Master of Darkness Read Online Free PDF Page A

the car, too full of heat and confusion to think for a few moments. She finally managed to lift her head and angrily demand, “What was that about?”
    Wolf was totally insouciant, totally unashamed. “That’s one of the old rules, isn’t it? That the hero gets to kiss the girl he just saved.”
    She made a dramatic gesture of wiping theback of her hand across her mouth. “You didn’t save me.”
    â€œI saved your car.”
    â€œThen kiss the car.”
    â€œI’d rather drive.”
    â€œNo.” She slid past him into the front seat. She had the car started and in gear by the time he got into the passenger’s seat. “Fasten your seat belt.” She hated that desire seethed in her as much as anger, and her voice sounded rough with emotion. “Where to?”
    â€œSomewhere dark.”
    â€œCouldn’t we start following what few leads I have?”
    â€œI need some rest. It’s near daylight,” he added.
    â€œCouldn’t I just drop you at your place?”
    â€œOf course not. No way I’m going to be tracked home by crazed Dawn addicts. You shouldn’t return to your home, either. You do have a warded safe house set up for this operation, right?”
    She did, but she was reluctant to bring a vampire who had just kissed her there. “Why do you need somewhere dark to rest?” she asked suspiciously.
    â€œBecause I don’t use the daylight drugs.”
    She’d suspected as much. “Damn.”
    â€œSorry if it inconveniences you.”
    â€œInconveniences me? If you can’t go out in the light, how much help are you going to be to this operation?”
    â€œI work by night just fine.”
    At least she didn’t hear any double entendres in his tone. In fact, he sounded bone-weary. And she supposed arguing with him about his lifestyle choice wasn’t going to do them any good.
    She knew from reading intelligence reports that taking the drugs or not was a choice each Clan and Family vampire made for themselves. There was still controversy and dissent among the vampires about the daylight drugs, even though they’d been available for decades. Some of the vampires didn’t think the cocktail of chemicals was safe. Some thought they changed the fundamental nature of what it meant to be a vampire. Some were just old-fashioned.
    The other cars had left the lot, and she thought she heard police sirens in the distance. The time for their getaway was almost overdue. At the mall entrance she paused for a moment to look around. She saw no vampires, cops, or civilians. The only creature in sight was a huge black dog sitting beneath a streetlamp. It turnedits head to watch her as she took a right and drove quickly away.
    Interesting, Joe thought as the vampire hunter drove off. The woman was alert and had even noticed him, but the vampire with her was already napping. He took a moment to scratch behind his ear, then he stood, stretched, and took a long, deep sniff of air. Exhaust fumes were the dominant scent, but he was used to that. The evening air in the city was rife with many other aromas. He could stand here breathing it all in and analyzing for hours, but werewolves who gave in to that temptation in busy urban areas tended to end up in the pound.
    And it was embarrassing to have to be rescued by one’s relatives. It had happened before, though not to him. The possibility of needing aid was the reason he often left his clothes in a safe hiding place, but he always wore a gold chain with a cartouche-shaped medallion etched with his name and a phone number around his neck.
    There were a great many vampires in town at the moment, not all of them friendlies. In fact, most were the sort that smelled bad. It was a psychic aura more than a physical scent, but the result still left a nasty residue on werewolfsenses. Joe wondered if the vampires knew that each type had their own distinct scent. From inbreeding,