by J. L. Madore
Thea frowned. “What is the last thing you remember?”
“Hark and I were laying tread, heading for the exit of the factory, when the bombs started to detonate.”
“Oh dear,” she said, lowering herself to her knees to sit on the floor beside him. “The shortest version is to tell you that those bombs were filled with that dreaded red alloy. Your body was riddled with it. Phoenix used considerable magical to draw it out of you. It seems it was too much for him to control.”
Seth let that sink in way down deep, and cursed.
His head hummed like a mofo, but he fought to focus on the only person who might be able to answer his next question. He turned to the Shadow Caster beauty queen. “So why are they all unconscious, witch? What went wrong?”
“My name is Storme,” she snapped.
“Answer the question.”
Thea smacked his arm. “Stop. Despite Storme’s objections to the recklessness of Phoenix unleashing his full strength, only hours after he levitated a factory to rescue you, your brothers-in-arms ignored caution and risked everything to save you.”
That sounded about right.
They were dumb like that.
“So,” Thea continued, “perhaps instead of disdain, you might offer your sister-in-law a kind word, as she loves Phoenix at least as much as you do—perhaps more.”
Seth arched a brow, impressed by the angel’s fire despite her being annoying as hell. “Excuuuuse me. I’m not at my best at the moment.”
“And how long shall that be your excuse? Hum a different tune, Warrior. Everyone is sick to death of that one.”
Well, allllrighty then.
Drina strode back inside, and the Reaper looked fried. “Zander is conscious but not lucid. Whatever mojo Phoenix emitted, it scrambled his frontal and temporal lobes.”
Shit, that wasn’t good. “How long until he heals?”
Drina shrugged. “How the hell do I know? An hour? A day? A week? I’ve never come up against half the stuff you boys have been throwing at me lately.”
Seth nodded, regretting the action when his brains sloshed around inside his cranium. “Okay,” he said, forcing his feet to get under him so he could stand. That lasted all of two seconds before he tipped like a felled tree toward the operating table.
Thea blocked the path of his timmmmber impression and managed to hold him up until Drina shoved a plastic chair under his naked ass. Umm, cold.
“Okay, if four of us are down, call Brennus. He’ll have to handle things for a—”
“That’s a problem,” Storme said, blinking up at him from the floor beside Phoenix. “Brennus will be out for at least a few hours, maybe a day. Hark too.”
Fuck. Seth drew a deep breath. “Okay, Thea, call Danel and Bo and let them know what we’re dealing with down here. We need to regroup.”
“What about Zander’s meeting with the Master Djinn?” Thea asked. “If the Darkworld leader is not here already, he soon will be.”
What? The Djinn Master agreed to a meeting and Zander got his noggin fried? Awesome. “Fricken figures.”
Thea blue eyes grew wider and her panic pegged him deep in his gut.
He raised a hand to the buzz in his skull. “Give me a minute to think this out.” As he said the words, he hoped she couldn’t tell he was talking out his ass.
His brain was one gigantic fog. Shit. What a mess.
Danel relayed Thea’s message to Austin, just as two black Suburbans drove onto the property. He waited until the vehicles cleared the main gate and then locked things up with the security program on his phone. From their position at the horse arena, they had the luxury of about two minutes before they’d be knee-deep in a clusterfuck. “I know you want to go to Z, Austin, but we’re in a bind.”
“But you’re sure he’s okay?”
“Thea said disoriented. He’s not as bad off as Kyrian and Phoenix because he was out in the hall. He got his nut rattled pretty good though, by the sound of it.”
Austin nodded. “Okay, Drina can take care of him for a bit. I’m good with working through this first.”
He stretched his arms, the leather of his trench sounding off as he moved. “Okay, if anything happens, first priority is your safety. One hint of Djinn duplicity and you’re in the tunnel entrance and slamming the lockout button, agreed?”
“Agreed,” Austin said, glancing back at the arena door.
Danel had never been more thankful that Seth and Phoenix painted every entrance, hallway, and stairwell with Otherworld pigment. Austin could navigate this entire property on her own, and with the safety protocols in effect, she could lock down and keep herself safe.
He gauged the distance of the oncoming vehicles and raised his hand, waving their guests over. “Bo, you and I are the only two standing. If this is legit, you gotta handle the talks with the Djinn.”
“Me?” Bo choked. “Do I look like a diplomat?”
“Does Zander?” Austin asked.
“Good point, cowgirl,” Bo said, “but Danel’s higher on the totem than me. He should handle this, don’t you think?”
Danel raised his stump. “Djinn don’t respect weakness. I’m not pulling full duty with this thing. If they think Zander blew them off and sent a gimp in his place, they’ll take it as a personal insult.”
“Then why am I here?” Austin said, turning on him. “I’m blind, human, and female. What will they think of that?”
Danel frowned. “I’m not trying to be an asshole here, but I’m not sure what Zander was going for by having you at his side. What was his objective? Does anyone know?”
“It was an attempt at a parley,” Tanek said, walking through the clinic wall to join them. “If you boys don’t mind, I’d like to step in and help.”
