The Living Night (Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

stood beneath the archway, he held a gleaming pistol in his hand.
    Though the room wasn't quite as cavernous as
Kharker's main dining hall, it was by no means small, but anything Ruegger saw
of the room at first was due only to peripheral vision.
    The first thing he noticed was Harry Lavaca.
Harry sat on the opposite side of the enormous breakfast table, a spoonful of
what looked like tortilla soup poised at his lips, his large brown eyes resting
on Ruegger and the Darkling's gun. Harry laid the spoon down and gave a weak
smile. It seemed apologetic.
    To Harry's right, Cloire perched waspishly, her
hand on a bulbous .45, which lay next to her own bowl of soup. Her mouth hooked
in a mean smile, and her strange eyes lingered first on Ruegger, then longer on
Danielle.
    To her right sat Kilian, who had pushed his bowl
of soup forward to indicate that he would not touch the stuff. His legs
crossed, he held a newspaper in his hands and seemed not the least bit
interested when the odd flock came into view.
    Before Ruegger could really absorb the scene
before him, Danielle snatched the pistol from his hand and fired several loud
rounds into Kilian’s chest.
    "You bastard," Danielle spat.
"You killed my pig."
    He raised his paper so that his eyes could be
seen through the holes she’d created. He carefully folded the paper and sat it
down on the table.
    "Do you how hard it is to get today's copy
of the New York Times in the fucking Congo?" he said. H glanced down
at his immaculate suit and fingered the blood-soaked bullet holes. "Danielle,
do you know what I'm going to do to you?"
    "I can't wait to find out."
    Cloire laid a hand on Kilian's, but he just
smiled. When his eyes turned back to Danielle, he said, his voice grave,
"I'm going to send you a bill."
    Ruegger wasn't quite sure whether the man was
actually as sour as he seemed or if his humor was simply very dry . Either way, Ruegger placed a hand over Danielle's and
gently reclaimed his pistol. He chanced a look at Kharker and saw that beneath
the Hunter's straight face lurked mischief.
    "What's this all about?" Ruegger said,
putting away the gun.
    "Sit, sit," said Kharker. "Don't
worry, all will be on the table soon enough."
    After Ruegger and Danielle were seated across from
Lavaca and the werewolves, a servant emerged from the kitchen and set two bowls
of the tortilla soup before them. Another placed one before the Hunter,
commanding all from the head of the table.
    "Sorry to have started without you,"
Kharker said, "but my new guests were hungry."
    Ruegger noticed Kilian's untouched appetizer but
made no comment. When he'd taken a bite of soup, he said, "Good."
    "Thank you,” Kharker said. “I actually
imported two Hispanic cooks and one Texan just to prepare this meal for
you."
    "You imported three chefs just to make some
soup and refried beans?"
    Kharker shrugged. "For you, I spare no
expense."
    Ruegger glanced sideways at Danielle to see if
she was enjoying her soup; though her hand guided spoonful after spoonful into
her mouth, her eyes never left Cloire's. Cloire, for her part, seemed to be
enjoying the attention.
    "Where's Jean-Pierre?" Danielle asked.
    Cloire smiled. "Still in Las Vegas, for all I know."
    Danielle nodded, kept eating her soup.
    Ruegger returned his attention to Lavaca,
finishing off the dregs from his bowl.
    "How are you, Harry?"
    “I've been worse," Harry said.
    "Have they been treating you well?"
    "We've been treating him just fine,"
Cloire answered. "We haven't fed from him and we haven't fucked with his
mind."
    "So why'd you bring him here?"
    Cloire smiled again, and Ruegger found that she
had an unpleasant smile. "To serve as an eyewitness that
you would trust. We found him by accident, but I think he'll turn out to
be useful."
    "An eyewitness to
what?" Danielle asked.
    Lord Kharker cleared his throat. All eyes turned
to him. Smiling kindly and making an expansive gesture with his large hands,
the Hunter said, "Please, there is a time for