Night Light. Amy BlankenshipЧитать онлайн книгу.
and wrinkled his nose at the damp heat. âDamn it stinks down here.â
He approached another open door and stepped through. Nick was standing in front of the boiler with its door wide open and poking around at something in the fire with an iron rod.
âFind something?â Steven asked.
In answer, Nick removed the iron from the fire with the burnt remains of a skull dangling from the end by its eye socket. âI think itâs safe to say that some of the humans on the missing personâs roster won't be found any time soon.â
âI think this church is a normal place for some of the local mafia to do their business.â Steven elaborated.
âIn a Catholic church?â Nick demanded. âIsnât anything sacred anymore?â
Steven shrugged, âKind of like the saying goes, nothing is certain except death and taxes.â
Nick dropped the skull back into the boiler and shut the door. âOr in our case, fur and kittens.â
The two men snorted in amusement before Steven sobered a bit. âOkay, we really need to get serious.â
They separated, each one searching a different side of the large room until Steven saw something behind one of the huge garbage cans full of wooden planks. âHey Nick, give me a hand with this.â
Nick approached and helped Steven move the can aside just enough to get a good look, which wasnât very far. A small, cramped tunnel had been carved out of the stone and straight out into the earth. The darkness was absolute and the two felines had difficulty seeing inside.
âMight as well check it out,â Nick stated and moved forward to squeeze his thin frame into the opening.
Steven reached out and grabbed hold of Nickâs arm and shook his head. âNo, we go back and let Warren and Quinn in on what we found. One cougar is missing and, in my opinion, thatâs one cougar too many. I donât want to add a jaguar to the list, too.â
âAw gee,â Nick smiled and wrapped his arms tightly around a shocked Steven. âYou...â he gave an exaggerated sniffle and continued in a wavering voice. âYou really do care.â
Steven frantically pushed Nick off of him, sending the jaguar against the wall. âMoron,â he muttered while Nick was laughing. âLetâs get out of here.â
By the time they reached the top of the stairs, Steven was convinced Nick had lost his mind somewhere along the road. The church was deathly quiet and Steven looked toward the hall that led to the upstairs office where the priest was waiting.
âHang here for a minute,â Steven said. âI need to go talk to the priest.â
Nick shrugged and leaned against one of the pews to wait.
âHello, Steven.â A voice came out of nowhere.
Nick jumped and Steven cried out in surprise before tripping over his own feet and falling down. Nick blinked when a man with dark hair stepped out of the shadows grinning madly down at Steven.
âDamn it, Dean!â Steven yelled as he pushed himself off the floor. âStop trying to scare the shit out of me.â
Dean smirked and leaned against one of the pillars next to the pews and crossed his arms over his chest. âUnfortunately I donât have to try.â
âScrew you!â Steven growled. âIâm going to talk to the priest, Iâll be back.â
âMake sure you return the choir robe you borrowed.â Dean teased him. âIâd hate to see some poor boy not able to dress for church.â
Steven froze when Dean said those words and spun around to glare at the fallen.
âChoir robe?â Nick asked and lifted his eyebrows almost to his hairline. âYou wore a choir robe?â
âI shifted, it was an emergency. I had to save this girl from being drained by a fucking vampire,â Steven defended.
âYeah,â Dean chirped. âThe very same girl you got your ass beat in front of.â
âLike youâve never gotten your ass beat,â Steven shot back.
Dean stopped and thought for a moment. âNo, I havenât gotten my ass beat but it has been pounded.â
âArgh!â Steven roared, throwing his arms in the air and stalking down another hall.
Nick looked over at Dean, âAny idea where heâs hidden the robe?â
âUnder his bed,â Dean answered.
Nick smirked, âPerfect blackmail material, thank you.â
âSure thing, I like watching him squirm⦠that and he seems to think Iâm constantly going to kick his ass or something.â
âSadist,â Nick said with a chuckle.
âIâm a fallen,â Dean said. âWe donât have much to keep us entertained.â
Steven approached the priestâs office door and raised his hand to knock when he heard voices on the other side. One he recognized as the priest, the other was female. Lowering his hand, he pressed his ear closer to the door so he could listen.
Jewel paced back and forth trying to stay focused but it was hard. The first thing that came to her mind when she walked into the office was when sheâd been attacked by vampires and seen a naked man or shifter⦠whatever he was. She just spent the last five minutes answering the priestâs questions about the other night but right now she had bigger problems than that.
âYou shouldnât be sneaking around in the middle of the night,â the priest said. âItâs dangerous. What if your father or your betrothed catches you?â
Jewel marched straight up to his desk and practically slammed her palm down on it. âNo, they are the ones making it dangerous⦠climbing out my own window and sneaking past the armed guards that are keeping me prisoner and trying to sneak back in without getting caught.â
âYour father is just trying to protect you.â He tried to calm her down but knew what she was saying was true. Her father was in here every week confessing⦠washing the blood from his hands and conscience.
âNo, heâs trying to force me to marry his business partner to pay back a debt! A debt I had nothing to do with. Isnât there a law against slavery in this country?â
âBut when you and Anthony came in here for the meeting, you said you loved him with all your heart.â The priest pointed out. âThat is not the type of thing you should lie about. Itâs a disgrace in the eyes of God.â
âYes well, the two body guards standing behind our chairs⦠do you remember them? The one behind me was digging the barrel of his gun into my back. I could never love an egotistical heavy-handed barbarian like Anthony. He promised to kill me and my father if I donât go through with the wedding. And earlier tonight, when I tried to tell father that I didnât want anything to do with Anthony, he smacked me so hard that I know where the stars are located now, because I could count them.â
Both Jewel and the priest were startled when the office door flew open so hard it banged the wall making several pictures and a gold-plated cross fall.
Steven stood in the doorway glaring at the two of them. However, the darkening bruise on Jewelâs cheek made Steven see red. âYou both need to come with me.â
Jewelâs knees felt weak seeing the mystery man still alive.