The Sunset Prophecy (Love & Armageddon #1) Read Online Free Page A

Are you suggesting that I...?”
    Thomas quickly changed his tone. “No, let me rephrase what I was saying. I didn’t mean to come off as some sort of old perv.”
    “ I’m not that naive, Mr. Click.”
    “ Now, now, Ms. Grant. I was just seeing if you wanted to join me for a drink tomorrow night to discuss the possibility of having you do one of my gallery’s national spots.”
    Keelen shook her head. “I don’t think your wife would appreciate the way you approached me with your offer, and I don’t think my boyfriend would either.”
    “ You know, for someone who is in desperate need of real acting work around this town, you sure are a little tightly wound for your own good.”
    Keelen stood up from the chair. The edges of her eyelids moistened, the nostrils on her thin nose flared. “If there is one thing in which I pride myself, it’s in letting people know how I truly feel. I’m an honest, forthcoming human being. One who’s just trying to make it on my own, without compromising my entire being for a shortcut. You aren’t the first guy with a little power to offer me work in exchange for a good time. I’m not stupid.”
    Thomas sighed. “Such lofty ideals. Did you know that I could get in trouble by the feds for having you employed here?”
    “ What do you mean?” Keelen asked, wiping a tear from her cheek.
    “ I’ve run E-Verify. You don’t even have a visa.” Thomas grinned. “Where you from?”
    “ From Southern California.”
    “ You’re lying. I thought you were good at this honesty business.”
    Keelen ’s teary eyes darted around the room. Her closed lips quivered. Thomas stood up and came around Keelen and put his arm around her shoulder. Under the cover-up aromas of licorice and Dimetapp, she smelled the unmistakable scent of bourbon on his breath. He whispered in her ear, “I can make this all go away. I can offer you guarantees. Believe me, there is nothing guaranteed in this town, but I’m full of them.”
    Keelen curled her lips downward and held back her sobs with controlled resolve. She grabbed his arm and lowered it off her shoulder. She squared her body and faced Thomas. Right then and there, she made a decision…a decision that would carve out the rest of her destiny with the precision of a highly trained surgeon’s nip.
     
     

5
    Saint Drake
    E mpty canvases littered the studio floor of Logan Drake’s living space.
    T he fourth floor of a renovated warehouse, near the fashion district, was part of the city’s efforts to gentrify the outlying downtown area. The converted brick building was surrounded by bodegas which sold piñatas , party favors, and pupusas .
    Logan ’s living space had blood-filled packets neatly stacked on the table by the kitchen; they were arranged and labeled by name and blood type. Dried pools of plasma surrounded the floor of the workspace at the east end of the apartment. With meticulous fervor, Logan placed scented candles on every shelf and table in his studio to wash out the coppery smell of his favorite emulsion.
    In his bedroom, his slender naked torso sat upright on his large, minimalist bed frame. He caressed the dip of his friend ’s back as she lay on her stomach while she clutched the cold underside of her pillow. His baritone voice hummed into the smartphone that was tucked tightly between his defined jawline and shoulder. “I don’t think right now is the right time for this interview.”
    Eva glanced up while her naked body spooned the down comforter. Her laugh lines meshed with her large lips, as she flashed Logan a sated smile.
    A female voice whined and begged on the line. “You’re the featured artist for next month, and our June edition goes to print in a couple of days. You’ve been putting us off for a few weeks now.”
    Logan stood from the bed and flirtatiously waved his index finger at Eva as he exited through the partition with the phone still attached to his ear. He sat on his work chair, pulled open a fresh