The Fire Within Read Online Free Page A

things her mother couldn’t be bothered with, and the pair of them had made sure that the wayward teen hadn’t gotten lost in the disaster of her parents’ lives. From them, she’d learned what a real relationship between loving people should look like.
    If Nelson died, she would be losing the man she considered her real dad.
    Without a second thought she raced to the hospital, the snow storm barely slowing her. Lakisha would be crazy with worry over her husband. Nelson was young, barely in his forties. A heart attack would more than likely end his career, and Nelson Purvis lived for his job. Retirement hadn’t even crossed his mind.
    Beth had an idea of how Nelson could keep working the job while taking care not to overexert himself, but she had no idea if he’d accept her proposal or not. What she did might be grunt work, but she still helped people in her own way. Whether that would be enough for the veteran cop or not, she planned on offering him a place at Rand Investigations if the doctors told him he couldn’t return to the force.
    She pulled up to the hospital and raced toward the front desk, praying Nelson was all right. “I’m looking for someone who was brought in with a heart attack. Nelson Purvis.”
    She followed the directions the woman gave her and made her way to the waiting area. Lakisha was waiting there, cradling a cup of coffee. Her normally dark skin was pale, her hands shaking. Beth immediately took a seat next to the older woman and held out her hand. “What happened?”
    Lakisha sniffled. Whatever tears came would be shed out here, where Nelson couldn’t see them. He hated when his love cried, and the knowledge that she’d shed tears would upset him far more than the heart attack did. “He left work soon after he spoke with you, saying he was tired. But the stubborn bastard saw the driveway was starting to fill up, so he broke out the snow shovel. He was clearing the driveway when he started feeling dizzy. Then his arm started to hurt, and he couldn’t catch his breath. He called me at work, and I think I broke some laws to get to him.” Lakisha’s breath stuttered. “I got him here as fast as I could.”
    Fuck. That didn’t sound good. “Do they know if it was severe or not?”
    “He’s in surgery. Bypass. We’ll know more soon.”
    “We’ll take care of him, no matter how stubborn he gets.”
    Lakisha’s answering smile was shaky at best. “Yes, we will.”
    “Has anyone called the kids?” Lakisha and Purvis had two, both just in college.
    “Chris is on his way. Betts is in class and hasn’t picked up her phone.”
    “Is there anything you need me to do?” Beth would do whatever Lakisha needed, no questions asked.
    Lakisha rested her head on Beth’s shoulder. “Stay with me.”
    Beth held the woman who was more a mom than her own had been. “No problem.”

Chapter Two
    The paper this guy was after wasn’t green. Dante drove down Route 1 and thought about his interview with Elizabeth.
    Something was going on, something beyond a mere Shem kill. He hated to admit it, but Elizabeth’s instincts were sound. The money and credit cards had been left behind, but that could have been because of Elizabeth’s presence. Even Shem needed to blend in, with places to live and jobs. Hell, some even married and had children. It was how other Shem were born, Shem who lived in the shadows with their parents, learning about how to feed and how to hide.
    If this Shem made its living off robbing others, it could have been distracted by Elizabeth’s sudden appearance.
    Either way, Dante wasn’t happy about Elizabeth’s involvement.
    But...
    If she was right...
    Why would a Shem be rifling through the papers of its kill? Most of them fed and moved on. Admittedly, some liked to play with their food, but unless he’d missed his guess this was the kill of one of the flesh eaters, which meant he was more than likely dealing with a Shem Azar. They weren’t exactly known for lingering