Read In Too Deep for Free Online Page A

dislocations would heal badly without some help.
    “ What?” Dakota asked in surprise.
    Fallon stared at Brody. “Impossible. I can’t heal silver damage. I just closed your wounds and relieved a little pain. The rest was all you. You saw what I managed to do for myself. I stopped the bleeding, that was all. I’m not a healer. You’re wrong.”
    “ Trust me. Their fangs were coated in silver.” Brody insisted, her eyes sparked, and he raised a single brow. “Nothing burns like silver. That was all you . Why do you think I was so surprised when you didn’t heal yourself?”
    Her brow knit together and her mouth turned down in a frown as she turned to Dakota. “I don’t know what to tell you. Healing him was a fluke. I have never been able to heal silver damage, and I’m sure I couldn’t do it again.”
    “ Hmm.” Dakota shrugged and offered her a weak smile before giving Brody a meaningful look.
    He had no clue what Dakota was thinking, and he was more concerned with Fallon. Brody watched as she twisted her hair into a knot and gave him wary look. He wanted to know what was going through her head.
    Hayden cleared his throat. “Okay, so you healed Brody, fluke or not. Then what?”
    Fallon rolled her eyes, and looked at Hayden. “I set a circle of protection around us. Then I healed Brody. He was unconscious and shifting back, and I figured whoever bit him was coming for him. Why else would he be running like that? Not real keen on watching him shift, I left him there and waited for the vampires. The woman streaked out. I cut her head off…”
    “ With what?” Hayden barked.
    With a heavy sigh, she moved her hand to her other forearm and pulled a glowing dagger out of thin air.
    Holy shit. That explained where the blade came from.
    “ It's a mana-blade and tattooed into my skin.” She explained. “It cuts through damn near anything. Will burn a vampire from the inside out. Damages weres a lot like silver does. Mages can’t heal the wounds.” She ran a finger over the blade. “Really, the blade is great against pretty much any Other and no one can take it from me.”
    “ Why in the Abyss would you have a magical blade?”
    Brody knew he glared at Hayden, but didn’t even try to stop himself.
    “Protection. I’ve been around a lot of Others all my life, some real nasty ones. Why not have an all-purpose weapon that’s always on me?” She whispered a strange word, and the blade disappeared in a flash.
    Hayden shook his head, his chest heaving. Brody wasn’t about to let him accuse Fallon when she did nothing wrong.
    “ Look, Hayden,” Brody stood up and put himself between the sheriff and Fallon, “she saved my ass tonight. She only took down the vampires when they attacked her. Cut her some slack. I’ve seen the axe you wield. It's the same damned thing.”
    Hayden grudgingly apologized. “Sorry. Continue.”
    “ Right,” she muttered. “Brody came to, I broke the circle, and the other vampire came. I knocked him on his ass with a spell and stabbed him, and Brody helped.” One corner of her mouth turned up when she nodded toward him, but she avoided his gaze. “He called Slater, and now we’re here. Anything else?”
    “ Why do you know about vampires?” Hayden asked.
    She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, like maybe she was counting to ten. Her eyes opened and she explained, “I’ve met plenty over the years. I’ve killed a few. In fact, I’ve dealt with the Dales before, and you can ask Jess all about that. Personally, I don’t want to go there.”
    Jess stood , crossing her arms over her chest, challenging Hayden. “She’s on our side. Fallon is the only reason I got away from the Dales ten years ago.”
    Hayden frowned and looked back at Fallon. “You healed a stranger and protected him. Why?”
    Fallon gave Brody a crooked grin. “He tried to send me away from danger. Bad guys don’t usually send an innocent to safety when they’re in trouble. And he obviously