Base Instincts Read Online Free PDF Page A

fucker.

 
    The Big Boss’s office at Dire & Dyre Hong Kong was, to the untrained eye, plush, extravagant, and elegant. Slake doubted a single speck of dust would dare to settle on any of the polished surfaces.
    But to those who knew better, the office was a sinister dungeon filled with lethal traps and ensorcelled relics that could melt eyeballs, hypnotize the unsuspecting, or boil a person’s blood in their veins.
    That Ming vase on the bookshelf across from where Slake was sitting? Sure, it was priceless, but it also contained the ashes of a Charnel Apostle that, if sprinkled in the flame of the black candle next to it, would drain a hundred years off the life of the nearest demon.
    The painting of the cherubic baby angel with the sweet smile on the wall behind the Big Boss? Yeah, with a whispered command, the angel’s eyes would light up with heat that steamed the skin off its intended victim.
    Slake was always pretty uneasy in the room.
    Not, of course, that he showed any sign of being nervous. Nope. In fact, he made a point of casually lounging in the uncomfortable wooden chair across from the Big Boss. Frank Dire, humans called him—humans who were clueless about the fact that he was ter’taceo , a demon in a human suit. To his inner circle, he was Dyre, and he was as evil as anyone Slake had ever known.
    He was, all by himself, Dire & Dyre. He was Dire and Dyre, and when human clients demanded meetings with both “partners,” he had the ability to replicate himself for short periods of time, but only after sacrificing an innocent. The dude was a definite five on the Ufelskala scale of evil.
    “So.” From across the polished mahogany desk the size of a freaking pool table, Dyre stared at Slake, his dark irises ringed by glowing scarlet. The demon inside had come out to play today. Not a good sign. “You haven’t completed your assignment.”
    “I’m close.” Slake eased back in the chair even more and crossed his booted feet at the ankles, the very picture of everything’s cool . “I’ve tracked her to a vampire club in New York. She’s been seen in the company of a certain male.”
    The neutral expression on Dyre’s deceptively handsome face didn’t change. “Her species is parasitic. Did she attach herself to that male?”
    “Unclear. But I’m working on finding out.” If she had, it was possible that Raze would sense if she were in trouble. And a kidnapping probably counted as trouble.
    Dyre picked up a gold pen and began flipping it between his fingers. Slake tensed. The guy was the most dangerous when he appeared the most casual. “The client has been very patient.”
    Slake slid a glance at the angel painting. No melty eyes. So far, so good. “The client didn’t provide a lot to go on.”
    “You’ve never needed a lot to go on,” Dyre countered. “You’re one of Dire & Dyre’s best hunters. So why is it taking you so long to track down one parasitic succubus?”
    Gods, he was impatient. “It’s only been a month—”
    “You have one week to complete your assignment.”
    Slake shot out of his chair. “One . . . week? That’s bullshit! I was supposed to have until the end of next month.”
    “The clients moved up the timeline.”
    Son of a bitch. “Why?”
    “That’s their business.”
    “Yeah, well my soul is my business, and it’s affected by this new deadline.”
    Dyre’s lips peeled back to reveal his shiny white teeth and big-ass fangs. “Your soul is also my business.”
    As if Slake needed the reminder that Dire & Dyre didn’t exist just to make a lot of money. It existed to collect souls too, and Slake’s would become another of the law firm’s assets if he failed to bring in Fayle before the deadline.
    Slake ground his molars so hard his jaw ached. “Yes, sir.”
    Dyre smiled. “Good. Now that we’re in agreement, go complete your assignment.”
    That had been way too easy, and with so much on the line, Slake couldn’t pass up an opportunity to dig a