Sherrilyn Kenyon - Dark Side of the Moon by Sherrilyn Kenyon Page A

lip. “Of course it should. What the hell has gotten into all of you that you no longer care about us? Or your duties? Have the Daimons sucked you in to work for them, too?”
    What was he talking about? “Who are the Daimons? Last time I checked, the paper was owned by the Kirbys.”
    He curled his lip at her. “Like you don’t know who they are. Look, Susan, I don’t have time for you to jerk me around. I need some sleep before tonight. We’ve got a lot of stuff we have to do and I’ll need for you to e-mail the rest of your group and let them know what’s going on. ”
    Boy, he had some nerve. She’d never seen anyone so commanding and sure of himself. Especially given the fact that he was standing here bare-butt naked. “Excuse me? Do I look like your personal secretary or slave? Uh… no. You don’t own me. I don’t even know you and I don’t care how cute you look naked in my living room, I don’t take orders from anyone. So there’s the door—”
    “You know I can’t go out there. There’s daylight outside.”
    She gave him a droll stare. “Well, that’s what happens when the big yellow ball comes up over the mountains. Amazing, isn’t it?”
    Ravyn wanted to choke her. And he’d stupidly thought Erika was a pain.
That’s what you get for thinking there couldn’t be a worse Squire in existence
. . .
here’s Erika in another fifteen years or so
.
    And Acheron thought that saving mankind from the Daimons was nothing. Gods spare him from women such as these two.
    Just as he opened his mouth to speak, there was a knock on the front door.
    Ravyn exchanged a puzzled frown with Susan. A small preternatural frisson went up his spine. Since it was daylight, he knew there couldn’t be a Daimon or Apollite out there—daylight would fry them on the spot.
    Yet that’s what it felt like. There was no denying or excusing away the unique sensation.
    Which meant it had to be a halfblood. Only a half-Apollite would be able to set off his senses and still walk in daylight without dying.
    “Ms. Michaels?” a deep, masculine voice called through the door.
    Susan started toward it only to have Ravyn pull her to a stop. “No.”
    “No?” she asked, her voice frigid. “Boy, I’m not your bitch or your ho. You don’t order me about. Ever.” Susan twisted away from his grip.
    Ravyn cursed at her stubbornness. Something wasn’t right. He could feel it with every heightened sense he possessed.
    Susan ignored him as she opened her door to find two uniformed police officers on her front porch. One of them was incredibly tall, probably around six six or so, with short blond hair and dark brown eyes. The other officer was a brunette who only stood about four inches taller than her.
    “Can I help you?”
    The brunette looked up at the blond as if he were the one in charge. “Are you Susan Michaels?” the blond officer asked.
    She nodded.
    “Were you at the Seattle Animal Shelter a short time ago?”
    “Is there a problem?”
    The blond gave her a smile so fake that someone should post it in a toothpaste ad. “No problem. You just left the facilities with a cat that wasn’t meant to be adopted. We’re here to collect him.”
    Every nerve in her body rang out with suspicion. Why would two cops—
    Oh wait. Jimmy. He’d probably put them up to this just to get her goat. Susan stared blankly at them. “Don’t you guys have something better to do, like actually investigate real crimes or something?”
    “This
is
a matter of public safety, ma’am,” he said seriously. She had to give him credit. He was much better at acting than Angie had been. “That cat is extremely feral and might be rabid.”
    Sure it was. “Well, I’m afraid you’re too late. The cat has already turned into Mr. Supermodel and has now taken up residency in my home. I don’t know what Jimmy paid you guys for this, but whatever it was, I’m sure it wasn’t enough. Have a nice day, gentlemen.” She closed the door.
    But before she