jinn 01 - ember Read Online Free Page A

handing the paper to me. It was an invitation to a tenants’ meeting.
    I wadded it up and threw it at him, laughing. “I used tongs to remove that from the door.”
    He laughed harder.
    I would never get tired of hearing Holden laugh. It was the best sound in the world—resonating and honest. He never faked amusement or chuckled to make someone feel better. When he laughed, he meant it and the stone façade he still wore far too often would fall away. It made him look young and alive. I liked to think that this is what he was like before he became a jinni, but from what he told me, I doubted it. If there was ever a time Holden had been carefree and innocent, he didn’t remember it.
    He sobered far too fast. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
    “Like what?” I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed him tight. Why couldn’t Hell just leave us alone? He had come so far in the past year from where he had been.
    He narrowed his eyes. “Like you think I am broken.”
    I touched his cheek. “I don’t think you’re broken. There is nothing wrong with you that a little sanding can’t fix.”
    He tilted my chin up with his thumb and raised a dark eyebrow. I kissed him instead of answering. Holden hated sympathy and would reject it. It was the fastest way to get him to shut down the crack in his emotional armor.
    He broke the kiss. “Have you contacted your mother yet?”
    I shook my head.
    “We’ll get her tonight.” It was sweet how close Holden had become with my mother over the years. Though they were an unlikely pair, they had bonded over the time they’d thought I was dead, and it was still strong. She took his side in arguments all the time. So much for nepotism.
    I nodded. “Are you sure about this? What if this isn’t an attack from Hell? What if it is someone else? We might be exposing her for no reason.”
    “We are going to treat it like it is. If I’m wrong, then we’ll call it a trial run.”
    “I don’t think we should bring mom here. The farther away from us, the safer she will be.”
    He considered it. “It’s easier to keep an eye on her here, and we really don’t have anyone to send with her this time.” Last time Mom was sent away, Baker went with her.
    “I could get a guardian to go.”
    “They aren’t much good in a fight.”
    “No, but they could warn me if something showed up.”
    He nodded slowly. “If that is what you think is best.”
    “I do. What about your niece?”
    Our first Christmas together, Baker and I researched Holden’s family, trying to find a picture of his brother for him. Baker found the picture, but he also found a lot more. Holden had flesh and blood, living family. To my knowledge, he still hadn’t seen her, but if Baker could find her, so could someone else.
    “She’s not easily connected back to me.” he finally said. “As far as I can tell, no one has any idea that she exists.”
    “So leave her where she is?”
    “Yes.”
    “I could ask Quintus—”
    Holden rolled his eyes. “Absolutely not. Send him away with your mom.”
    “He can assign someone to watch Maggie too. Your call. A guardian lurking around a human wouldn’t draw attention.”
    “I really don’t want to owe him any favors.”
    I laughed. “Quintus doesn’t think like that.”
    He curled his lip, looking thoroughly disgusted. “Fine, but not a word about who she is.”
    “My lips are sealed.” I made a silent prayer to Quintus and he showed up almost immediately, the brightness of his light making Holden squint.
    “I knew you’d need me for something,” he said with a dimpled grin. “Holden.” He held out his hand.
    Holden shook it. Though neither of them would be willing to admit it, I believed they’d found a mutual respect for one another. At the very least, they were more civil to each other.
    “What can I do to help?” Quintus asked. He really was a sweet, good man.
    “I need someone to watch over my mom until this is over. Someone I know and