iridescent or maybe that was just his personality shining through. Drew was funny, sweet, kind and thoughtful, and a hundred other adjectives I’d used to describe him at one time or another.
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The bright twinkle of laughter filled his face and the expression made him look like he was lit up from the inside—a shining beacon so bright, it drew me to him.
“You’ll let me have him?”
The look on his face was priceless. I couldn’t help but splutter out a laugh. “Listen, I’d love to stay here and shoot the breeze with you, but I’ve got places to go and vampires to kill.
I was hoping to find a little more action before bedtime.”
“You sure know the way to a man’s heart,” he teased.
If only.
I plastered a fake smile on my face and tried to disguise the way those words affected me. Drew and I had known each other for a big part of our lives and we had always hunted side by side. We were partners in every sense of the word except in the sense I wanted us to be. I was in love with him—hopelessly, unwaveringly, head over heels in love—and Drew had no idea about the way I felt. I would have given anything to have him look at me like a woman instead of a fellow hunter or a friend—or, worse, a sister. But the sad fact was, I’d had that same wish for over ten years and I’d finally woken up to the fact that Drew was never going to love me back.
It was the reason I’d decided to call our handler at the council and ask him to pair me with someone else. It would break my heart to do it and undoubtedly hurt Drew too, but it was the only way forward for me now. It wasn’t healthy to keep pining for someone I could never have. Every day being near him but unable to be with him killed me a little more inside.
When the vampire’s body had fully degraded, we headed for the far end of the alley that would take us out onto the main road. Before we reached it, my cell phone started buzzing. I pulled it out of my pocket and squinted at the display. It was Ira, our handler at the hunters’
council. I swiped my finger over the screen then put the phone to my ear.
“Mia,” I answered.
When Drew raised his brow, I put my hand over the phone and mouthed, “Pain in the ass.”
Drew smiled knowingly.
“Mia, I’ve got a job for you and Drew, if you’re interested,” Ira greeted. “It’s an important task, but it might be dangerous. It’s up to you if you take it. I’ll give you the details then you might want to talk it over with Drew before you get back to me.”
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I turned to Drew and frowned, intrigued by what Ira had said. We risked our lives every day fighting vampires and rogue werewolves. What was more dangerous than that? We didn’t usually get a choice of jobs or locations so it spoke volumes that Ira had to ask if we wanted to be involved in this one.
“I’m with Drew now,” I informed him. “Give me a sec. I’ll put you on speakerphone.”
Ira was silent while I fiddled with the phone.
“Okay, go on.”
He cleared his throat before he began. “The council has been called upon to assist in an ongoing war that has escalated to—”
“A war?” Drew repeated, his eyebrows drawn together. “Between who?”
“The angels and demons specifically. Of course, we don’t usually get involved—a little above our pay grade, as I’m sure you’re aware—but the angels approached us recently and asked for our help. We need to locate twenty-something grimoires—dark magic books that are scattered around the country. At present, we don’t know of all their locations, but we need to find them before they fall into the hands of demons.”
By the time Ira had finished his spiel, Drew’s eyes had grown impossibly wide. They probably resembled mine.
“Huh. A war between angels and demons. Are you serious?”
“Perfectly,” Ira deadpanned. It would have been difficult to discern from the tone of his voice, but I knew him well enough to guess that he was presently rolling his eyes at Drew’s response.
“We believe one of the grimoires is in Florida—Miami to be exact—and we’d like you to retrieve it for us. If you choose to accept the job, you will need to leave right away. There’s little time to waste.”
“Florida, eh?” Drew mused.
When he lifted his gaze to look at me, I knew he’d made up his mind. He lived for new adventures and I could practically see the cogs working inside his head. He found the idea of this job exciting.
“I’ve always hated the damn ocean,” he said. “But why the hell not? Count me in.”
I was about to object. I’d made up my mind that I wasn’t going to work with Drew any longer and had planned to call Ira when Drew wasn’t around. However, I’d be a liar if I said www.totallybound.com
that the job didn’t intrigue me. What would it hurt to do it? It could be our last mission together—a final grand goodbye before we went our separate ways.
I shrugged. “I guess we’re going to Florida.”
Drew grinned so wide his cheeks must have hurt. He leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead and I tried really hard not to enjoy the way it felt to have his lips on my skin.
I tore my gaze from his and said into the phone, “Ira? You’d better give us the details.”
“I’ve already told you everything I know,” he replied. “I’m just the middle man. The angel Malaki is calling the shots. He should be able to answer any questions you have. I’ll tell him to meet you at your motel first thing in the morning. Let’s say six, sharp?”
Drew and I nodded our acquiescence even though Ira couldn’t see it.
“We’ll be waiting for him,” I confirmed.
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About the Author
Amy Armstrong is a Brit that loves chocolate, prosecco, and sunshine. She lives and breathes paranormal romance and urban fantasy, but is also a fan of the classics and pretty much anything else she can get her hands on, including but not limited to contemporary romance, thrillers, horror, dark fantasy and young adult fiction.
Amy writes stories filled with heart, heat and passion. She loves to read about strong woman, but believes heroes come in all different shapes and sizes. She is happiest when writing or soaking up the sun with a pina colada in one hand and her kindle in the other. Her family and friends are an important part of her life and she loves meeting new people with similar interests. She is a full time, multi—published author and loves to hear from readers. She writes M/M romance under the pen name Lavinia Lewis.
Email: [email protected]
Amy loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at http://www.totallybound.com.
Also by Amy Armstrong
Huntress Chronicles: A Demon in Dallas
Huntress Chronicles: A Fae in Fort Worth
Huntress Chronicles: A Merman in Miami
Clandestine Classics: Pride and Prejudice
Tied to the Billionaire: Hot for Him
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter One
A Hellhound in Hollywood Page 12
