Read Taken (Ava Delaney #4) for Free Online Page B

surprised.
Something’s got to give.”
    “She’s hiding
it from Aiden. I wonder how well that one will work out.” I found
it funny how all of us were so concerned with each other’s
problems, yet so hesitant to deal with our own inner demons.
    “Probably not
well at all, but she isn’t ready to talk, so we have to wait it
out.”
    “I suppose.” I
made a face. I wasn’t good at waiting. “But what I can’t figure out
is what that book has to do with anything. It’s bugging me why she
would steal that specific book.”
    Carl rubbed the
tawny stubble on his jaw. “That book was mostly about your kind,
Ava. About the things nephilim could do.”
    “Like open
gates,” I whispered.
    We exchanged a
glance that said we were both thinking the same things.
    “It might mean
nothing,” he said. “It might have been the wrong book, or there’s
something we’re missing here.”
    “Or it might
make perfect sense.”
    He rose to his
feet slowly, clearly in pain. “Don’t go assuming anything. We’ve
plenty of work to keep us going, remember?”
    “You should be
using your walking stick on days like this,” I scolded.
    He waved me
away. “I’m not depending on a piece of wood to get around. I can
walk. It isn’t going to kill me.”
    But it hurt
him. I could see it in the limp, the tightening of the lines around
his eyes, and the controlled gasp as the aching reached its
peak.
    “Eddie will
give you something for the pain if you ask.”
    “I don’t need
help,” he insisted. “I should get home. Maria will worry.”
    “How is she?” I
wasn’t being polite. I really wanted to know how she was treating
him.
    “She’s good,
mostly. Getting over everything. She’s started at me about
returning to work. Her dad’s forgiven me now. Pitying the poor
invalid.” He grinned, but the lightness was gone.
    How I wished I
could turn back time and fix Carl. “Would that make you happy? To
work there again?”
    He tried to
laugh, but his breath caught, and he coughed instead. “Definitely
not. I would rather suffer in Eddie’s shop than be perfectly
healthy at her father’s business. I might not be any use at
defending myself anymore, but I’m good at this stuff.” He gestured
at the book. “This stuff comes easy for me, and if I can make a
difference, even like this, then it’s worth it.”
    I knew he meant
it, and I was happy to have him in my life.
     

C hapter Five
     
    Loud banging at
my door and someone desperately shouting my name woke me from a
particularly restless sleep. “Ava! Ava! Help me! Please! Someone
help me!”
    In a panic, I
jumped out of bed and fell over myself trying to get to the door.
Someone needed me. I heard the fear in their voice, and I had to
run to help them.
    To my surprise,
I found Dita on my doorstep, in her pajamas, the beginning of a
bruise swelling her cheek. She threw herself at me, wrapping her
arms around my waist.
    “What
happened?” I asked. “Are you okay?”
    “It’s Daddy.
He’s mad. I think he’s going to kill her. Please, help me.”
    “Your
house?”
    “Yes!”
    I kneeled in
front of her and gripped her shoulders. “Get inside and lock the
door after me. Let nobody in unless I tell you to. Put on the radio
or the television and turn up the volume. I’ll be back in a
minute.”
    I moved to
leave, but she pulled at my arm. “No! Don’t go in there. He’ll hurt
you, too. I just… I didn’t know…”
    “I’ll be fine,
Dita. Get inside.”
    I pushed her in
and closed the door. I had no idea what kind of being her father
was, and I didn’t have my dagger, but I had to take my chances.
    I heard the
sounds then, and I knew someone would call the Guardians, or the
police, or at the very least, Mrs. Yaga. The noise of things being
smashed by either being thrown on the floor or against the walls
assaulted my ears, but there was no screaming, and that terrified
me.
    I ran through
the open front door toward the source of the noise. In the kitchen,
a