"Alexis Morgan - Dark Protector" - читать интересную книгу автора (Morgan Alexis)

middle of the room, doing his best to look harmless. It never worked; his reputation as one of the
Paladins was too firmly entrenched for that.
The doors slid open and Sergeant Purefoy entered, his men right behind him. They fanned out,
their weapons powered up and ready, until the sergeant checked to make sure Laurel was indeed
sleeping and safe.
тАЬWelcome back, sir.тАЭ The manтАЩs smile seemed genuine. тАЬIтАЩll just verify the signature and then weтАЩll
see you safely out of the building.тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩm in no hurry.тАЭ Like hell. In here, he felt trapped and exposed.
The sergeant rifled through the clipboard, pausing every so often to read something. тАЬEverything
seems to be in order, sir.тАЭ
тАЬGood. LetтАЩs go.тАЭ
Devlin walked between the men and out the door, relieved to leave the lab and the delectable
Laurel behind. The last thing he needed right now was to break in a new Handler. There was too much at
stake for that: the hands on the sword that had brought him down hadnтАЩt been those of an Other.
 He closed his eyes to remember every detail he could of those last few minutes. The smell of
blood and fear-tainted sweat. Grunts and groans as weapons were swung and made contact. The flash of
a sword as it slid all too easily into his side. The shock had driven him to his knees as the blood splashed
out of his body and onto the ground.
He never saw his attackerтАЩs face, but he had seen the hands gripping the sword as it was shoved
through him and then twisted. Those hands had definitely been human. His last thought as heтАЩd bled out
onto the ground was the knowledge that one of his own people had tried to kill him.
Chapter 2
H eтАЩs out.тАЭ
The whispered message made his skin crawl.
тАЬI warned you that they were difficult to kill. That should come as no surprise.тАЭ Everyone with half
a brain knew that Paladins died all the time. Getting them to stay that way was the hard part.
тАЬWhen will you try again?тАЭ
The voice, dust dry and scratchy, grated on his nerves. He wished he had the balls to tell the
bastard to go straight to hell, but that would be signing his own death warrant. Whoever wanted Devlin
Bane permanently dead and buried was willing to pay big money to get the job done. It wouldnтАЩt cost a
fraction of that amount to have someone come after him.
тАЬIтАЩm waiting.тАЭ And none too patiently.
тАЬSoon. Reports are coming in from all over the area that the pressure is building again. IтАЩm
guessing that Ordnance will be sending out the Paladins within the next few days. Bane will lead the
charge. He always does.тАЭ
тАЬWe canтАЩt risk him near the barrier for much longer. HeтАЩs bound to notice something.тАЭ
Like the botched attempt on his life wouldnтАЩt already have put him on alert? HeтАЩd known this hit
was stupid from the start, but all that money had drowned out the warnings his common sense had been
shouting. тАЬI know.тАЭ
тАЬThe Paladins look to him for leadership. His death will distract the others, weakening their cause.
We need them in chaos if we are to succeed.тАЭ The voice stopped to draw a raspy breath. тАЬThere will be
a bonus in it for you if he doesnтАЩt live to see the next shift in the plates.тАЭ There was an audible click as the
mysterious caller disconnected the call.
He slammed the phone down. тАЬFuck you, you bastard. If you wanted Bane dead so badly, you
should have gone after him yourself.тАЭ
He cursed himself as a fool for letting himself get caught between two of the scariest people in this
world or any other one. It was one thing to be promised a bonus for killing Bane; living long enough to
collect it was quite another.
Even if he succeeded, heтАЩd spend the rest of his days looking over his shoulder. Paladins didnтАЩt
take kindly to losing one of their number at the best of times. If they found out theyтАЩd been betrayed, they