The Reluctant Goddess (The Montgomery Chronicles Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

sweeping stairs.
    I defy anybody to make their way through Mike. I might be able to talk Dan into moving, but there was no way that Mike, having been threatened with termination if I left Arthur’s Folly, was going to budge.
    “Are there cameras in my room?” I asked, pushing back my irritation. “How else do you always know when I’m getting ready to leave?”  
    “There aren’t any cameras in your room,” Dan said calmly. His face was stone, an implacable expression that hid what he was really feeling. “But there’s one in the hall. And a pressure sensor.”  
    Great, it probably measured my weight, too. There were some things I didn’t want Dan to know.  
    "You can't leave," Dan said.
    I wouldn’t have headed for the front of the house if I’d figured out the way back to the parking garage. I knew how to get there around the side of the house, since I’d done it before, but I didn’t feel like pushing my way through the hedges today.
    Both of them stood there stoic, patient, and one of them smiling pleasantly. Mike didn’t smile at me any more, but Dan's expression could warm the cockles of a frozen heart.
    I was a big scary vampire. Why weren’t they impressed?  
    “I have to go see my grandmother,” I said.  
    For more than one reason, but I wasn’t going to tell him, not when Mike was standing there listening. The whole house was probably listening.
    “It isn’t safe, Marcie.”
    “It’s daylight, Dan. Maddock hasn’t yet acquired the ability to walk in the sun.”
    “But he employs men who do,” he said. “Men who would be more than happy to get a bonus for catching you.”
    He ought to know. He’d been one of Maddock’s men.  
    “Call her,” he said.
    “She isn’t taking my calls,” I said. At least not the three calls I’d made since he upgraded me.  
    "It isn't safe, Marcie," he repeated.
    I couldn’t argue that. “I’m not going to be gone long,” I said. “Maybe an hour or two.”
    When he didn’t say anything, I blew out an exasperated breath.  
    "I can't stay here for the rest of my life, Dan.”
    How was I supposed to discover anything if I was an eternal guest at Arthur’s Folly? The information I needed wasn’t on Google or the Internet. I had to take a chance. I had to do something proactive. I couldn’t just sit here and react to circumstances.
    “I’ll take Mutt,” I said.
    He studied me for about a minute, the seconds ticking by on the back of an arthritic turtle. I didn’t say anything. Neither did Mike, who stood there like a big black totem beside Dan.  
    I wondered if he and Kenisha would hit it off and was determined to get them together. Who knows, it might improve both their moods.  
    Finally, Dan glanced at Mike. “Go get the dog.”
    Mike left us, his shoes squeaking as he turned and opened a door in the ornate paneling.  
    A few moments later, I heard the click, click, click of canine toenails on the marble floor. A flash of beige fur solidified to become Mutt half running, half sliding down the wide corridor toward me.  
    I bent and stretched my arms wide and he was suddenly there, all wet tongue and floppy ears.
    Dan hadn’t disappeared. He was standing there watching us. So was Mike, my second choice for shape shifter.
    Mutt was panting and drooling all over me. I bent down and kissed him between the eyes, ruffled the fur behind his ears, and praised him for being brave and courageous and a sweetheart. I was going to be covered in dog hair for my meeting with my grandmother. At the moment, however, it didn’t matter.
    When I stood, Mutt moved to sit at my feet. He stared up at the two men in front of him, mouth open, tongue lolling. When Mike bent toward him, he growled. Mike didn’t try to pet him again, merely straightened, he and Mutt glaring at each other.  
    “He’s my guardian,” I said, beginning to reevaluate the scene at the lake.  
    Dan hadn’t saved me. Mutt had.
    “Sorry,” I said, a half assed apology for