Where Demons Fear to Tread Read Online Free PDF Page B

cases. As his Guardian, surely Serena must see that. Still, Julian could not resist picturing Nick and Serena hand in hand, gazing guilelessly at each other with wide eyes, the sheen of youth still fresh on their skin. The image of it made Julian want to retch.
    “Not exactly in a romantic way…yet,” Nick said. His shoulders slumped forward and he ran his fingers through his carefully spiked hair. “Serena’s my yoga teacher. She acts like a nun or something.”
    Something inside of Julian rejoiced.
    “Don’t get me wrong,” Nick continued. “Serena’s not a prude. She’s…special. She’s not simply another beautiful girl. There’s something different about her. Something exquisite. She’s the closest thing I’ve ever met to true unconditional love.”
    In Nick’s famous brown eyes, Julian saw a sudden flicker of something, a flash of sobriety that broke through the drug high. Beneath his vacuous Hollywood exterior, Nick Ramirez understood Serena’s true nature. It took Julian utterly by surprise.
    “Forget about her for tonight. Everything you need is right here,” Julian urged, running his hand down the arm of one of the girls. She was a pretty, young blonde, but still a poor substitute for Serena. “If there’s anything else you desire, my staff will take care of you.”
    “Thanks, man. You’re the best.”
    Julian left him in the VIP lounge with the girls and wandered back up to the observation booth. It was late, and brawls were starting to erupt on the dance floor. He watched the bouncers hang back as he’d instructed, waiting to break up the fights until after some serious damage had been done.
    A fight of a very different sort was brewing between him and Serena. Angels, even fledgling Guardian angels, knew better than to cross his path. Most of them were either too smart or too scared to do so. Clearly, Serena St. Clair was neither. If she wanted Nick, she would have to pry him out of Julian’s grip. How delectable it would be to break her when she tried.
    Julian would win. Of that, he had no doubt. In the end, he always did.

    Serena’s lungs burned by the time she reached her well-weathered VW where she’d left it parked on the street. Unlocked the door with shaking fingers. Collapsed into the driver’s seat. Slammed down the lock and jammed the car into gear. The squeal of the tires sent a wave of pure relief through her as she peeled away from the curb and swung into traffic. But as she drove, her gaze flickered to the rearview mirror.
    The demons were following her.
    At first she sensed, rather than saw it. The car was a speck in the rearview mirror, just a little spot in the distance behind her. But then it increased speed, weaving through traffic with a dangerous momentum.
    And then it was behind her, their car coming so close to her bumper that she could see them in the rearview mirror, laughing. It was the bouncer from the club, the one she’d just shoved past, and another demon. They drove behind her, inches from touching her. Taunting her. Threatening her. The blur of streetlamps and headlights whipped by as she merged onto the highway and pushed the car faster. Fifty miles an hour…sixty…seventy…eighty…ninety. The little car shook from the unaccustomed velocity.
    From the passenger-side window, a winged goblin darted by, flying through the air like an oversize bat. It shot forward to hover in front of her windshield, blocking her view of the road. The cackle that came out of it sent a shudder through Serena. In those glassy little red eyes, she saw pure hatred. Without a doubt, it wanted to kill her. She floored the gas pedal and the car shot forward, smashing the creature against her windshield with a sick splat. A high-pitched squeal wheezed out of it, a sound like a pig being slaughtered. The reddish-black of its entrails smeared against the glass.
    She flicked on the wipers and the carcass fell to the side of the road. Streaks of blood blurred her vision but she