Midnight Read Online Free PDF

said. “You just need to pass a little test before we can let you roam free among our own.”
    Almost casually, although Rosa knew otherwise, he played with the safety on his pistol. “What test?”
    “Valle is human territory. Skinwalkers aren’t welcome here. If they have brains enough to heed a warning, we advise them to move along. If they’re the other kind, we kill them.”
    “You want me to prove I’m human. How am I supposed to do that?”
    Rosa grinned, knowing she was scarier when she did. “Leave that to us.”
    But her smile didn’t shift him. He grinned right back, raising the hairs on her nape. “Will it hurt?”
    “Is that a dare?”
    “Just a question.”
    “You’ll live through it, unless you show claw and can’t understand us after the shift.”
    His eyes remained inscrutable behind his bland expression. He shrugged as if whatever she offered couldn’t be worse than what lay behind him. That made her curious.
    “Bring it on,” he said, his voice a sexy rasp.
    “Glutton for punishment?”
    A weight of secrets hid in his moss-gold gaze. For a dizzying moment she had the awful feeling that he could see right through her, as if the sunlight had made her a window, transparent except for all the dirty streaks. Rosa held his gaze with effort and widened her smile.
    “Not particularly,” he said. “It’ll be worth it to sleep in a bed, eat hot food.”
    “You assume we have hot food.”
    “Yes, I do.”
    Rosa tongued her lower lip. “How many rounds you have left in that shooter?”
    “Three.”
    “Show me.”
    Chris opened the chamber and gave it a spin. His honesty and calm replies should have reassured her that he was on the level, but Rosa fought a shiver. No man had dared confront her with a direct gaze in months. His acquiescence held an undercurrent of rebellion that didn’t suit her at all. You’re in command because I’m letting you, his demeanor said.
    But he had it wrong.
    “Keep it holstered or it’s mine. Use it against my people and you’re dead. This way.”
    She covered the ground in long strides, reaching an outcrop of buildings. The extra sentries at the gates flanked into two sets of two. She’d trained them well. Among them was Rio, young and quick on his feet; he hadn’t lost his eagerness to please. Their history meant he looked to her as sister and mother in one, and his admiration soothed a small portion of her loss.
    But she would always mourn José.
    “Trouble?” the kid asked.
    “Not exactly. We need to do a stress test before we can grant hospitality.”
    The bravos nodded. Unlike punishments, which took place where everyone could see, this would be conducted quietly. That way if the newcomer shifted and went full-on hungry monster, he could be contained. Collateral damage had prompted them to learn from their mistakes.
    “Are you going to tell me what to expect?” he asked as Rio led the way around the taberna .
    There was a small building behind, generally used for storage, but they performed the tests in the old root cellar beneath it.
    “No,” she said. “You might change your mind.”
    Inside was dark and cool. No windows let in light. Stacks of salvage leaned against the walls, mystery items they’d stolen in raids. Some of it was more technical than they could handle. Maybe Chris could help determine what it was good for. But if he was a medical doctor, he probably wouldn’t be good at patching shit together. The old world had specialized to the point of stupidity. Now it paid to be a jack-of-all-trades.
    Chris peered at the dirt floor while Rio popped open the wood doors that covered the pit. Quicklime and wooden supports kept the packed dirt in place. The root cellar smelled of clean clay. She climbed down the rope ladder, leading the way. Like the kid he was, showing off, Rio leaped. He found and lit a candle, which cast a snapping dragon of a shadow. The other three bravos forced Chris down. When he hit bottom, he didn’t look