Read Tempt (Ava Delaney #3) for Free Online

the bottom half of my face was protected by
my collar. The drizzling rain slowly dampened my hair, more
irritating than anything else. The moon was full, and the night
didn’t seem as dark as usual, despite the clouds.
    I waited
outside my building for Peter and Esther, unable to stay indoors
for a minute longer. The workout with Peter had driven something,
unleashed something, made me uneasy somehow.
    I
recognised the growl of Peter’s car but didn’t move until it came
to a complete stop in front of me. It bugged me to see Esther in
the front seat. I hated that backseat. It reminded me of how Peter
used to make me sit there because he didn’t trust me not to bite
him.
    Esther
turned around to talk to me as soon as Peter started the car. “I
haven’t seen you in ages. I’ve called, but… I guess I keep missing
you.” Her chirpy voice faltered as if she finally clued in to the
expression on my face.
    “ Ignore her,” Peter said. “She’s been in a bad mood since I’ve
known her.”
    Esther
grinned, her face lighting up. “She’s not so bad.” Her face was
heavily made up, her hair styled as always. I would never equate a
bear to her curvy frame. She didn’t look like a fighter, and part
of me was curious to see how we would match up in a
fight.
    “ Aiden told me to tell you he was asking for you,” she tried
again.
    I
seriously doubted that, but I nodded and tried to smile. I liked
Esther, I really did, but she was so confident in herself, despite
her past, that I couldn’t help feeling inadequate around her. She
knew exactly who and what she was, and she wasn’t afraid of it.
Enter me, and the difference was astounding. Even in appearance, I
was the lesser, and my admittedly boyish frame didn’t exactly hold
up well against her more feminine build. It all might have been
fine except I had an awful feeling that the Council had sent her to
hunt with me, or rather, to check up on me.
    “ What happened to your hands?” she asked, eyeing the
bandages.
    I
slipped them into my pockets and slumped down in the seat. “Long
story.”
    “ Oh, I almost forgot.” Esther fished something out of her
stylish handbag. “Here’s a list of the manned checkpoints in Dublin
tonight.”
    That
might have come in handy every other night, I wanted to
scream.
    Peter
pulled down the glove compartment and took out something shiny.
“Here, wear this,” he told Esther, and held it out while keeping
his eyes on the road.
    “ Thanks.” She carefully took from his hands what turned out to
be a necklace with a chunky cross. The way she looked at him
disturbed me, as if I had any claim on another soul.
    “ You a jeweller on the side now?” I muttered.
    Esther
threw me a bemused glance, but Peter just ignored me.
    “ Is this going to do something?” she asked him.
    “ Crosses definitely hurt her. And it won’t hurt you to have a
little extra protection.”
    Her
laugh was confident, cocky even. “You know I turn into a bear,
right?”
    His
shoulders tensed. “Don’t fool yourself, Esther. She’s quick.
Quicker than any vampire I’ve ever seen. You might not get the
chance to shift.”
    “ Okay, okay. I get it. Safety first.” Her mocking tone
convinced me she wasn’t taking it seriously. I’d quickly learned
that Guardians were kind of up themselves, thinking they were the
untouchable elite. Shifters were pretty proud, too, so it wasn’t
surprising that Esther underestimated the situation. The fact her
protective big brother was both her alpha and her boss probably
didn’t help her awareness of danger.
    I had
expected a little humility from the Council’s soldiers when their
ranks had been decimated by Becca, but Peter had warned me it only
made the others more competitive. Maybe it was good Esther had
joined us. She might see it wasn’t a game.
    We drove
for a few minutes in silence before Peter gave Esther a pointed
look. “Try not to let Becca get close enough to bite you, or you’re
screwed. She’s