Innocence and Evil (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles #6) Read Online Free PDF Page A

right now.” My hands finally came loose and she spun
around to face me, giving me a little push. “You are just going to
have to wait, all right.”
    I threw myself back onto the bed and sighed
dramatically. “Fine, but you owe me.”
    One of her eyebrows shot up. “I owe you?
Hardly. I think you’re the one who owes me. You’ve been all
depressed and grumpy lately. I’m the one who was there for you, so
in that case, you are the one who is in debt.”
    “Fine,” I agreed. “I owe you and believe me,
I pay my debts … with interest.” I added the last part and she
burst into laughter. “What?” I feigned innocence.
    She pulled the top over her head. “You’re
hilarious and it’s nice to see you playful again,” she told me with
a smile. “But, you need to get dressed so we can go. We can finish
this when we get back.”
    I pushed myself up off the bed and headed
over to the table in the corner. A black duffle sat on top of the
table. I pulled the bag toward me and unzipped it. Inside were all
my guns, knives and a few other fun weapons I had acquired over
time.
    I took off my jacket and strapped my holster
on over my black tee shirt. It was a double holster, so I carried
two guns there. Next, I attached a single holster to my right
thigh, checked the clip in my Glock and then fit it snugly
inside.
    After all my guns were in place, I found
space for my knives and then slid my leather jacket back on. “I’m
ready.”
    Christina, who had been waiting impatiently
by the door, opened it for the both of us. “Let’s go.”
    ***
    Once, there were thousands of lights
twinkling across the skyline of the city. Now, there were far
fewer. People didn’t want the remaining vampires to know where they
were, so they rose with the sun and went to bed when it fell behind
the mountains.
    Many businesses had been destroyed during
the Vampire Apocalypse. The owners had abandoned their stores and
restaurants, leaving what was left inside for those scavenging for
supplies.
    The amount of people who survived during the
takeover was many, but the population had gone down dramatically.
And those who were left were still scared. They now knew what was
out there. The monsters in the dark were real.
    I didn’t blame those who were hiding at all.
This was a new world … a world that society was trying to rebuild.
But, in my opinion, they were failing. After what happened at the
Pentagon, we knew that we couldn’t trust the government anymore. We
had wanted to work with them, to help people by being involved, but
that only ended in bloodshed.
    These thoughts plagued me as Christina and I
parked in an empty lot on the north side of the city. I slipped a
beanie over my head before jumping down from the driver seat of my
truck. We always hunted on foot, the truck was too loud and anyone
could hear us coming, not to mention vampires and their super
hearing.
    I had better hearing than most … not as good
as Chloe, but still better than a human. Man, it was strange when I
thought of myself as not being human. Now, it was even weirder,
since the Warrior Angel brought me back. Was I still human at all
now?
    The streets were dark and quiet. Not a
single street light lit the way for us as we made our way through
the neighborhood. For hours we walked in silence. After a while, we
reached an area which was mostly old warehouses and historical
buildings.
    The sound of voices echoed through the
darkness and my enhanced hearing I inherited from my father allowed
me to hear it first. I beckoned Christina to be quiet and pointed
in the direction the voices were coming from. She nodded
acknowledgment and stayed close at my side as we crept through the
alley like shadows.
    At the next turn, I knew that they were just
around the corner. I stopped and held my hand up, signaling that
Christina should stay back. She nodded and then I leaned over and
peeked around building.
    Two men were standing beside an old red
pickup truck. One of the men was