Free The Judas Relic: An Evangeline Heart Holiday Adventure by A.K. Alexander, Jen Greyson Page B

level of your journey.”
    That wasn’t exactly true. For the last three weeks I’d sat on my couch, staring at my blank TV trying to decide if I should watch the recording he’d given me. One I’d watched a single time, coming away overwhelmed and distraught at the imagery that had catalogued my mother’s gruesome death at the hands of my new enemy, Harrold, a man taught and trained by the Angel of Death himself. The problem wasn’t watching the horrific act, it was the lies Harrold had fed me right before Metatron had agreed to give me the recording, and there was just enough of a hint of truth in them that I was deeply troubled by how much I could trust Metatron. I rarely put my trust in anyone, but I’d eagerly—and blindly—swallowed up every detail Metatron had given, wanting— needing— the information about my Mom and what had happened to her after she’d made me flee to safety that dark, awful night so many years ago.
    I knew better than to let fear keep me from the truth… but knowing it and doing something about it was keeping me paralyzed. Considering that the archangel was an integral part of my success as well as a huge source of information, even a hint of distrust in him compromised my mission.  
    For now though, I needed to pretend so that he would give me the intel I needed to keep this going and moving forward. I swallowed and nodded, gripping my purse tightly. “ We’re ready. Ralph says we have to find the sword, and you say we have to go to Greece. Tell me what to do.”
     

    Chapter Two

    With the world restarted and my mission tucked under my arm like my purse, I headed out the salon to find Clay—the thief, and travel with him to London to see Ralph—the scholar. I turned the corner at 56th and halted.
    Two storefronts down, Clay was already at our meeting place, but he had one hand pressed into the stone wall above the head of a too-young-for-him blonde. She had her red fingernails curled into the front of his tight T-shirt and I huffed. Then I made myself take a deep breath. What did I care if he was dating a college co-ed, as long as he could stay focused on the upcoming task?
    I leaned my shoulder into the wall and waited, hoping he’d finish up and send her on her way. While the afternoon sun heated the top of my head, I watched him, troubled that I had any sort of reaction to the way his lips moved while he talked to her. For a thief, he was well-built, with a trim physique that probably suited him well as he descended ropes and climbed through windows. He still hadn’t bothered to get a haircut, so now his light curls edged over the tops of his ears, and flared out at his nape. Today, his navy T-shirt stopped just above the curve of his bicep, which he’d matched with a pair of dark washed jeans that nicely accented the curve of his ass—if I cared, which I didn’t.
    He kissed the blonde slowly and leisurely, then turned her and squeezed her butt as she walked to the waiting cab. When he glanced up at me, the cocky grin was enough to yank me away from any attraction I felt for him—which I didn’t.
    “Hey,” he said, opening the door to the small deli where we’d agreed to meet.
    “Hi yourself.”
    “Oh good, I was hoping you’d be your normal friendly self.”
    I ignored his barb and smiled at the hostess, holding up two fingers. “Two please.”
    She led us to a table in the far corner and I rearranged the chairs, sitting with my back to the wall and facing both exits.
    He shook his head and plopped into the chair opposite me, lanky and relaxed. “Doesn’t that get old, thinking someone is always after you?”
    “No. And after the attempt on your life in London, I’d think maybe you’d start. Have you eaten?” I lifted my menu, hiding the burn in my cheeks that was seriously frustrating me. He’d been so cute and jovial with that girl, but he poked and prodded me incessantly, always trying to aggravate me. He was like a sliver I couldn’t dig out from