Destroyed Read Online Free PDF Page A

conversation with the men at the table.
    I took a seat next to him. He had a suitcase open on the table. The energy around the table was overwhelming, like just before a thunderstorm, when you can feel the electricity in the air. It hummed and crackled and tasted a lot like red wine. I hid my hands under the table to conceal that they were shaking.
    “What do we have left? Oh yes, Frankie, I found a bottle of Screaming Eagle Cabernet from Napa Valley.
    He handed Frankie the bottle.
    Frankie’s eyes widened. “You know, Destroyers don’t usually give gifts to each other. Especially ones like this.”
    Kai shut the suitcase. “Don’t consider it a gift, consider it a bribe. I’ll expect a favor in return.”
    Frankie smiled and reached in his other pocket and pulled out a deck of cards.
    A few weeks ago, I sat in another circle with Puck and his council. That meeting changed my life. It was the reason I was sitting here today with Kai, instead of running around Vegas with Puck.
    This council was around the same size as Puck’s. I listened for names and things, knowing that would be important for the Guardians. The men didn’t say anything to me, so I pretended to ignore them.
    Cards and money flew around the table. Kai reached for my hand once and I pulled it away. He looked hurt, but I thought I was supposed to act like that. Every once in a while, one of the Destroyers would look at me with a scowl. A few didn’t speak at all, but their eyes continually flicked toward me. They didn’t trust me.
    The men all knew that Kai was in charge but most of them deferred to my dad. Both Kai and Father were good card players. After a few hands, the conversation turned to the problems at hand.
    “My Major Destroyers are undermining my authority.”
    “Jeremy is trying to take over my territory.”
    “Many women are being attacked in New Orleans.”
    “A few Minor Destroyers in California were killed last week.”
    Finally, Frankie took a long sip of beer and said what I think the rest of them wanted to say. “Kai, we’ve lost control. No one listens to us anymore.”
    I leaned forward, curious how Kai would handle that. I kept my eyes down, so it didn’t look like I was listening too hard. That was my job though, wasn’t it? To listen and report back to Puck. Well, at least according to the Guardian Council it was.
    “I’m working on that. It’s not as easy as I thought it would be.” He leaned back in the chair, his hands on the back of his head.
    “Fix it fast or the Guardians are going to overthrow us. This would be a prime time to do it. You need to get things under control. Your father never had this problem.”
    Kai stiffened. He leaned forward and placed his hands on the table. “My father also didn’t inherit a mess like this.”
    Another man spoke. He was harelipped and spoke with a slight accent.
    “Speaking of your father, he always had a pretty girl on his arm too. Though this one looks a little too clean. Like a Guardian. I suppose that’s expected since she’s been hanging out with them.”
    Before anyone could respond, my dad laid down his cards. “Full house boys, read ’em and weep.” He grinned.
    A series of grumbles around the table and the men all threw down their cards. I thought my dad had done a pretty good job at distracting them, but the man with the harelip was not to be deterred.
    “Maybe if you spend more time trying to control the Destroyers and less time worrying about your girlfriend, stuff might actually get done.”
    Something about his energy bothered me. He was definitely a Destroyer and he had no shield up, but he was hiding something. He put off the smell of sour grapes, but I couldn’t remember what that meant. I concentrated harder and tasted Blue cheese. Deceit. Cheat.
    He had both hands under the table. I’d only lived in Vegas for a few months, but Puck and I spent one afternoon wandering around a casino and studying various Destroyers. I learned a ton.
    I stood