Flame Unleashed (Hell to Pay) Read Online Free PDF

her heart shaped derrière. Even the wiggle as she walked turned his mouth to dry sand. And the fact that she was like him only intrigued him even more. What a pair they would make in the bedroom.
    Turning a corner, they passed through a small dining area. Suspended above a cherry wood table, a small chandelier flung pieces of morning sunlight onto the plaster walls. The Mississippi River, sod-brown and lazily flowing to the Gulf, reflected the Crescent City Connection Bridge above. Ah, how he loved New Orleans.
    They entered a well-appointed salon, complete with velvet upholstered Victorian chairs and settees. Seated in one of the plush chairs was a bald, wizened man. Odie wouldn’t have recognized his old friend if not for the mischievous glint in those pale blue eyes.
    “Barnaby?”
    “Odilon, my old friend!”
    He rushed to the old man but paused, uncertain how to proceed. Barnaby obviated debate when he held out a gnarled hand. His friend’s fragile skin showed veins and sunspots, but the strength had not completely departed that grip.
    “Help me up, you smelly Cajun.”
    Odie put a hand under his friend’s upper arm to help him to stand. Ruth hovered nearby. Protective of Barnaby? Good for the old man. She was a lovely companion, and even if his friend had gotten on in years, Barnaby couldn’t possibly be blind to her ... assets, even confined as they were under the staid attire.
    Hugging carefully, Odie patted his friend’s stooped shoulders. Barnaby’s back was no longer straight. Bones ground together in the sockets, and the old man groaned.
    “Getting old is not for the faint of heart, eh?” His friend chuckled and then coughed. “Sit, let’s catch up.”
    Barnaby lowered himself back down, holding on to the ornately carved arms of the chair. Odie wanted to help, but the steely pride etched on the old man’s face deterred him. His old friend, still stubborn after more than 400 years on this Earth. Amazing.
    At a knock at the door, Ruth slipped out of the room. Odie couldn’t help himself. He watched her leave, her smooth gait with those magnificent curves—it was impossible to look away.
    Barnaby cleared his throat.
    Busted
, as they said in current parlance.
    The old Englishman’s devilish smile didn’t help, either. But Barnaby knew the dance of attraction. Indeed, he had garnered the reputation as quite the paramour for hundreds of years. Barnaby was a legend. Hard to imagine, seeing his aging friend now.
    Odie leaned back. “So it’s been, what, about twenty years? Much too long, old man.”
    “Time has become somewhat fluid. But it marches on for me, now.” The barest crease formed at the corners of Barnaby’s eyes. Regret and ... relief?
    Odie studied the rug pattern. “Sorry. You’re right. Um ...”
    “It’s all right, my friend. I’ve been in your shoes. Ten, twenty, a hundred years? Means nothing when you’re long-lived.”
    If he met his friend’s probing stare, Odie would reveal his desperate hope. So he studied the fabric on the chair and forced a neutral tone. “You mentioned Peter and Dante when we last spoke on the phone. I heard some rumblings, but you know how I keep to myself. What happened?”
    “Both contracts broken.”
    “How?”
    “I can’t say.”
    Two conflicting bursts of emotion fought inside of Odie. On the one hand, Indebted breaking their contracts would be a blow to Jerahmeel’s power base and good for Peter and Dante that they succeeded. But on the other hand, it meant more work for the Indebted remaining on this Earth.
    “Of course you can’t tell me details. But was their experience like yours? Did they do it for a mortal?”
    Barnaby’s watery eyes twinkled. “For women.”
    “Figures.”
    Odie had met each man before. Peter had only been an Indebted since the 1940s. He’d never accepted the perks of having unhuman strength and power and instead dwelled on the guilt of being a killer. Understandable that he would want to break the