Edge of Hunger. Rhyannon Byrd

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ little rental and just get the hell away from me.”

      She crossed her arms over her chest, as if she could shield herself from the blast of his anger, but she didn’t budge. “Trust me, Mr. Buchanan. Ian. I’m not enjoying this any more than you are, but I made a promise to your mother and I’m keeping it. I know she made mistakes, but she’s trying to set things right. And if you don’t listen to her—to me—to us…then someone is going to end up hurt. I can feel it.”

      Why in God’s name do I always have to go for the psychotic ones? he silently cursed, running one hand through his hair so hard that his scalp stung. Must be in my goddamn genes.

      That was one of the reasons he’d kept things going with Kendra—the simple fact that she was so different from the women he usually hooked up with. The hard-nosed CPA didn’t take to bullshit any more than Ian did, and they both got what they wanted from each other, even if their encounters left him with that gnawing edge in his gut. Left him cold inside. Left him… wanting.

      It sucked, sure—but he’d learned to live with it.

      â€œLike I said before, my mother died five months ago. Now get off my property. This is private land and you’re trespassing.”

      He watched her mouth firm. Then those delicate, narrow shoulders pulled back, determination showing in every rigid line of her soft, womanly body. “No.”

      Ian laid down his hammer and rose to his full height, expecting her to turn and hightail it away. At six-four, he was tall and broad, with enough muscles to make most people back down when he wanted them to. Wearing his meanest scowl, he held her stare, the look in his eyes purposefully hostile and fury-darkened. When he finally spoke, his words came in a low, silken rasp that he expected to buy results. Immediate ones.

      â€œWhat do you mean, no?”

      WHAT DID SHE MEAN? She had no idea.

      You are insane, Molly. Freaking certifiable.

      How did you explain death and ghosts and pure, bone-chilling evil?

      How did you explain the existence of hell on earth…or the fact that monsters really did hide in the shadows?

      That something was watching you over your shoulder?

      That we, humanity, were no longer alone?

      How did you explain to someone that their entire world was about to change, never to be the same again?

      Molly didn’t know—didn’t have the answers. She was only the bearer of bad news, not its source, and she thought of the old saying: Don’t shoot the messenger.

      Somehow, she didn’t think Ian Buchanan was going to be so understanding. Her mind felt dazed, and she knew why. It was pathetic, but the man’s physical presence had short-circuited her mental faculties. He was…she faltered for a word that would do all that beautiful, hard-edged male power and arrogance justice, but failed. Elaina had warned her that he’d be distrustful, but she hadn’t mentioned how bitter he’d become. Or how gorgeous. Despite his crass rudeness, the man was a walking, talking poster boy for every woman’s hidden bad-boy fantasy.

      Beautiful and dark and delicious, he was everything Molly had always thought a man should be, but had never encountered. Hard, rugged lines. Ink-black hair, thick and healthy and windblown. And those eyes, the deep fathomless color of a clear blue sea. They were so much more than attractive. They held a fire. A dark, dangerous intensity that made her insides tremble. Made her breath catch. Made the air around her feel alive, as if it were crackling with electricity.

      Not good, Molly. Stay focused.

      â€œI can’t give you any proof, Ian,” she said, and there was no missing the hard edge of desperation in her words. “But if you don’t listen to me, if you won’t work with me, someone is going to die. Someone you care about.”

      â€œI don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but it isn’t going to work, because anyone who knows me can tell you that I don’t give a shit about anybody but myself.”

      â€œI don’t believe you,” she argued. “Not after the things that Elaina has told me about you.”

      He smiled coldly, clearly disbelieving every word she’d said. “You wanna lead some guy on a wild-goose chase, try some other sucker, but leave me out of it. In fact, why don’t you give the local sheriff a call? I can guarantee he’ll get a kick outta you, sweetheart. You’re just Saint Riley’s type. He’ll be more than happy to help you try and save the world.”

      â€œDammit, this isn’t—”

      She’d reached out to grab his arm as he moved past her, recognizing it as a mistake the second he looked down, the deep, raging blue of his gaze driving straight into her, all hostile and violent and strangely arousing.

      The words tumbled past her lips without any direction from her brain. “She said that when the darkness calls—”

      He tensed so quickly that her voice faltered, and she knew she’d struck a nerve. There was no give in the burning, powerful muscles beneath her hand—the bulging bicep rigid with fury…and something that she couldn’t put a name to. Taking a deep breath, Molly repeated the words Elaina had told her to say. “When the darkness calls, your mother said that you’ll know. That you’ll find—”

      â€œNo.” His lips barely moved as he ground out the word. “No fucking way.”

      Trying not to get lost in those feverishly blue eyes, Molly stared up at him, imploring him to believe her. “She wants me to explain, Ian. Explain the things that she should have told you before. Warnings that she should have given you before you left home. Please, just listen to me!”

      â€œYou can find your own way back down the mountain,” he growled, yanking his arm from her hold with ridiculous ease. “Just stay the hell away from me.”

      A moment later, he was slamming the door to his truck while he cranked the engine, leaving her standing in the cloud of dust kicked up by his tires.

      When he cast one last look in his rearview mirror, she was still standing in the same spot, alone…watching him run from something that Molly knew he had no chance of evading.

      It was one of the elemental truths of the universe. Night would always follow day. Summer would always follow spring. Death would always follow life. And try as you might, you could never outrun something that was already a part of you. She’d learned that lesson the hard way—and still carried the guilt to prove it.

      Whether he believed her or not…listened to her or not…gave in or forever told her to go to hell, Molly knew one thing with absolute, undying certainty:

      Ian Buchanan’s past had finally caught up with him.

      CHAPTER TWO

       The Midnight Hour

      KENDRA СКАЧАТЬ