Read Judgment Day (Templar Chronicles Book 5) for Free Online Page B

damaged right eye sat down across from him.
    “God in heaven, Cade!” Riley exclaimed. ”Are you nuts? You can’t be here!”
    His friend glanced around conspiratorially and then leaned toward the table. ”Why?” he asked sotto voce, “Did they suddenly stop serving white people here?”
    Riley, who was far from white, didn’t even smile. ”I’m serious, Cade. There’s a ‘shoot on sight’ order out for you! If one of the other knights sees you sitting here...”
    Unconcerned, Cade picked up a fork, stabbed a piece of steak and took it off of Riley’s plate. Then, leaning back, he popped it into his mouth. ”Given the size of the mob surrounding us,” he said, “I’ll take my chances.” He chewed contentedly and made no move to get up.
    “Stop screwing around and listen to me. Johannson wants your head on a platter and if you’re not careful he’s going to get it. He’s not playing a game; that ‘shoot on sight’ order is serious business!”
    Cade waved Riley’s concerns away. ”Johannson’s an idiot and you know it. Nobody from Echo is going to obey that order.”
    Riley shook his head. ”It’s not Echo I’m worried about. We’ve been relieved; Gamma is in charge of the hunt for you and the Adversary now. And you know what an asshole that guy Harper is.”
    “I can deal with Harper.”
    “Cade, I know you don’t...”
    The former Echo Team commander slammed his hand down on the table. ”I said I can deal with Harper. Now leave it.”
    Riley had been Cade’s friend long enough to know when to push and when not to. Cade had clearly made up his mind. Arguing with him now would be like talking to a rock. Riley decided to let it go.
    “Suit yourself. Don’t blame me when you get drilled through the head by some over-eager initiate, though. And stay away from my steak or I’ll stab you with my fork.”
    A fleeting grin washed across Cade’s face, there and gone again. Riley was surprised to see even that much. His friend hadn’t been in the best of spirits since they’d returned from their journey into the Beyond and the subsequent events in Brooklyn had sent him into a tailspin.
    Speaking of which…
    “Want to talk about it?” Riley asked.
    Cade signaled the waitress for a cup of coffee, waited for it to arrive, and then glanced across the table at his companion.
    “Talk about what?”
    “Last night. In Manhattan.”
    If Riley hadn’t known him so well he never would have caught the almost imperceptible hesitation as Cade reached for the sugar. But it was there – more fleeting than Cade’s smile – but there, nonetheless.
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cade told him.
    Riley watched him dump four sugars into his coffee – How the hell does he drink it so sweet? – and then trapped Cade’s gaze with his own.
    “Don’t give me that bullshit. You were on candid camera the whole time, or did you forget about hotel security?”
    Cade sat back and sipped from his coffee, watching him. Finally, he shrugged.
    “I didn’t forget.”
    “Yeah, I didn’t think so,” Riley said. “So what happened?”
    “Nothing happened . I questioned a suspect.”
    Riley stared at him. ”Is that what you call it?” he said. ”Questioned? Because to me it looked like you put her – it was a her, right? – through a wood chipper.”
    Cade’s jaw tightened and he glanced away. ”Things got a little heated at the end.”
    A chill ran up Riley’s back at Cade’s words. His friend had always been ruthless when it came to pursuing the demonic, but tempering that ruthlessness had been a firm sense of right and wrong. Violence had been a tool, yes, but there was always a purpose behind it and Cade had never allowed emotion to govern his use of it. Now it seemed that steadfast control might be slipping a bit.
    More than a bit, Riley thought, remembering the state of the hotel room from the night before. In the wake of what had happened to his wife, Cade’s ruthlessness was