Protective Ink (Urban Fantasy) Read Online Free PDF Page A

watch the woman work.
    Dory placed her hands over each of Garrett’s wounds, murmured an incantation of sorts and sucked in his darkness. As it drained out of him, Garrett’s incredibly resilient body did its own work, healing him at a superhuman speed. But there seemed to be more going on here. Dory actually seemed to be helping him heal. The questions of how she had tapped into that power and what happened to the darkness once she drew it out burned in Lissa’s throat. Perhaps it was as simple as the strong love they shared. Lissa would like to think that Garrett had found the answer to his dilemma and the key to his heart in one fell swoop. The need to believe this idea made her pause; she’d never been a romantic before.
    But there was no time for pausing now. As soon as Garrett came to and sat up on the couch, rubbing his head, Jackson growled, “What the hell is going on, man?” His demand was spoken from the kitchen, but the words carried into every corner of the small apartment.
    “Let him at least get a good breath, Jackson.” Dory pushed up the bridge of her rectangular glasses then crossed her arms over her chest. Behind the eccentric librarian look there was the heart of a lioness.
    “We don’t have time, Dory. Something’s going on and I need to know what…for everyone’s safety.” Jackson returned his gaze to Garrett. “Is there cleanup I have to do somewhere?”
    “No.” He rubbed the back of his head again. “I’m the only one who got my ass handed to me. I don’t even think I touched the guys.” Pressing a hand against his rib cage, he drew in a short breath. “I took on one guy and then suddenly there were four more. I probably landed one blow before they descended. Then it was Garrett the punching doll, part four.”
    “Maybe you’d better lie low for a few days.” Jackson stood there with crossed arms, anger and aggression radiating from him. An utterly inappropriate urge to wrap her arms around Jackson came over Lissa, and she blinked. Honest to God, she did not have time for her libido to start working now. She was just getting her life back on track. Now was a good time to remember that instead of trying to imagine what it would feel like to have her hands on him and those rock-hard biceps. Anyway, this particular ship had sailed ages ago.
    “I can’t, Jackson. There are too many things going on lately. Crime has been escalating steadily. Used to be I’d have maybe one or two disturbances I’d get involved in within a month and now it’s like they’re coming to me. I can’t back down, or go into hiding. If someone wants me, I’d rather they find me than try to get to me through my friends and loved ones.” He gripped Dory’s hand and looked up at her in a way Lissa had yearned for over the years. She’d given up on the notion of love for herself, but was thrilled Garrett had finally found someone to adore with his whole heart.
    “But putting yourself in danger can’t be the answer,” Lissa argued. “I can give you another tattoo for more protection.” Her mind immediately started working on a design and the kind of infusion she’d have to do to make it work. And it could work. It was something that had been passed down in her family.
    “Do it, Garrett.” Dory gripped his hand until her knuckles were almost white. “Do it for me.”
    He glanced between Dory and Lissa. Lissa knew she couldn’t force him to take her up on her offer, but she was willing to try if he didn’t make the right decision.
    In the end, there was no need. He agreed to come in the day after tomorrow for a tattoo that would give him protection.
    It was the least Lissa could do. After all, she had made him this way.
    * * *
    Jackson left the others behind. Lissa was staying to sketch out her new tattoo for Garrett. He hoped it worked. In the meantime, Jackson was determined to find out who had brought Garrett down and then left him in that abandoned house. Something wasn’t right and