Read Desired by Shadow (A Shadow Walkers Novel) for Free Online Page B

by.
    When the trap door above her head banged open, Maggie jumped at least a foot in the air. She had to cover her mouth to keep from screaming when a man fell through, bag tied over his head, booted feet kicking, seeking a foothold.
    What the hell, someone was actually being hanged. Civilized countries didn’t hang people anymore. Had things changed so much in the past year they were hanging criminals? What if Solien or Bruce had found her and it was one of the guards assigned to watch her? It couldn’t be, not yet.
    A whump and the crack of glass made her jump. Pieces of a bottle fell down between the boards landing on her shoulders and head. One nicked her chin. More glass hit the stage above her as the tinkling of broken glass rained down on her. People were throwing bottles? Had a riot broken out? This was not acceptable, she needed to act, couldn’t allow anyone to hang because of her. Her hand landed on something cold, smooth. It was a shard of broken glass. Without thinking, she took the sliver and sawed at the rope.
    “You have to stop moving so I can cut through it.” Maggie yelled over the din.
    The man went still at the sound of her voice. She hoped it was because he’d heard her and not that he was already dead. Wetness trickled down her palm as she frantically cut through the thick rope. Putting her arm around his legs, she grunted supporting his weight to keep him from dying. She’d seen enough death to last a lifetime.
    Crap on toast he was freaking heavy. Adrenaline fueled her as she cut the remaining strand, and he fell hitting the stone with a thud. It was quiet. She no longer heard the crowd. It was as if everyone simply left at the same time. Looking up, she couldn’t see anyone on the platform. This morning was getting stranger and stranger.
    Maggie moved to his bound hands and cut him loose. It was hard to saw through the rope and the blood from her palm made the glass slippery. Detached, she looked at her hand; it was sliced open. It would have to wait. First, she had to free him. No one else was dying on her watch.
    “I’m almost finished cutting the binding on your hands. Stay still so I don’t cut you, ‘kay?” The reply was a mumble. The man’s throat had to be raw, injured from the rope. He was tall, maybe six feet with a heavily muscled body. She could see jet-black hair hanging out of the hood. His clothing was odd. He had on a white linen shirt, suede pants and black leather boots, like a leftover costume from Halloween. Must have been a hell of a celebration if he was still wearing his getup two days later and swinging from a freaking hangman’s noose.
    The guy was having difficulty breathing. Coughing and wheezing. As the rope fell away he sat up and pulled the hood off.
    Maggie was at a loss. Breathtaking, feral, hot, the words kept flowing through her mind. Indigo blue piercing eyes, super white teeth, and his face…wow, maybe he was a model and the shoot went wrong somehow? He gave off a magnetic force field that drew her closer until his angry tone stopped her cold.
    “You must be bloody kidding me. This can’t possibly be happening. Why did you interfere?” His voice was gravelly. He sounded pissed she’d helped him.
    “Um, last I checked, you were the one dying and I saved you. How about a little gratitude, buddy? Not like any of your model friends stuck around to save you.” Who did he think he was? What a jerk.
    “You’ve no idea what you’ve started, what you’ve put into motion. Get out. Leave.” The words were punched out. He narrowed his eyes at her. “What on earth have you been doing, rolling in a gutter? You reek of offal.”
    Maggie was speechless. She’d saved him from hanging, and he was angry at her ? Not to mention he’d called her smelly, like it was her fault she’d had to crawl through sewage. What a pig.
    The man stood, straightening his clothes. He looked annoyed but leaned down to help her up. “I can’t fucking believe this. The gods