Desired by Shadow (A Shadow Walkers Novel) Read Free Page A

roughly pushed her into a room and locked the door. “I’ll be back later to tell you what yer duties are. Try and leave, and I’ll gut you without blinking.” Turning, she saw eight women ranging in ages from fifteen to forty staring at her with haunted expressions and dead eyes.
    Prisoners. What was this place?

Chapter 3

     
     
    After being thrown across the alley to kiss the side of the dumpster, Robert got up, rotated his aching shoulder, rubbed his jaw, and cursed the offending piece of metal. “Don’t know why you’re laughing, last I checked I’ve killed two and you’re still screwing around with that miserable bastard.” He pointed to the Day Walker writhing on the ground. Looking around for the mobile he dropped when he went flying, Robert glanced over at Jasper, his comrade-in-arms.
    Both of who just happened to be ghosts, well Shadow Walkers was the correct term if you wanted to be particular.
    “That lovely mademoiselle in the tan coat with the cream-colored scarf could see us, and you frightened her, mon ami. Why she might have been the one for you.” Jasper wiped his hands off on his black wool trousers, frowning at the dirt left behind. Shrugging a very Gallic shrug, as only the French could, Jasper cut his eyes to Robert and ripped out the Day Walker’s heart, stabbing it with gusto. Jasper leaned back, dispassionately observing the degenerate disintegrate into gold dust, blown away on the icy winter wind.
    “Three of our enemies dispatched. A damn fine day.” Momentarily distracted by the area next to the Scottish Writers’ Museum, Robert read the plaque. Called Makars’ Court, there were inscriptions on the stones paving the courtyard. He examined a few, holding back a burst of laughter as he knelt, reading the stone to his left, “It’s a grand thing to get leave to live, by Nan Shepherd.” Tightening the queue keeping his dark hair in place, he stood. “So right you are Nan. Sure Thorne didn’t whisper this one in your ear?”
    Grinding his palm into his eye socket, Robert thought about it. One woman. Wincing at the thought of only making love to one woman for the rest of eternity, he thought it would be like eating steak three times a day, every day forever. He liked steak, but come on, everybody craves a little variety.
    “Most women would run away screaming. None would risk becoming involved with the likes of us. There’s about as much chance of that happening as there is of getting struck by lightning and bitten by a shark in the same day.” Robert chuckled and rolled his eyes. “I love my life. I’m never giving it up to shackle myself to one woman for all eternity. Think of all the poor, lovely women I’d be depriving of my charming self.”
    The Frenchman inclined his head. “Until next time.” Robert clapped Jasper on the back and dematerialized to his ship while Jasper vanished to his home in Paris.

Chapter 4

     
     
    One Year Later
Wednesday, November 1 st
    Edinburgh, Scotland
     
    Rough hands yanked Maggie off the sagging cot, startling her from a restless nap. “Get up, you lazy bitches before I knock your teeth out.” Mr. Nasty yelled.
    Yawning, she pulled her boots on, the rusty bedsprings squeaking when she leaned down. “All right, I’m up. No need to shout, sheesh.” Never knowing when they’d be summoned, she and Jean tried to catch a few winks whenever possible. Sleep helped the hours pass so you might forget at least for a few brief moments the hell you were living.
    The leader—Bruce, stood blocking the doorway to their room. She and Jean were taken out to spy for their cruel captors, acting like bloodhounds after a fox, pointing out people others couldn’t see. When any of the prisoners identified a super ghost as she’d come to call them, they pointed the being out, and once back at the prison wrote up a description. Bruce and his men were afraid of one called Robert or usually they referred to him as “the Pirate.” He was rumored to be a