Dark Deceit Read Online Free PDF Page B

looking her over
from head to toe with an appreciative eye. Her slim body, blue eyes and plaited
blonde hair made her the subject of many males’ wet dreams. She hated that she
looked like she did; she simply drew too much attention.
    But that had been the point, once upon a time.
    Ignoring their lust-filled eyes, she strode purposefully through the
crowd, emitting a presence to others that made it clear she didn’t want to be
engaged in conversation. As the crowds parted, she made her way over to the
front door. Mav had stepped aside to let a group of men in, her shrewd eyes
looking over each of them in turn. The men were bee-lining to the stairs that
would lead up to the upper levels, no doubt heading straight to the third
floor.
    Mav’s arm shot out just as the last man trickled through the door.
Her palm landed on his chest, hauling him to an abrupt stop.
    ‘Not you,’ she rumbled. Bryn was used to the voice that hid behind
the woman’s beautiful face, but the male seemed to cringe back from the sound. Mav
was supermodel stunning, but her voice box had been damaged before she became a
Valkyrie, marring her throat with thick scars. The result? Her girl didn’t like
talking so much.
    Mav’s real name—the name she was given when Odin had given her
immortality—was Gunner, and like all Valkyries she had the signature pale skin
and golden hair, but Mav’s hair was shaved close to her scalp. Bryn didn’t know
the real reason why she’d done it, but if it was meant to scare people away
from her, it sure as shit worked.
    Everyone gave Mav a wide berth.
    Everyone.
    Except for Bryn.
    The sword tattoo on the undamaged side of her neck sat starkly
against her skin. Like the real blade she could summon, the black steel inked
onto her skin seemed to gleam under the lights. It moved with her body, the
steel catching images and mirroring them. Bryn’s own tattoo was much the same.
The humans stared at it openly, the question whether they could touch it always
on the tips of their tongues.
    Bryn’s gaze skimmed down the human male, checking him for any
visible weapons. ‘You carrying?’ she asked him.
    The guy’s eyes jerked to Bryn and he shook his head mechanically.
    ‘Where are you and your boys heading?’
    ‘ Level Three .’
    Bryn looked over her shoulder, seeing that his friends were already
being swallowed up by the dim stairway. Catching the eye of her head of
security, she cocked a brow at him. Touching the button clipped to the front of
his shirt, Mason’s gravel voice filled her ear.
    ‘Buck’s night.’
    ‘They clean?’ she replied, holding his gaze across the room. They
were speaking on a channel reserved just for them.
    ‘Yeah.’
    ‘How’s capacity?’
    ‘Not even half.’
    Bryn looked back at the male Mav had stopped. Her girl had a sixth
sense when it came to human’s thoughts and feelings. She’d obviously picked up
on something in his head. ‘Sorry, Level Three is full. You’ll have to
wait down here for your buddies.’
    ‘Bullshit,’ he replied, spitting the word at her.
    Bryn arched a brow at him and Mav took a step closer to her,
shielding Bryn’s body with hers. That was Mav though: the perfect soldier.
    Bryn looked pointedly at Mav then back at the male. ‘You want to try
that again?’ Bryn asked, her hand perching on her hip. Her feminine voice was a
stark contrast to the chill of menace rolling off her body. It was this feature
that was often enough to stop men like this in their tracks.
    The human’s cognac eyes shifted from Bryn to Mav, taking in the firm
muscles of her girl’s arms and the breadth of her shoulders. Eventually, his own
shoulders slumped in defeat.
    ‘Yeah, alright.’
    Bryn and Maverick watched him shuffle into the bar and park it on a
stool. Bryn turned back to the other Valkyrie.
    ‘You alright?’ She nodded. ‘Need a break?’ She shook her head. Bryn
sighed. ‘Alright.’ Turning back around, she walked back toward the bar and took
up her post