Free Wicked Wind (Solsti Prophecy #1) by Sharon Kay Page B

about Gunnar at this point. A mix of anger at him and disappointment in herself roiled her stomach.
    Sorry. Want 2 talk? Julie texted back.
    No . Nicole typed rapidly. 4get him. Staying home w B 2nite . As she pressed send, a silver CTA train pulled into the station. Nicole stepped through the automatic doors and settled into one of the worn blue seats. A huge sigh escaped her. She couldn’t recall when she had ever been in such a big mess. And now, heaven help her, she had to go home and tell Brooke all about it.

    Nicole winced as a coffee mug flew out of Brooke’s hand to shatter against their stainless steel fridge. This was worse than she expected.
    “What is wrong with you?” her sister shrieked. “You meet some guy who’s tall and ripped, and you lose all sense of caution? What were you thinking? Oh, wait–you weren’t thinking. You were acting like a guy who thinks with his dick!”
    “Brooke, I am so sorry–”
    “Sorry doesn’t cut it! Did you even think about Gin and me?”
    “Yes, like I said–”
    “Oh, sure. Was it when you were grinding on him? Or when you let him into. Our. Home ?”
    “Brooke, stop! Gunnar might be a jerk, but Rilan understands what we are.”
    “How do you know that anything they told you is even true? It sounds like the craziest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard. Goddamn it, Nicole!” Brooke’s gray eyes flared like a stormy sky, but Nicole didn’t miss the hurt that flickered beneath her sister’s anger.
    “They’re not human. There’s no way they can be. They’re different, like us. Except, they were raised with knowledge of their skills and limitations. They know about the other creatures out there.”
    With a grunt, Brooke took the chef’s knife she twirled between her fingers and stabbed it into the wooden cutting board in front of her. “God damn it, Nicole,” she repeated softly.
    “I’m sorry. I really am. I should have told you right away. It’s just that things happened so fast…”
    “You don’t say!” Brooke muttered.
    “I jumped at the chance to get more information, after all these years of being in the dark. When Gunnar made that…that demonfire appear in his hand, I knew he was different too. It seemed like he was kind of a kindred spirit.”
    Brooke rolled her eyes and huffed out an angry breath. “I’m too pissed to talk to you. I’d love to wipe the gym floor with your ass. But instead, I’m going to take it out on some gang member. I’m leaving in five, whether you’re with me or not.”
    “Yeah, I’ll go with you.” Nicole sighed with relief. If Brooke needed to hurt some criminals and was willing to do it with Nicole, they were going to be fine. They knew each other too well to sugar-coat anything. Brooke would accept that Nicole only wanted what they both did—to learn more about their talents.

    Five minutes later the sisters walked out the door. There were several nearby neighborhoods that could use their special kind of help. Bad areas butted right up against nice ones; many gleaming new condo buildings loomed over dilapidated blocks in the name of “gentrification.” Tonight they took a short cab ride and then walked the last few blocks on foot. Weeds sprouted in the endless sidewalk cracks beneath their feet.
    They slipped quietly along a garbage-strewn street. Paper bags drifted along the gutter next to plastic ones, and empty cardboard beer cases were tossed against a dumpster. In the fading autumn light, children unsuccessfully begged their grandmothers to stay outside in their front yard for a few more minutes.
    Nicole and Brooke paused near an alley, low male voices drifting out to them. Without passing the alley entrance, they stopped to listen to two rival gangs snarl at each other over turf and drugs.
    Brooke turned to meet her sister’s eyes. Arguments like this took place every day between one group and another, and as far as the women were concerned, they could fight it out themselves. They didn’t