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

looked over at Slade, as if she'd somehow known that he was the one who'd helped her. Their eyes met, and instantly, the rest of the world vanished in a white light. The only thing in color was her, a radiant, glistening beacon of life and energy in a world that had been frozen for a split second.
    Shock spliced through him. Son of a bitch. It was her. She was his guardian assignment. She was the one he had to keep alive. What the hell? If he kept her alive, after he'd taken a contract to kill her, everything that mattered to him would be destroyed. He couldn't do that. He couldn't do that.
    The world flooded with color again, and she spun away to run down the street. As she turned, he saw the flash of a knife blade to his right, cutting through the air right for her. "No!" Sudden strength rushed through him, and he leapt to his feet, sprinting through the ravaged bar with lightning speed. He tackled her just as the knife hit, and the blade thudded deep into his shoulder.
    They hit the ground hard, sprawling across the cobblestones with an embarrassing lack of grace. He groaned as he hit, his recently dead body utterly drained of resources. Swearing, he summoned strength he didn't have and lurched to his feet.
    She was already standing, her clothes smeared with his blood, her eyes horrified as they took in the knife in his shoulder. "What happened?"
    He yanked it out. "They're coming for you. We have to go." He reached for her, but she leaped back, holding her hands up defensively, as if she could actually block him.
    "You tried to kill me! You messed with my mind!"
    "Yeah, I did. Now I'm your only chance to live. Coming?" Something made him hold out his hand, instead of grabbing her and forcing her to leave. He gave her the chance to make the right choice.
    She looked at his hand, and then at his face, then past his shoulder. Her eyes widened, and she paled. "Oh, no."
    He spun around to see what she'd seen, scanning the screaming crowd rapidly, searching for the threat she'd noticed. The demon was still down, and he didn't feel anyone's focus was on her. What had she seen?
    He turned back to her...only to discover she was gone.
    Son of a bitch. She'd distracted him and then taken off. She'd played the Black Swan, and beat him like he was an infant.
    And now he'd lost her, making him a double failure. Failure to fulfill his contract to kill, and failure to fulfill his promise to save.
    He had to find her. Now.

    * * *
    A nya sprinted through the screaming crowds, ducking around people as she raced down the street, frantically scanning the crowds for the woman from the bar. Black tee shirt. Blue jeans. Black hair. It seemed like every woman was dressed like that, but none were the one person she needed to find. Her heart was hammering desperately, and tears were burning in her eyes. This was her chance to find Julia. She couldn't miss it!
    Ahead of her, she saw a flash of movement slip around the corner of a building. "Wait!" She shouted over the roar of the crowd, sucking in air as she pushed herself to run faster than her body felt like it could go. She skidded around the corner, tripped on something, and her ankle gave out. She crashed hard to the cement, pain flooding her left ankle and leg. She ignored the pain and stumbled to her feet, frantically scanning the quiet street of luxury boutique storefronts that were closed for the evening.
    The street was empty.
    Where had she gone? Where was she?
    Something soft brushed against her leg, and she jerked her gaze down. A tangled black nest was piled up on the sidewalk. She recognized the glistening black fibers immediately. They were the same satiny tresses she'd seen on the woman. Elation exploded through her. The woman had come this way! Anya grabbed it off the ground, her fingers clenching the polyester fibers as she ran forward. "Hello?" she called out. "Where are you? Please help me!"
    The street was empty and isolated, the perfect place for them to meet in privacy.