Armageddon Rules Read Online Free PDF Page B

difference. Most days, they simply stayed at home unless called. I opened the window and picked up a wrought-iron triangle Liam made for me. When I clanged it, a man’s head popped up out of the Dumpster. “Rapunzel?”
    “How many times do I have to tell you that’s not my name?” I went to my kitchen and pulled the steak and potatoes left over from Liam’s birthday dinner out of the fridge, then lowered them down in a basket tied to a rope made of hair. “You can have steak. The cat food goes to—”
    “Rapunzel.” He handed the paper plate to a mangy tabby, who rubbed up against him. “She’s my good girl.”
    I shut the window, grabbed Ari, and headed back to the Agency. Definitely a Monday.

Four

    THE MOMENT I passed the staff door, I heard Liam’s deep laugh coming from Grimm’s office. I ran to meet him, not bothering to knock. Liam stood nearly six feet tall, with a barrel chest and arms that could tear your own off. Being a blacksmith will do that to you (give you arms, not tear them off).
    “M!” He crushed me in a hug, picking me up off the ground. “Sorry about this weekend.”
    I was still angry, but it was hard to be held and angry at the same time, so I put my head on his shoulder and relaxed. Then my eyes snapped open. I pushed back and looked at him again as he set me down. Bruises covered both of his cheeks, and bloody patches clung to his knuckles.
    I ran a finger along his eyebrow, wiping blood from it. “What have you been doing?”
    He took my hand in his and put the other on my cheek. “The usual Monday things.”
    Translation: making weekly rounds, reminding a few people that whatever else they had planned, this week was a bad week to get revenge on me. I’d made a lot of enemies. At least two queens wanted me killed on sight. An entire army of wolves wanted me dead for shooting their leader, and at one point the entire postal service wanted to see me returned to sender. For a while, I had assassins showing up every couple of days. All that changed when Liam moved in. My enemies probably still wanted to kill me but valued their intestines too much to try.
    Grimm cleared his throat. “Now that you are finally here, I’d like to talk to both of you about an opportunity.”
    “He’s not going to pose nude for the art college. We already had that discussion.”
    Liam blushed and looked at the floor. I didn’t care how many times he did that before, I had my rules, and one of them was my boyfriend kept his boy bits between us.
    “Tell me you’ve found a way to dull the curse. I’ve reached my yearly limit of burn cream. Any more and I have to register as a wholesale dealer.”
    Liam snorted and a bit of smoke curled out of his nostrils.
    Grimm crossed his arms. “Actually, I had quite the opposite in mind. I’ve been researching ways to trigger the curse and keep it active even when he goes to sleep.”
    “You’ve been doing what?” My face flushed, and I put my hands on my hips. “Why?”
    Liam looked to Grimm in a panic that I found completely appropriate.
    Grimm disappeared for a moment, and flowing script filled the mirror, though in no language or alphabet I’d ever seen. His voice came from the mirror, though I couldn’t see him. “See for yourself, my dear.”
    “Neither of us read hieroglyphics. Translation?”
    Grimm reappeared in the mirror. “I will arrange to have you taught Vampirese at some other time. For now, let us simply say that the time has come for the oldest undead family to take their once-a-century dirt nap.”
    I glared at Grimm, waiting for him to get to the part that involved Liam and me.
    “Now, in the old days, this would be when peasants would descend on castles, coffins would be overturned, steaks driven through vampires’ mouths, and then garlic salt sprinkled on them.”
    I nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Put me on a plane to Europe and I’ll get it done.”
    “The vampires of today are not bloodthirsty monsters, Marissa. Sunlight