Banewolf (Dark Siren Book 2) Read Free Page A

downstairs. At the door, they shook hands with acceptance and a new understanding. Halfway down the drive, Greg called back to Rhane. “There’s not much you can do about the tattoo, but make sure to get a haircut before you go and get my little girl. I’ll start believing you’re not the pizza boy when you stop looking like one.” He smiled. 
    Rhane grinned back. After the baby joke, he pretty much deserved that one.

Chapter 3
     
    Even in death, Rhane found a way to take care of her. When Kali ran, she’d left with nothing. With no idea where to go or how to get there, she saw Rhane’s pickup parked roadside. Inside the toolbox she found an extra set of license plates, five bricks of one hundred dollar bills, and a small arsenal of guns and knives—all the necessary tools for a year on the run. Kali had taken them without hesitation.
    One week later, she stumbled onto a small island paradise. The one-bedroom villa had a hot tub, shorefront pool, and every other luxury a girl could ask for. Even near the end of fall, Caribbean weather remained a pleasant seventy-five degrees. And with the ocean right at her fingertips, she could have stayed on that little island forever. Unfortunately, the villa wasn’t cheap. Kali knew she had to be smart about money, especially until her head cleared enough to find work.
    One major downside came with island living. Watching a decent flick in a real theater required a ferry ride to the mainland. Though she would have preferred to swim it, Kali had spent part of the morning doing just that. Swimming such a distance would have made an enjoyable workout. But after the incident with the diver, it was too soon to risk another “sea maiden” sighting. The local newspaper had already nicknamed the mysterious girl who hung out at the bottom of the ocean. Kali was supposed to be lying low. Being the newest tourist attraction was counterproductive to that.
    Hopping a ride aboard a safari taxi down to the theater, she bought a ticket for the first showing of the morning. Plane crash victims hunted by grey wolves to the last survivor was a storyline Kali couldn’t resist. An old man, probably a retiree, sat at the box office counter. He smiled as she walked up.
    “You’re on a beautiful island. It’s a beautiful day.” His gestures took in the surroundings and then Kali as he spoke. “What could make such a beautiful girl so sad?”
    Revealing she’d had to leave friends and family because soul-stealing monsters were after her was not an option. Saying she had finally been reunited with her soul mate after four hundred years of separation only to have him die nine days later, just after telling her that the child she didn’t remember having was dead wasn’t feasible either. Somehow, Kali forced a feeble smile to her lips and told the first none-crazy sounding lie she could think of. “I’m failing chemistry.”
    “Ah.” The old man nodded. “Then perhaps you should be studying your books and not playing hooky at the theater.”
    He slid the ticket toward her anyway. She gratefully accepted, trying very hard to keep the brave face in place while thinking about everything she’d lost. Something in her expression must have moved the old man. When she entered the theater doors, a large bucket of popcorn and a fountain drink were waiting atop the concession stand. “It’s on the house,” he said. “Don’t give up. A smart girl like you can figure anything out. This world has much to offer. You just have to go out there and take it.”
    “Thanks,” was all she could manage.
    “You’re in theater seven. Go on in. I’ll have the film playing in about ten minutes.”
    Kali stood in the aisle, counting rows until she found the seat that w as dead center in the theater. Then she sat munching on slightly stale popcorn while listening to the projector warm up. Salt and butter coated her tongue in a delicious covering.
    As the wolves onscreen snarled and lunged, her mind