shaede assassin 05 - shadows at midnight Read Online Free PDF

more than anyone had in almost a century. Still, his answer didn’t satisfy me. Ian Dexter hadn’t ever laid eyes on me. Had never seen me in my corporeal form let alone protected by shadow. He’d seen through the cloak of darkness that concealed me. And he’d known what I was.
    “That’s a cop-out,” I replied.
    “Have you met you?” Tyler seemed intent on deflection. “You don’t exactly scream ‘normal.’”
    Ha. Ha. It was obvious that the only way I was going to get any answers out of Tyler was to be straight with him. “Ian saw me tonight.”
    Ty gave me a sidelong glance. His body stiffened almost imperceptibly before he gave an unconcerned shrugged. “Dead men tell no tales.”
    “No, Tyler. He saw me.” That got his attention. Ty turned the full intensity of his hazel stare on me. He studied me for a brief moment as though trying to climb right inside my head. “He knew what I am.”
    “What did he say?”
    “Just one word.” I took a sip from my glass. “Shaede.”
    Ty’s brow pinched and his jaw squared. He raked his fingers through the tangles of his bronze-streaked hair and let out a measured breath. “You need to be more careful out there,” he said after a moment. “You think you’re indestructible, but the world is a dangerous place. Even for you.”
    Ty’s own mortality made it hard for him to wrap his mind around my immortality. I’d gotten similar warnings from him before but never with such an undertone of fear to the words.
    “I can take care of myself.” It was my own stubbornness that prompted the response. My encounter with Ian unnerved me, but I refused to let it rattle me. “Lorik knew what we were too.” The words were meant more for myself than Ty, spoken under my breath.
    “What?”
    “Never mind.” My past was off-limits. Something I rarely discussed with Tyler. “Humans sense things.” The statement of fact didn’t do much to cheer me up. “Sixth sense, psychic abilities, or whatever. That Ian sensed my presence isn’t what bothered me.”
    “What bothers you, then?”
    My gaze locked with Tyler’s and for a moment, I lost myself in the hazel depths. “He saw through the shadows,” I replied. “He named me.”
    Shaede . A shiver danced over my skin at the recollection of the word as it rattled in the man’s throat.
    “You’ve made a reputation for yourself, Darian.” Ty caught Levi’s gaze and the bartender gave him a nod. I wasn’t quite sure what had just passed between them, but I was fairly certain I wasn’t supposed to know. Ty had his hands in more than I knew about. He was a heavy-hitter in every sense of the word. “You can’t claim anonymity anymore. Rumors spread. Like I said, anyone with eyes in their head and the good sense to pay attention would know there’s something otherworldly about you.”
    “You’re not helping to spread any of those rumors, are you?”
    Ty’s head whipped around and he fixed me with a stern stare. “I’m going to pretend that you didn’t just insult me by implying that I can’t keep my mouth shut.”
    I drained my glass in a couple of swallows. I didn’t see it often, but every once in a while Ty’s temper surfaced and I found it truly frightening. “I’m just rattled, that’s all.”
    His eyes dipped to my left thumb and the ring that circled my finger. He slid a manila envelope across the table to me. I didn’t need to count the money to know that every dime of the other half of my fee was inside. “Word of Dexter’s death is going to spread. Lay low for a couple of weeks. I’ll be in touch soon.”
    I sensed that our conversation had come to a close. No flirty banter, no wide inviting smiles. My admission had sucked all of the playfulness from Ty’s attitude tonight and he seemed more shaken up than I was. I took it as a sign that I should do what he said and keep a low profile. For a while, at least.
    “I’ll be around if you need me,” I said as I slipped down from the tall bar