Read Ryder on the Storm: Emerald Seer I for Free Online

followed suit in silence. The Immortals walked across the dance floor to the corner booth and settled in. The football blondes stopped dancing for a moment and looked to leave their players but Ryder made a show of ignoring them. Instead, he sipped on his beer and stared out across the sea of faces, glistening with sweat, their reek filled his nose. Sex hung in the air. Lucian broke the silence.
     
    “Nice place. Good beer, great whiskey, lots of sweet ass for the taking.”
     
    “It is a good source of revenue, and a great place to entertain when I choose.” Ryder took another swig from the bottle, an import, a good one too. Thick, full-bodied, perfect for his mood.
     
    “I find it amusing. What’d your barkeep say about the girl? You still chasing redheads? I thought you were done playing with fire?” Lucian raised an eyebrow meaningfully.
     
    “I am. They saw me here with Trin. End of story.”
     
    “For your sake, I truly hope so. We have company, brother. And not the pleasant kind.” Lucian nodded toward the door. He spoke the truth.
     
    “Did you know they were coming? Lucian, tell me you did not know. Tell me you did not set me up for an inquiry.” Ryder looked at his friend, square in the eye, unblinking, wanting to believe he knew the man better. Lucian merely shrugged his shoulders and took another swig of beer.
     
    “If you are really asking me that question then I will take my leave.” Lucian moved to exit the booth but Ryder laid a hand on his arm and passed a meaningful thought.
     
    “Apologies, old friend. I am paranoid. You know how it is when your feet are to the flames. I wonder why they are here; I sent my account on the Sullivan Seers to Roane already.” Ryder felt uneasy, not fully convinced that Lucian’s arrival had been coincidence but hopeful that he’d arrived to be of assistance. “They do not look pleased do they?”
     
    “No, brother, no they do not. Perhaps we should take this back to your residence and leave your business untainted?” Lucian nodded toward the door, tension rolling off his frame in response to Ryder’s own. As always, Lucian’s mere presence remained intimidating even among their kind.
     
    “I do not wish to destroy my home, let us start with the alley out back.” Ryder stood, leaving his beer beside Lucian’s upon the table. Shoulder to shoulder the pair pushed across the dance floor to the new arrivals. Wordlessly Ryder ushered the guests back through the employee exit and into the back lot. Once the heavy steel door had closed behind them, Ryder turned and sized up his guests, nodding to each in turn – “Roane, Kell, Pollux, to what do I owe this pleasure?”
     
    “We have come to ensure the Sullivan Seers are truly extinct. It appears a new Sullivan resides at Willow Wood and that things were handled rather sloppily.” Roane’s baritone flowed so steadily it sounded eerie. The man never yelled. He never utilized inflection at all actually. Most people felt uncomfortable around Roane and the man used it to his advantage, even Kell and Pollux shifted awkwardly on either side of him. Ryder never understood it really. Sure, he stood eye to eye with Lucian and was nearly as broad, but he always reminded Ryder of Mr. Clean, minus the smile. Roane never smiled – ever. He always wore the same basic black cotton tees that stretched over his well-defined musculature. But beyond that oddly disconcerting voice-thing, Roane looked like just another man. Of course, it apparently irked Roane that he failed to intimidate Ryder. He did not like Lucian much either. Ryder got the impression that one of Roane’s many personal missions involved putting an end to them both.
     
    Kell and Pollux were another matter; Ryder had always been friendly with the pair. True brothers, Kell and Pollux had been born to a Scottish lord and a milking wench, or so they claimed. They were the youngest Immortals known to the brethren. They still wore their long auburn