A Job From Hell (Ancient Legends #1)

and crash against a shore. Aidan cleared his throat and pointed at a house
on the other side of the parking lot, past Kieran’s SUV and two other cars. “I
want to show you my favorite place in the world.”
    “Where are we?” I sounded breathless and
unsteady. His presence made me dizzy, the soft caress of his hand playing havoc
with my head.
    He squeezed my hand. “Just wait and see.”
    The house was small with wilting green ivy
climbing up the whitewashed walls. Dim light seeped through the opaque windows,
the shadows inside appeared blurred. Aidan yanked the door open and guided me
through a narrow hall into a large, open space. Floor to ceiling glass panes
covered the full length of the wall, offering a stunning view of the angry sea
below. On the opposite site I noticed Kieran, Clare and Blake together with a
red-haired girl and two guys sitting on white sofas around a huge fireplace
with large flames lapping at several wood logs. Kieran and Clare stood and
walked toward us, the others remained seated.
    Aidan grimaced and leaned to whisper in
Clare’s ear. I held my breath and inched closer, catching every word.
    “What’s Beelzebub doing here?”
    “I heard that,” the redhead said. She was dressed
in a garish green top and loose jeans that looked like they’d been through the
washing machine a few too many times. “One more of those and I’ll kick your
butt.”
    Kieran laughed. “What are you going to do,
sweetheart? Send out some butterflies to tickle him to death?”
    The girl scowled. Kieran draped his arm
around my waist and guided me to a sofa. I shot Aidan a quizzical glance, but
he walked out with Clare on his arm. I looked around. The large room was clean
and tidy with almost no furniture and no food or drinks, not even a bar or
background music. If there had ever been a party, someone had done a great job
at removing any traces.
    “You know Blake already. Now meet fabulous
Cassandra, Devon—” Kieran pointed at a broad guy with cropped, dark hair
and eerie black eyes “—and this is Connor.”
    I looked away from Blake’s fake smile as
Connor stood to shake my hand. He was at least a head taller than me with
black, spiky hair dyed a dirty blond at the ends. “So, you’re the lucky one.”
His lips stretched into a wide grin, his almost black eyes sparkled.
    “He’s talking about your job,” Kieran said.
“You beat quite a bit of competition.”
    “I did?” I blinked, guilt washing over me.
Who’d have thought the employment situation was so bad in Scotland? I felt bad for
lying on my application form when others needed the money just as much. I wasn’t
even into the whole cleaning routine.
    “Move it, Cass,” Kieran said as he squeezed
between Cassandra and Devon, then pulled me on his lap, snuggling me between
strong thighs. I scowled at him and tried to pull away. He wrapped his arm
around me and laughed. I could already see, they might look alike but Aidan and
Kieran had nothing in common. One was too reserved for his own good, the other the
worst player I’d ever seen.
    I sighed and tried to avert my attention
from his hot breath on my neck when Aidan appeared in the door and motioned Kieran
to step out. Blake took his place on the sofa, sitting as far away from me as
possible. Cassandra excused herself and hurried out after them. She was about my
height, her strange clothes emphasized her curves. As she walked past, I swear two
tiny horns peeked from beneath her long, wavy hair.

Chapter 9

 
    Aidan

 
    “What’s a little misunderstanding between
friends? Right, Aidan?” Kieran asked, laughing.
    “What?” I peeled my gaze from the front
door as I tuned in to the conversation even though I wasn’t keen on tonight’s
drivel. Amber was safe with Blake. He might not like her, but he wouldn’t dare disobey
my orders.
    “He chained us to a tree. He tried to trick
us.” Devon leaned against the wall of the house. The moon cast a silver light
on his face. He looked and behaved like a mortal. Only a keen eye would notice
that Connor and he had no shadow because they were Shadows, carcasses of humans on which their queen fed.
    I snorted. The competition again. Boy, were
they sore losers. “Why’re you so surprised? The book’s no longer yours.”
    “It would be if your beloved Rebecca didn’t
steal it from us.” Connor took a menacing step forward and lifted one arm when
Cass placed a hand on his chest to stop him. She barely reached the