Urban Fantasy Collection - Vampires Read Online Free PDF Page A

side. For a moment, she saw the blood seeping through the stone, letters forming in reverse. Her gut told her: Not by chance or coincidence. This wall had been chosen .
    She was about to step out of the club when a sudden whisper rushed through the crowd like wind through tall grass. She stopped as the yearning voices abruptly fell silent. The air seemed to thicken, to crackle with anticipation.
    She glanced at De Noir. His face was still, his eyes unreadable. But tension tightened his muscles. He met her gaze, seemed to be willing her into the courtyard. Slowly, Heather turned and looked back the way she’d come.
    Someone walked down the stairs, stepping out of the shadows on the second-floor landing. It seemed to Heather as though every single person in the club sucked in a breath at the same time.
    Then the figure crossed into the light and glanced with gleaming eyes over the heads of the crowd at Heather or maybe past her to De Noir, she couldn’t be sure. She stood frozen, unable to move or breathe, then the collective pent-up breath in the club released. Voices clamored:
    â€œDante! Dante! Mon ange !”
    â€œYeah! Fuckin’ hope he gets in the Cage tonight!”
    Heather stared, dizzied and stunned, as he descended, overwhelmed by what she’d seen in the moment he’d looked her way—
    Dark, light-filled eyes looking into her, drawing her in—
    Slender, hard body, five nine or five ten, moving with dangerous and unself-conscious grace, all coiled muscles and knife-sharp reflexes—
    Tousled black hair spilling past his shoulders, dressed in mesh and leather and steel-ringed bondage collar, a sexuality that scorched—
    She wrenched her gaze from him and watched the faces of those who called his name, witnessed their smiles and tears as he stroked a jawline there, touched a cheek here, kissed a pair of lips there.
    Then…he stepped into the crowd and out of sight, and Heather gasped for air, able to breathe again.
    If that was Dante Prejean, then he was literally breathtaking. She’d never seen anyone so gorgeous. It also meant that De Noir had lied about Dante’s not being here tonight. She turned to face De Noir and caught him rubbing the bridge of his nose, gaze on the floor. He looked like a man who’d suddenly felt the pain of Murphy’s Law kicking him in the ass.
    â€œStrange, I was sure you’d said that Dante wasn’t here,” Heather said. “Must’ve just arrived, then.”
    Dropping his hand, De Noir said, “So it would seem.” Lifting his eyes, he met Heather’s gaze. “The police have already spoken to him, Agent Wallace. I see no need to—”
    â€œI’m sorry,” Heather interrupted. “But I do.”
    She glanced over her shoulder. Dante climbed the steps leading to the cheesy Kingdom-of-Hell themed throne. Kneeling between the pretty underage punk and the earthy blonde, Dante stroked the boy’s purple spiked hair. He leaned in close to the blonde, seemed to speak into her ear. Several Goth princesses at the foot of the steps bounced and squealed.
    Why was De Noir so protective of Dante Prejean? What was he hiding?
    Heather spun away from De Noir’s strange black, gold-edged eyes and slipped into the crowd. She intended to find out.

3
Without a Word
    D ANTE GLANCED OVER HIS shoulder. He didn’t see the red-haired, trenchcoated woman who’d been standing beside Lucien, but he felt her pushing through the crowd, resolve and authority radiating from her like sunshine; bright, piercing, and deadly.
    < What’s going on, mon ami?>
    Dante returned his attention to Simone. “Dunno.” He slid his fingers along the silky length of her hair, pushed it behind her ear. “But I’m gonna find out soon. Whether I wanna or not.” He smiled.
    Simone watched him carefully, searched his eyes. He shook his head.
    She sighed. “If you’re sure.”
    Lowering his