Alabaster Nights (The Josie Hawk Chronicles) Read Free Page A

positioned himself so he could see the stage as well as Sage. His sister looked good. Dare he say peaceful? Almost. A vampire rarely found true peace. Not until the end came, and Keller wondered if far worse awaited on the other side. That, of course, depended on which myth one chose to believe.
    “So?”
    “So, what?” Sage was up to something. Her eyes sparkled brighter than the holiday lights running the length of the bar. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her this happy. Maybe never.
    “Do you like her?”
    Every muscle in his body stiffened. Was he so transparent that Sage had picked up on his fixation? “Do I like who?” His words were stilted. He cleared his throat.
    She swept her arm in a circle. “This place? I’m going to buy it,” she said, bouncing on the balls of her feet like a child with a secret.
    Keller furrowed his brows, his mind sifting through the ramifications of Sage’s statement. Buying meant staying. In the past, Sage hadn’t stayed anywhere long enough to see a season change. “You’re going to buy a pub?”
    Shoving him playfully, Sage said, “You’re not in Ireland, bro. This is Nashville, and this pub is called a honkytonk.”
    “I’ll try to remember that.”
    “But, yes,” she said with a genuine smile. “To answer your question, I am going to buy it. Isn’t it great? We’re changing the name to Wolfie’s.”
    The song ended and the singer stepped down from the stage like a drill sergeant on a mission. Keller tracked her movements as, once again, every nerve in his body strained, begging him to do something . For once, Death held his tongue.
    Keller cracked his neck. The motion did little to ease his headache. “We? Will I approve of this partner?” He pictured someone taking advantage of Sage’s soft heart. Keller bit back his words. He would not allow Sage to buy this place until he met her partner and agreed with the terms. Sage was family and her safety trumped her happiness. Surely, even Sage would see the logic in that.
    The singer marched through the crowd, deep red hair bouncing, pale-green eyes watching Keller like a hawk. Her heart thumped in time with her boots as they pounded against the worn wooden floor. Something, probably a knife, glinted under the hem of her skirt. Maybe the same weapon she’d used on him last night. Had she wiped off his blood? Her determined gaze never left his. Keller wore a lazy smile and waited. Any second now Cupid would arrive to retrieve the arrow lodged in Keller’s heart.
    Sage jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. “I hope so. She’s awesome.”
    She? He hadn’t considered the possibility that Sage’s partner could be a woman. A thought crept in. Keller eased off the bar and straightened his suit jacket. “I look forward to meeting her.” Indeed.
    When the singer reached them, she planted her feet and crossed her arms over her ample chest. She smiled at Sage before she turned to face Keller. The friendly smile flattened into a thin line.
    Keller breathed deeply—something he rarely did—and his heart, along with another vital organ, jerked to attention.
    “Perfect timing,” Sage said. “Keller, I’d like you to meet my partner and best friend, Josephine Hawk. Josie, this is my brother, Keller.”
    The redhead licked her lips and swept her angry gaze from his head to his feet and back up. “I thought I told you to leave.”
    Keller could barely hear over the roar in his ears. A fierce urge to protect washed over him. Yes. Josephine Hawk had to be the one he’d been waiting for. How appropriate that Sage had chosen her as a partner.
    “You two know each other?” Sage asked. Brows drawn, her gaze bounced from Josie to Keller. “How? When?”
    Josie studied Sage with narrowed eyes. “Your…brother?” She spoke slowly, enunciating every syllable as if the words were new to her tongue.
    Keller smiled like a kingdom’s resident fool. This Josephine Hawk was one fine spitfire, and he couldn’t