muscle.
Moving only my eyes, I slowly, carefully forced them to go
half-mast and peeked through my lashes at the window over the head
of the bed. The dark shape was still there. Tall enough and close
enough to fill the space outside the window and blot out the light.
There was someone out there and he was looking in at me right now.
It was hard but I forced myself to remain silent and still, not to
move even the slightest little bit because at such close range, the
man would surely notice any movement.
    My heart was doing a two-step and for a
quick, irrational moment I worried the bastard pervert outside
would hear, would somehow know I was lying here in the dark, scared
stiff. But of course that was ridiculous, it was fear talking.
There was no way the window peeper would know a damn thing unless I
gave away my own hand and moved. The key to any situation was to
immediately stack the deck in your favor by keeping a cool head and
a clinical outlook. Strategy. Planning. Action.
    He wouldn't bother with the smaller window
on the opposite wall; it didn't have a good enough view of the bed,
really would only show him the door and part of the dresser and
besides, the wide wooden slat blinds were closed. That meant the
only way for him to keep tabs on me was through the window he was
at right now.
    The obvious downside being it was so close
to the bed that, had the window been open, he would have
practically been breathing down my neck. Which was so not a
comforting thought. I grimaced and for the first time in my life
felt immensely grateful that I was too paranoid to sleep with the
windows open. Someone like Juliette would have been toast right
now.
    Knowing what I had to do and actually
putting the plans to the deed were two totally different things and
not as easy as it sounded. Despite having spent the last eighteen
months being conditioned to fight, and even though nymphs were a
little more coordinated then regular people, a little faster,
sharper...the familiar flash of hot then cold washed over me in a
dizzying wave. It was the logical, completely physical part of my
body acknowledging that death could literally be right around the
corner. Normal people just didn't live their lives worrying about
such things, I lamented, schooling quivering muscles to hold it,
hold it, just another moment longer.
    Why did it seem like every time I began to
let down my guard, someone tried to kidnap me or kill me? Soon,
soon, the words whispered like a mantra through my mind, soothing
and bolstering all at once. Breath. In-out. In-out, nice and slow,
nice and steady. Soon he would make his move; the gauntlet would be
thrown and then I would make mine. There. Every sense focused into
high alert when the shadow lifted and the moonlight was once more
splashed across the bed.
    It didn't feel silvery and pretty anymore;
it was too bright and I was raw and naked, exposed in its glare.
Naked. One corner of my mouth twisted at the thought. That
certainly would have made this night worse, if I'd had to waste
time getting dressed on top of the precious seconds retrieving my
weapon and lacing my boots would