Rise of the Fallen Read Online Free PDF Page B

Micah."
    Apostle eyed him warily. "What do you want, Micah? And
this had better be good."
    "Got any friends nearby?" Micah growled the
question over his shoulder as he led John Apostle away from the bar.
    "A couple." The dreck followed cautiously.
    "Call them."
    "Not until you tell me what you want." Apostle's
voice was edged with malice.
    Micah spun around and came nose-to-nose with the shifter.
"I'm about to be your fairy godmother, asshole. Now, call your
friends."
    Dark curiosity passed between them as the dreck considered
Micah's words. "What do you mean?" he said, but he took out his
phone. His gaze never left Micah's.
    "You like to kill vampires, right? Well…" Micah
stepped back, arms extended to the sides, presenting himself for the sacrifice.
"Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and happy birthday. Oh, that's right,
you fuckers don't do birthdays."
    "We don't do holidays, either, but, in this case, I
think I might make an exception." John Apostle's tone rose with interest
as he appraised Micah. "Why? I mean, not that I give a shit, but I thought
you guys could just walk into the sun if you wanted to pull a Kevorkian. Why do
you need me?"
    "You're better than the sun for what I need."
    "Is this some kind of trick?" Apostle eyed him
suspiciously as he dialed.
    Micah issued the shifter a cold, dead stare, but he wasn't
so far gone to lack understanding of the dreck's suspicion. Of course this
would look like trickery to one who was accustomed to the precarious
relationship between their races – a relationship in which the vampire usually
sought to do the ass-kicking rather than ask for one.
    "My reasons are personal, dreck. But I can assure you
this is no trick. I'm done. Checked out." Micah took out a cigarette and
lit it. He figured now was as good a time as any to take up a bad habit, seeing
as he wasn't going to live past the hour.
    Apostle's eyes narrowed. "So, you want us to kill
you?"
    Micah nodded, squinting as he dragged off the cig. He blew
out a stream of smoke, scrutinizing the shifter. He didn't want to go on like
this. The nightmare of his life grew more agonizing day-by-day. Hour-by-hour,
actually. Not even the brutal cutting was doing it for him, anymore. He was out
of control. He didn't want to live. But he wanted one thing before he died.
    "I need you and your friends to grant me one
favor."
    Apostle tilted his head with suspicious curiosity.
"Killing you isn't enough?" When Micah only stared back at him, he
sighed. "Fine. What?"
    "I want you to beat the living shit out of me before
you kill me. You got me?"
    One eyebrow cocked on Apostle's face as his mouth quirked
into a satisfied smirk. "No problem."
    * * *
    Samantha shut the door to her dressing room and took off her
mask then hung it on the wall. Another shift at the Black Garter was over.
Thank God.
    She wasn't wearing much, just red lace panties which she
quickly peeled off and threw in the laundry, then she got dressed to go home.
Tips had been good tonight, and she was that much closer to being completely
free. She grabbed her bag, opened the door, shut off the light, and waved to
Ted and Jose, the bouncers, as she slipped out the back.
    Sam's skin crawled as she left the gentlemen's club and
crossed the parking lot. She just wanted to get home and shower, as she did
after every shift. She didn't have sex with the men – only danced for them. But
some still touched. The only way she could endure the degradation was to remind
herself that she only needed to do this a couple more years and she would be
able to buy herself a new identity and a new life.
    Still, it didn't make the after-effects of every shift any
easier.
    Her keys jingled in her hands as she approached her car then
suddenly she heard an outburst of laughter coming from inside the parking
garage across the street. But this wasn't normal laughter. This was the raucous
laughter of men doing bad things to someone.
    Looking around to see if anyone else was near, she found
herself