Moonlight(Pact Arcanum 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

reasons.” Collins leaned forward to rest his hands on the desk and glared at the President. “Exactly what do you and Jameson have cooking?”
    Daniels shrugged. “I don’t see what business it is of yours.”
    Collins sat in one of the other chairs without any further invitation. “You might be happy enough to be labeled an Armistice sympathizer at the end of your career, but I still have aspirations left, and I have no intention of letting you torpedo my re-election because of your misplaced trust in those freaks. Now tell me why you brought one of them in.”
    Daniels smiled. “Not a chance.”
    Collins ground his teeth together, apparently to keep from shouting. “I’m going to find out, Kevin. Sooner or later, I’m going to put the pieces together. And when I do, we’re not going to be chatting about it in your office. Either you tell me what I want to know privately, or I’ll go right to the press as soon as I discover what you’re up to.” He leaned forward to fix Daniels with the intensity of his expression. “We can still be allies, Mr. President, but you have to trust me.”
    Daniels weighed the pros and cons in his mind. True, Alex would be a valuable ally to have in my corner, but can his loyalties be trusted when the chips are down? Probably not. However, if Collins followed through on his threat to find out Andrea’s condition, revealing it to the world would destroy any chance she’d have at a human life, not to mention sever the bond of trust between father and daughter. In the end, it comes down to one simple question: Do I think he has the skill and tenacity to ferret out the truth?
    There were any number of ways the Vice President could identify Andrea as a Sentinel, from using their intelligence services’ advancing knowledge of Sentinel physiology to employing Sentinel or vampire agents to test her. Can I be sure she’ll be safe if I don’t bring him into my confidence? No, not really. Either I trust the one man, or I’ll have to rely on the discretion of the whole army of men that he will throw at the problem. “All right, Alex,” he said finally. “I’ll fill you in, but if you endanger my daughter in any way, I swear that I will have you killed. Are we clear on that?”
    Collins drummed his fingers on the desk. “Crystal.”
    Daniels laid his hands back down on the desk and ordered his thoughts. “Andrea is a latent Sentinel.”
    Collins whistled in surprise. “Jesus. No wonder she’s been all pissed off lately.”
    “No, that’s just Andrea being herself. She doesn’t know yet.”
    “Then how do you know?”
    Daniels exhaled a deep breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Nick felt the Gift when he shook her hand at the wake. He wanted me to keep her in the country to make sure she’s safe, but I wouldn’t take that freedom away from her. So we compromised, with him offering extra protection in case the Court of Shadows catches wind of what she is and tries to eliminate her.”
    Collins’ eyes narrowed. “So she’s a latent Sentinel. Lots of people are. The Court doesn’t bother to kill latents. There’s just too many of them. Not to mention the fact that she’s your daughter—her death at the hands of a Nightwalker would galvanize the entire country against them. There’s something more, isn’t there?”
    Daniels sighed. “She’s the Wind of Air.”
    Collins stared at him. “And knowing that, you sent her back into Court territory?”
    “I can’t make her a prisoner. She’s safe as long as no one knows. I couldn’t have pulled her out of school without an explanation, and she would have demanded a reason.”
    “You could have come up with a pretext.”
    “If I lie to her, she’ll never forgive me when she eventually finds out.” He sighed again. “And she will find out. It’s inevitable. I just need to buy a little time for her anger over Catherine’s death to cool off, and then I’ll tell her. She’ll see reason then, I