Read Leopard's Kiss (Shadow Guardians) (Shadows Guardians Book 1) for Free Online

decision to make about whether to kill you." He was watching her inch away, not making a move to follow her. His muscled body rippled with confidence and capability, and she had no doubt that he'd be able to grab her in a split second, just like he'd done at the bar. She hadn't even seen him coming, but then his hand had been around her wrist and she'd been against his chest, without her even knowing how it had happened. Kinda like how he'd snuck up behind her on this street. It was as if he were made of shadows and death, and everything that was most definitely not nice.
    "You should decide not to kill me," she said. "That's a good decision. Go feed the homeless instead of taking money to kill people. It probably won't save your soul, but at least you can feel better about yourself." She decided finally that she had to take advantage of the fact he wasn't in the mood to kill her right then. He could change his mind at any second.
    Quickly, she spun around and began to walk down the street, away from him, back toward the melee from the bar.
    He fell in beside her, shortening his stride to keep pace. He was so tall, looming over her, like a cloud of doom. "They'll be looking for you if you go back there," he offered conversationally.
    She stopped, staring at the crowds racing around at the end of the street. "The assassins?"
    "I hunted you down easily after you left the bar. Granted, I'm talented that way, but so are they, if they're any good at their job." His voice was soft, hesitant, as if he were trying to decide the best way to converse with her. Was he testing out different intonations on her, to see which one would get her to fall into his arms again?
    A voice crackled behind her, and she spun around. The street was empty.
    He stared at her, his face like stone. "It's the speaker on your phone. You dialed 9-1-1 and the operator is asking you questions."
    She jerked her phone out of her pocket, and saw that he was right. She raised the phone to her ear, surprised he wasn't trying to stop her.
    "If I choose to kill you, help will never come in time," he said casually. "I don't need to stop you from talking to them. The police are no threat to me, or to the others who are looking for you."
    A chill gripped her at his matter-of-fact tone. She could easily see how he was a man who dealt in death. The way he spoke of killing her was so emotionless it was chilling. "My name is Anya Diaz," she said into the phone. "I'm in front of Angela's Cafe in the Back Bay. Someone is trying to kill me. Please hurry." The operator started asking questions, but Anya's words died in her throat when she saw him looking past her, his eyes narrowed.
    Slowly, she turned. Striding toward her was the demon, its eyes glowing red, its handsome, human face contorted in rage.
    "Twice," it snapped. "Twice you messed with my mind, Black Swan. For that, you die before I kill her."
    "Oh, God." She froze, her heart pounding real fear. It was closing fast, its fingernails lengthening into claws.
    "It seems we both have a decision to make," the trench coat man, apparently called Black Swan, said to her, keeping an eye on the demon. "I have to decide whether to save you again, and you have to decide whether to trust me."
    "Trust you?" She glanced at him. "Why would I trust you?"
    "Because I recently accepted an offer to become your guardian for a brief time. I'm beginning to understand why you need one, though I don't know yet why you are so vitally important to so many powerful beings." His gaze swept over her. "Kill you or save you. A complicated question of many levels and implications, and I don't have as much information as I need to make an informed decision. I never make decisions without full information, so, for the moment, your best chance of staying alive is me."
    The demon was getting closer, less than twenty yards away. She knew she didn't have time to run from either of them. All she knew was that she had to stay alive, or Julia would never be