Awakened Read Online Free PDF Page A

Nick’s former stomping grounds.
    He could manage a passable conversation in several Slavic languages. Basic shit.
    No, I’m not looking for a hot time. Yes, this is a gun. Now get the fuck out of my way .
    Which summed up the remainder of his tour of duty after Barrett had left him. Correction: after he’d made sure she would have to leave. For her own safety. He hadn’t touched on the subject during their final, passion-crazed bedroom debriefing. She’d kill him if she ever found out what he’d done.
    He missed her so much he’d like to give her the chance. Only shit had happened soon after she’d left him, shit that had changed him forever. Shit she didn’t need to be exposed to given she was, last he checked, finally living life safe.
    Would she despise him if she knew what he was doing now? How low he’d sunk? That he was in essence assassinating former human citizens who’d only wanted to be useful to their country again?
    So far, Nick had taken care of numbers one, three through five, eight, and fifteen on The List. Number three, of course, had been the hardest …
    Memories of Gary swamped him. Grief. Horrific images.
    Pressing his palms into his eyes, he pushed it all back.
    He couldn’t go there.
    He wouldn’t.
    As always, he had more pressing shit to deal with. And he was going to keep it that way.
    Lowering his hands and blinking rapidly, he once more focused on his surveillance equipment. Right now, it looked like things were about to get interesting.
    The scanner screen lit up. Nick and Kevin wore gizmos that identified them differently on their equipment. Nick assumed the two individuals represented by the dots were together, with one leading and the other following as a precautionary measure. The tree cover made it hard to determine exactly what was going on. The ultra-high-resolution scanner was one he’d designed but it was still in beta stage, prone to glitches.
    The dots stopped. Dot two didn’t catch up to dot one. Nick pulled up a topo grid that placed the dots in different positions at the bottom of a dangerously steep, narrow canyon leading directly to the top of the mountain. Staying put would give him a certain advantage. He waited.
    The second dot moved sideways. Someone didn’t want to tumble down the steep slopes of the canyon. Nick had done it himself once, when he’d first moved to the mountain. Not fun.
    The first dot continued upward, slowly.
    In terms of cover, the separation of the two dots didn’t make sense. Maybe their goal was to cover as much territory as possible. But for what?
    His military-bred instincts kicked in. Time to act. Nick went for his current weapon of choice: a crossbow he had designed to his own specifications. In the right hands—his—it was deadly and virtually silent. The new project he’d started on the isolated mountain might be discovered if gunfire startled the animals. It was a safe enough bet that he wasn’t dealing with a couple of lost birdwatchers. He’d get a good look at the intruders first. If a couple of punks had climbed the fence, he’d scare them off. If they were turneds, he would kill them if he had to.
    Nick got on his radio and called Kev. “You seeing what I’m seeing?”
    “Yep. Figured I’d wait to hear from you.” Kev’s voice was youthful and so was he. But he was no less authoritative for being only twenty-three.
    “I’m going out. If you don’t hear from me in thirty, call for backup.”
    “Right. Be careful.”
    Nick grinned. “Yes, Mother.”
    Kev snorted and Nick disconnected the call. He slung the bow over his shoulder. The razor-sharp arrows were barbed and tipped with liquid nitrogen, capable of taking out humans and turned vampires instantly.
    If his visitors were born vampires? Well, Nick was shit out of luck, because as far as Nick knew, they couldn’t be killed. Best to be prepared though …
    Out of habit, Nick counted the arrows.
    Six.
    That oughta do it. He rarely missed.
    Even when he wished