Leopard's Kiss (Shadow Guardians) (Shadows Guardians Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

open anymore. He could barely feel his body. He was already drifting. Red eyes gleamed at him, and he could smell the burning fires of hell awaiting him.
    We need you to be a guardian, she said. One assignment. If you fail, you go to hell. If you succeed, you get your life back. We need you, Slade Cross. You get a second chance because we need you more than hell does.
    A guardian? Was she kidding?
    She began to fade from his sight, and somehow, he knew that once she was gone, his moment of choice was over. What kind of guardian? A protector of some sort? He was an assassin. He cared about money and death, not saving people.
    She wanted him to save someone? No chance. How could he go there? How could he walk a path that made him think of mercy? He'd never be able to live with who he was if he went there.
    Choose, Slade Cross. Choose now. There is no second chance. She fluttered and faded, until only her eyes remained, boring into him.
    And yet, he said nothing. He didn't want the choice she offered him. There was no room in his soul for a mission of mercy. It would open the gates to the personal hell that he kept locked away. He'd never survive the onslaught of who he was if he stepped out of the path he'd carved out for himself.
    Disappointment filled her eyes as she realized he wasn't going to take her up on her offer.
    Her disappointment bore into him, unleashing a roar of denial within him. He wasn't a failure. She was wrong. He realized suddenly that if he died now, he would leave his contract on this woman undone. He would die a failure.
    Screw that. His reliability was the only thing he had to be proud of. He could do this guardian thing, and then take his life back. He'd take her assignment, come back to life, finish the assignment he'd come to this bar to complete, and then do that guardian thing for a day or two, until the redhead was satisfied. Easy. Done. Simple. I'm in. What's my assignment?
    A ray of hope flashed in her eyes, and her relief washed over him, a fierce burst of emotion. You will know. She met his gaze. May strength guide you on your journey, and wisdom be your light.
    Then she was gone.

    * * *
    S lade bolted awake , gasping as air rushed back into his lungs. The bar was filled with screams, and the acrid smell of sulfur filled the air. Slade scrambled to his feet, slipping in his own blood as he tried to stand. His body was trembling violently, his legs so weak he could barely stand. Swearing, he leaned on the bar, frantically searching the chaos for the woman he'd been kissing. Where was she? He had to kill her before he did the guardian thing. He couldn't screw up his assignment. He couldn't.
    He saw her then, across the bar, racing out the door...being followed by the demon. Shit! He leapt after her, then stumbled, crashing into one of the tables. Beer and wine glasses flew everywhere, the glass shattering as they fell. He scrambled back to his feet, grabbing people he passed to stay on his feet. The redhead had given him his life back, but that was about it. His body was wasted.
    The demon leapt through the glass-plate front window of the bar, tackling the woman. She screamed as he dragged her to her feet. Slade fell, his legs giving out as the demon yanked her close to him. His eyes were glowing red, and his mouth opened wide, baring fangs.
    Shit. It was going to kill her. Not just kill her. It was going to brutalize her. "No!" he bellowed his denial.
    The woman slammed her knee into the demon's crotch, but it didn't even react. Slade went down on his knees, too weak to stand. The demon slammed his mouth down over the woman's, and Slade attacked its mind, lacerating through the demon's strongholds and attacking it psychically, just like he had before. The demon screamed and dropped the woman, gripping its head as it went down under the fresh assault on its barely-healed mind.
    It wouldn't last long. Slade had to act. Had to get her. Take her away. Kill her.
    She scrambled to her feet, and