Unleashed Read Online Free PDF Page A

light was off, and someone tall was standing on the porch, silhouetted by the moonlight.
    Katelyn’s grandfather flicked a switch by the door and the porch light came on. The figure beneath its bluish glare was a guy. A cute guy, actually, with closely trimmed dark brown hair and strangely colored eyes, maybe green—it was hard to say—but they were very light against his cocoa-colored skin. They were almond-shaped, and his cheekbones were high, giving him hollows in his cheeks. He had a square jaw and a nice, wide mouth. The best word for him was “exotic.”
    He was wearing a long-sleeved black T-shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his forearms, jeans, and scuffed cowboy boots caked with mud. A leather braid encircled his left wrist, and words were stamped on it. She couldn’t make out the letters. She didn’t want to stare, so she didn’t look very hard.
    But it was difficult not to.
    He slung his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans and smiled at her. It was riveting. There was something about him that made her tingle. Warmth. Charm.
    “Hey, Katelyn.” His accent was softer than Ed’s. She found herself smiling back, even though a minute earlier nothing on earth would have made her smile.
    “Trick,” Ed said in greeting. Was his name Trick, or was he playing a trick?
    “You know the rules, Dr. M.,” he said. “You have to invite me in.”
    “You have to be invited in ?” Katelyn asked. “So, what? Are you a vampire?” Her question sounded more sarcastic than she meant it to, and she reddened.
    The guy chuckled—and remained where he was.
    “Don’t be a fool, son,” Ed said, gesturing for the guy to come into the house. But the guy shook his head.
    “Make it official.”
    “Come in, now.” Though his words were similar to the ones he’d used with Katelyn, his tone was anything but. Teasing, a bit arch. Clearly, these two were friends. Was this some weird game they played? She didn’t know what to make of it.
    “Thank you, sir.” The guy reached down and pulled off his cowboy boots, revealing fresh white socks. Katelyn didn’t know why, but the sight of his stockinged feet embarrassed her a little, like seeing him in his boxers or something.
    The guy crossed the threshold, and she saw that his eyes were indeed very green, like the shallows of a lagoon. Come on in , they seemed to say. The water is fine .
    There was dark stubble on his cheeks and around his mouth. A quick glance at his leather wristband revealed a few letters: R.I.P . She was intrigued. Had someone close to him died?
    “You missed supper,” Ed told him as he led the way toward the fireplace. Two overstuffed leather chairs sat in front of a coffee table littered with hunting magazines. As the heat from the fire penetrated her bones, Katelyn stiffened, feeling ridiculous, but unable to stop the alarm bells from clanging in her head. “Because we didn’t have any.”
    “Didn’t cook the bird?” the guy asked. “It’ll spoil.”
    “Wait,” Katelyn said. “Is your name really Trick?”
    The guy paused as they reached the chairs, gesturing for her to sit. Katelyn remained standing. “Actually, it’s Vladimir, but no one has called me that in forever.” He grinned at her. “Very few people around here have a death wish.”
    Ed snorted. “Tough guy. That’s the sort of talk landed you in hot water.”
    Trick shook his head, looking suddenly serious. “ Lies landed me in hot water.”
    “If you had a lick of sense, you’d stick with your own kind and leave them boys alone.”
    Katelyn’s eyes widened. His own kind ? It was obvious Trick wasn’t completely Caucasian. Could that be what her grandfather was referring to? Was Ed a racist?
    “I’ve got a six-pack of … soda,” Ed announced. “Might have a box of crackers.”
    He left the room before anyone could answer. Trick remained, though he didn’t sit. Katelyn kept standing as well. They were way too close to the fire for her comfort, and she was dying of