Free FORBIDDEN by Megan Curd, Kara Malinczak Page B

things are the way they are.”
    She snorted. “That’s the most illogical thing I’ve ever heard.”
    “Well, you wouldn’t think so if every time you questioned someone, you were killed in some horrific fashion, only to wake up the next day, ready for more should you ask more questions.”
    Hannah went back to tending Angie in silence after that.
    I returned my gaze to Ethan. “So what now? You broke the rule bringing Angie here. You’re not scott-free anymore.”
    He sighed. “I know. Plus I pulled a plug in her car to make it not work, then offered her a drink while she waited on a make-believe tow truck I said I’d called for her. Wrapped her in a blanket so I wouldn’t touch her, but that’s the only rule you’re ahead of me on. I’m as screwed as you are now.”
    I smiled. “Good to have you on my team.”
    “Oh no, I never said I was on your team for this,” Ethan countered, putting up his hands and distancing himself from me. “I just said that I’m dumb enough to save your behind because you’re the only one who will double duty when I want to talk to a Guardian. I figured I owed you one.”
    “Or twenty,” I corrected.
    “Fine. Or twenty. But I’m keeping count, so nineteen to go.”
    I nodded and smiled. “So what’s next? You’ve been around longer than me.”
    Ethan sighed. “If you managed to take down a Fallen even after he was commanded to come for your human, you’ve got more skills than I gave you credit for.”
    I rolled my eyes. “Uh, thanks, I think.”
    “That’s not a compliment,” Ethan said. “Quite the contrary. Now you’re going to get to meet some of the fun things that the boss has up his sleeve. Things that will make a Fallen look like a puppy with a red ribbon around its neck.”
    “I’m allergic to dogs,” Hannah commented, absentmindedly scratching her leg.
    Ethan chuckled darkly. “You’re gonna be a lot more than allergic to these things, trust me.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    THIRTEEN
     
     
    “No way, dude, there’s no way I’m touching her,” Ethan said. “I’m not jacking up every rule possible just to see if the boss creates a crater to swallow me whole right here, right now.”
    I rolled my eyes as I hefted Angie’s limp body over my shoulder. Hannah clucked her tongue distastefully behind me, but hey, I was the one doing the lifting. I’d carry her like a sack of potatoes if I wanted to. It was easier this way. I smirked at Ethan as he jumped and dodged me like I had leprosy. “You know, they’re not contagious.”
    “Easy for you to say. You’ve already let that human touch you.”
    Hannah sighed. “I have a name, you know.”
    Ethan laughed. “Yup, and it’s Bag ‘O Bones to me. You’re human. You live, you die. Well, you were supposed to have already died, but Rambo here decided to tempt fate. You know what? I’ll just call you Bob for short. How’s that?”
    “Will you two please shut up?” I’d had it with their incessant bickering. It was like they were an old married couple.
    Ethan stayed a good distance away from both the girls, leading our unlikely quartet through the cornfield we’d been trudging in for twenty minutes. Southern Ohio was basically fields of corn as far as the eye could see. That and cows. There were some well-fed people in this part of America, that’s for sure.
    “My legs hurt,” Hannah complained. “Can’t we fly?”
    “No,” Ethan called from ahead. “Levi the Great tried that one, remember? A Fallen was on you guys faster than you could count to ten.”
    I shook my head. “So where can we take them? There’s nowhere that’s really safe.”
    “You’re right, there’s nowhere that’s even remotely safe,” Ethan said.
    I repositioned Angie. The girl was taking forever to come to. “So what do we do? Run forever? And how much Nyquil did you give this girl?”
    “Only slightly over the recommended amount.”
    His indifference was almost hilarious. Hannah ran up to him and