Dusk Til Dawn Read Online Free PDF Page A

answers.
    Avery sighed. “You really should learn how to relax.”
    Dylan stuffed his hands in his pockets, hoping the simple action would still his need to strangle someone—to strangle Avery. “I’ll relax when I know what the hell just happened. I heard something howl, then that mist…fuck. I swear it turned into a man then disappeared.”
    “Maybe because that’s exactly what it did.” Avery held up his hand. “Temperance and I will need to run a few more tests before I can give you additional information. Believe it or not, spirits aren’t always the most helpful.”
    A lump formed in Dylan’s throat, and he didn’t do more than nod at his brother. Spirits, ghosts, demons. Avery was right. Dylan was so far out of his element, he didn’t know whether to stand there, watching the couple scour the room, or go outside and look for footprints. A chuckle threatened, but he held it back. Avery would only tease him, citing that ghosts didn’t leave footprints. But…he just couldn’t wrap his head around the notion that some unhappy soul had appeared out of thin air and scared the shit out of him.
    He sighed. He’d spent a decade in the military, been in numerous firefights and had spent the past two years as part of the SWAT team for the San Francisco Police Department, yet the thought of facing a ghost made him want to run for cover. He needed to get his head examined.
    “Or maybe you just need to have a little faith.”
    Dylan scowled at his brother. “And maybe you need to stay out of my head, little brother.”
    “Occupational hazard.” He grinned. “And too damn tempting to resist. But fine. Though you might want to know, we think we have a general theory for what happened.”
    “And…”
    Avery waved him over. Dylan took a calming breath, clenching his jaw as his gaze darted to Annie. She still stood beside him, tucked beneath the thick leather of his jacket. She looked as nervous as he felt, and he couldn’t resist palming the small of her back. Her eyes shifted toward him, a tentative smile finding her mouth as she allowed him to usher her forward. They stopped just short of the tipped over chair. Temperance knelt at Avery’s feet, picking through a scattering of glass.
    Avery held out an object. “Any idea what this is?”
    Dylan took the metal frame, turning it over in his hand. “Are you bullshitting me?” He huffed. “It’s a goddamn picture frame.”
    Avery raised an eyebrow mockingly at him. “I know it’s a frame. What else?”
    Dylan sighed but held the bent piece of metal up closer. Something along the edge caught his attention. He shuffled the frame to his other hand, gently picking at a wispy strand. “Okay. There’s a strand of hair. But I still don’t see how a broken frame and some hair explain a whirling black mist and a guy disappearing into thin air.”
    Temperance pushed to her feet and handed him a paper. “Maybe the photo will help.”
    He mumbled his thanks, studying the picture in the glare of the flashlight. The faded image of a man stared back at him; the black and white coloring dulled and scratched. “He looks creepy enough, but this picture has got to be close to a hundred years old. There’s no way he’s still alive.”
    Temperance chuckled. “Which is kind of the point when dealing with ghosts. But in this case, it’s the fact that someone tampered with his spirit that’s the problem.”
    Dylan frowned. “You realize I have no idea what you’re talking about. How does someone tamper with a spirit?”
    She touched the edge of the photo. “Turn it over.”
    He resisted giving her another scowl as he flipped the image over, sucking in a harsh breath as he stared at the symbols etched on the back. “What the hell are those?”
    Annie pushed closer, brushing her chest against his arm. Heat flared along his skin, sending a jolt straight to his groin. He clenched his jaw, willing his cock to stand down as it hardened against his jeans. God, what was it