Hardboiled: Not Your Average Detective Story (The Lillim Callina Chronicles Book 5) Read Online Free PDF Page A

to. I tried to do something, and he wouldn’t let me.”
    His words hung heavy in the air between us, like a huge wet blanket threatening to smother me. He’d told me that before, of course, but I’d been ignoring it. Every time we had this argument it was the elephant in the room. Caleb couldn’t make the god within him do things it didn’t want to do. The last time he had tried, it’d nearly cost Caleb his life.
    “Sorry,” I mumbled, looking away so I wouldn’t have to stare into his face. What was I supposed to say? I’m sorry but I’d rather have my mom than you? And the truth was, I wasn’t sure I wanted to make a statement like that out loud. I wouldn’t be able to take it back.
    “It’s okay,” he said, leaning in and kissing me. The feel of his lips on mine was so surprising that my mind sort of stuttered and went blank. He put his arms around me, pulling me close to his body, and leaned in close so he could whisper in my ear. “I planned a surprise for you, but we don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I can leave if that’s what you would like.”
    “Oh?” I asked, somewhat confused. We’d barely spoken over the last couple of weeks, and now he had a surprise for me? A blush rose across my cheeks as I stared at him. Maybe I was being a little unreasonable… “Is it a good surprise?”
    “You tell me,” he replied, snapping his fingers. The sound hadn’t even faded when we were standing inside a swanky restaurant… somewhere.
    I swallowed, glancing at Caleb in awe as he took me by the hand and led us toward the hostess. I’d never seen him transport someone before, much less like that. I knew he had some cool powers, but instant teleportation? That was new.
    The hostess, dressed in a white tuxedo with a red rose pinned to her lapel, smiled up at Caleb, her ruby red lips bright in the low light. “Do you have a reservation?” she asked.
    “Yes. It’s under the Prince of Space and Time,” my boyfriend replied with a sidelong glance at me.
    “Uh… huh,” the hostess replied, looking down at the reservation book. It resembled one of those old fashioned black leather-bound tomes. She turned a page and her eyes widened for a split second. Her head jerked up so suddenly that her white top hat nearly toppled off her head.
    “You have the executive table,” she said and paused, biting her lip. “How? You have to book that like four months in advance…”
    “I have ways,” Caleb said, waving her off. “This is a special occasion. My girlfriend just finished her first day of high school.”
    The hostess smiled, nodding at us like we were dignitaries. “Well then, I’ll make sure the chef stops by to wish her a happy first day,” she said, stepping out from behind the booth and making her way through a red satin curtain with us in tow.
    “I’m surprised they got in,” whispered a voice behind me. “The wait is over four hours… even if you have reservations.”
    I glanced back over my shoulder as the curtain fell closed behind me and had to resist the urge to smirk. Dating the God of Space and Time certainly had its perks. A moment later, we were standing beside a table, and as Caleb pulled my chair out to help me sit, a waiter came by and offered us menus. Then he stood there awkwardly, staring at us for so long it was unnerving. Wasn’t he supposed to ask us if we wanted water or something and then scurry off so we could look at our menus?
    “And what will you two have for dinner, sir?” the waiter said finally, lips pursed in an almost sneer beneath his thin black mustache.
    “The lady will have the Rabbit in the Hat,” Caleb said, pointing across the table at me, and I nodded a slight confirmation at him because I hadn’t even had a chance to look at the menu. He smiled before continuing. “I’ll have the Table of Death.”
    “Very good, sir,” the waiter replied, making notes on a pad before turning on his heel and hustling away in a blur of white