A Beautiful Dark Read Free Page A

me. I could barely make out that one was blond, while the other’s close-cropped hair blended into the dark background. They spoke in hushed tones. Every now and then their voices rose and then fell again, as if the conversation was heated but they were afraid of being overheard. I couldn’t see their faces from where I stood, but I definitely didn’t recognize them.
    I could hear only a snippet of the conversation: “Not . . . yet!” The blond guy stood straight, his arms stiff by his sides and his hands balled into fists. “You are not supposed to interfere.”
    “Do you think I care?” the dark-haired guy whispered loudly. “Your rules mean nothing to me, Devin.”
    In a blur, he pushed the blond guy, sending him toppling back into a stack of wooden chairs that went crashing to the ground. At least, he must have pushed him—he moved too fast for me to see exactly what had happened. Everyone turned around to look. Someone cut the music. Devin looked stunned as he lay tangled on the floor amid a nest of chairs.
    “I can see that, Asher .”
    Devin shoved himself to his feet. Asher came back at him, and the two locked together, head to head. Some people in the crowd shouted. I tried to suppress the panic rising in my throat.
    “You would have done the same thing.” Asher’s voice was a growl, deep and menacing.
    “You know I wouldn’t have.”
    As the crowd gathered in closer, I found myself right at the front, inside the circle. People jostled against me, striving to get a better view. I was trapped.
    “Well, whose fault is that?”
    Devin twisted around in Asher’s grip, and Asher went flying backward—toward me. I couldn’t move; the crowd was packed in too tight. Closing my eyes, I held my arms out to catch him as he hurtled into me, sending us both to the hardwood floor. Pain jolted through me as the impact knocked the wind out of my lungs, and I gasped.
    “Skye!” I heard Cassie’s voice rise above the ringing in my ears.
    I couldn’t call out to her; I could barely move. Asher weighed a ton, and I was pinned beneath him. He turned around to right himself, pressing his arms into the floor on either side of my head for balance. His face was right above mine. His eyes widened.
    It was the guy I’d met on the street just a few minutes ago. The one who’d asked me what I’d wished for on my birthday. His eyes, even in all this chaos, were deep and dizzying. Looking into them was like trying to follow a penny as it falls down a well.
    I caught my breath, and feeling slowly returned to my limbs.
    “Get off of me !” I shoved as hard as I could, catching Asher off guard. He tumbled to the side, and I scrambled up. “Jerk.”
    I noticed the other guy, Devin, staring at me, too.
    Then a loud popping noise startled me, and something began hissing loudly. I fought to push my way through the crowd toward where Cassie’s voice had last emerged. Suddenly, the ground rumbled; I lost my balance and fell to my knees. Shouts grew louder, panicked screams echoed around me, and someone’s hands gripped my arms from behind.
    “Skye!”
    I turned around to face Cassie and clutched her arm in relief. “What’s going on?”
    Cassie shook her head, her eyes huge. “I don’t have an effing clue.”
    “Earthquake!” someone yelled.
    Chaos erupted as though a switch had been thrown. I heard glass shattering, mugs and plates falling off shelves.
    Cassie tightened her grip on my arm. “Let’s get out of here!” She pulled me toward the door. “Hurry!”
    The ground was quaking beneath us. As I turned toward the door, I noticed Dan and Ian running up alongside us. Dan took hold of Cassie’s free arm. As Ian grabbed my other arm, he gave me a strange look.
    Then he and Dan were propelling us through the door.
    “Get to your cars!” Dan yelled. “Ian’s on duty. I’ll stay with him while he calls the police.”
    The two of them raced back toward the building.
    Outside, people were scurrying down the