INTO THE FIRE (Forbidden Love) Read Free Page A

good at what he does. I can’t imagine how the vampire who’s harassing you keeps slipping by him.”
    “Nor can I,” a deep male voice said. Leigh turned her head to see the legendary Angel Knight standing in the doorway. Although she had never met him before, Leigh knew what he looked like. Long black hair that reached his belt, emerald green eyes that could make a woman swoon with just one look. His mug had been plastered all over the TV and the internet, along with several of his band mates. But in person, wow. He was gorgeous personified.
    “Welcome to my home, Leigh,” he said, extending his hand to her. Leigh took it. Angel held her hand longer than necessary, cocking his head to the side. The look on his face was slightly confused. Leigh knew he was studying her, trying to figure her out. Although she didn’t feel any sign of him trying to read her mind, Leigh slammed all of her mental barriers into place anyway. What went on in her mind was none of his damned business.
    “It’s nice to meet you,” Leigh said, tugging her hand away from him. There was no mistaking that he knew something was different about her.
    “You are not human,” Angel said. It was a statement of fact. Not a question. “Your scent is unique, though similar to one I know. But your skin is warm to the touch, but not sweaty or clammy. Just warmer than most. How very interesting.”
    “Who do you know?” Leigh asked. Did he know Merrick? God, she hoped not. That would just blow everything all to shit. She hadn’t spent years hiding from the ass munch just to have him find her now.
    “His name is Phoenix. He is a true firebird. He has that same campfire scent that you have, only a little different. You have a slight sulfur scent as well. Are you related, perhaps?”
    Leigh shook her head and let out her breath. She hadn’t realized that she had been holding it. “I’m afraid not,” she said. “I don’t have any living relatives.” It wasn’t a lie. Her family was long dead.
    “What exactly are you?” Angel asked. Leigh stiffened.
    She steeled her nerves and deliberately shook off his question. “Let’s not worry about what I am. I am the victim here. I am here because your man isn’t doing his job. Stalker boy is still watching me. It’s very unnerving.” Leigh crossed her arms over her chest. The motion was just as much to protect herself as it was defiance. “I just want him gone. So I came to ask you myself to put someone different on it. Someone this jerk can’t hide from.”
    Angel thought for a moment, and then said, “I will ask Rebel to come down. I am not sure how your ‘stalker boy’ is eluding him. It is very rare for a vampire to be able to hide from us.”
    Angel looked like he was concentrating for just a second, and then returned to the conversation. “He will be down soon,” he said. “Tell me about yourself, Leigh.”
    “What’s there to say?” Leigh asked. “I’m just a bookstore employee. I work too much and I am still broke. You already know where I live. What else is there to tell?”
    “Is there an ex-boyfriend that might have someone watching you?” Angel asked.
    Ha! It had been so long since she was even close to a man that she had forgotten what it was like. “No,” she answered. Merrick was the only one even close, and that relationship existed only in his own mind. But Merrick wouldn’t employ a vampire to do his dirty work. Even if he had, he would have made his move by now. Merrick wouldn’t have waited weeks to take action.
    Angel opened his mouth to say something else, but no sound came out. Instead, his eyes were trained on something behind Leigh. She turned.
    He stood there in the doorway, staring back at her in a combination of surprise and guilt. One look at his dark hair and whiskey eyes and she knew exactly who he was. His exquisite eyes had a definite look of hunger in them. As if he wanted to eat her up. Literally. He was wearing well worn jeans and a tight black