Danel’s heart kicked up its pace to triple-time. Thank fuck. “You’re more than welcome, my brother, but how will the Djinn feel about a meeting of the minds with a ghost Watcher?”
Tanek smiled and grew solidly opaque. “I can pull off the part of the garrison commander in a pinch. Austin, I know we’ve never met, but are you okay following my lead?”
Austin nodded. “Of course. Zander never stops wishing you were here to help him sort things through. Are you allowed to help? The Archangels have rules about interfering, don’t they?”
Tanek’s smile grew wider. “I don’t answer to the dictators in white. Our Lady outranks them in her sleep.”
The tires of the two trucks crunched over the pea gravel and came to a complete stop.
“Well, then, here goes nothin’,” Austin whispered.
“Here goes everything, cowgirl,” Tanek said, putting on his best authoritative mask. “Smile, beautiful. This will be fun. Bo and Danel . . . weapons at the ready, just in case it’s not.”
Seth read the text from Bo that said the Djinn meeting was a go, and they were takin’ care of business. He tipped his head and sent Lady Divinity a big ole’ kiss—on the cheek, of course. He might have questionable impulses at times, but he knew how to draw lines. In theory.
While Drina tended to Zander, he, Storme, and Thea managed to get his brothers off the floor and onto recovery beds before he needed a lay-down himself. Well, he didn’t so much lay down as faceplant on one of the recovery beds.
“Here,” Thea said, carrying in a tray. “You must be hungry.”
Seth rolled over and pulled at the sides of his hospital johnny to cover all his man-bits. Thea placed a tray of Austin’s peach cobbler on his lap and his stomach let loose with a growl of appreciation. “Thanks, angel.”
He went to town and mowed down all the cobbler, a piece of cake the size of his head, and washed the delights down with almost an entire bottle of Drina’s special electrolyte water.
When he finished, he realized he hadn’t stopped to chew.
“Sorry. Despite what you must think, I do have table manners. I should have offered you some. You’re eating for two, after all.”
Thea sat in one of those fuckaka plastic chairs an
d rubbed a hand over the rounded mound of her belly. The first months of the pregnancy had happened practically overnight in the heavens. The way time passed there, she’d been into her second trimester by the time he found out, and Phoenix brought her to the ranch to slow things down and sort things out.
Since then, he’d only seen her in passing as he reported in after shifts and met up for end-of-week meetings with the Archangels. Of course, they’d had their little head-to-head at the loft the other night. Or, as he liked to think of it, their awkward peep show.
How long ago was that, anyway?
So much had happened, his brain swirled around like alphabet soup.
“I feel useless,” she said, but he didn’t think it was to him. He watched her delicate hands wringing in her lap as crystal prisms trickled down her cheeks.
“These are crazy times,” he said, offering her one of the clean paper napkins from his tray. “This rebellion churned our world into chaos and upheaval. I’m sure it’s hard—especially with the adjustments of leaving your old life to carry the child.”
“Our child,” she said, her expression tightening. “Whether you wanted this baby or not, it doesn’t change the fact that half of what makes up this child came from you.”
Came. Yeah, literally.
He was about to make a crude statement about how many times he came inside her when he opted out. He swallowed, his skin igniting with a sudden case of heat rash heebies. As he scratched at the itch, he laid his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. “I . . . uh, don’t deny my part in it. I’m simply giving you full rights to claim it for your own. That kid can do far better than me for a parent. It’s best if you accept that now.”
“What makes you so sure?”
Seth didn’t open his eyes. “My sire is a heartless bastard who impregnates human women and leaves them to bear his sons and die in the process. My mother was a psychotic, power-hungry witch, who killed and manipulated everyone she ever needed to get what she wanted. My family tree is a gnarled thorn bush and I’m the poison ivy strangling the branches.”
The soft chuff of her chuckle surprised him. “That’s rather self-depreciating.”
Despite his discomfort with the conversation, the residual malaise of his injuries, and the exhaustion dragging him under, he smiled. “I think you mean self-deprecating, angel, but you’re not wrong. I know who and what I am. I could run down the endless list of all my negative qualities, but the gist is, you and your child are better off keeping your distance.”
With that, he shifted the tray off his lap and hiked up the blanket. “If you don’t mind. I’d like to get some shut-eye.”
Thea gathered the empty tray from Seth’s bedside and headed up to the main house. Despite his words, did he truly not know his own worth? The male was a warrior of justice, a protector of the innocent. He might be hot-headed, exasperating, and have the sexual habits of an indiscriminate male rabbit, but surely there was more to him than that.
For the sake of the child she carried, there had to be.
Austin loved Seth as much as she loved any of the others. She’d seen him at his worst and stood by him. That spoke a great deal to the character of the man.
Night had fallen by the time she washed the dishes and slipped the serving trays into the dining room cabinet. With the day’s chores over, she headed up the stairs for bed.
“Hey, Thea,” Ronnie said, jogging to catch up with her at the landing of the second floor. “I’m changing for work and then heading over to the club. Are you in the mood to hang out with me again?”
She was about to admit to her exhaustion after a long day when she remembered the handsome male with the earring and one of Austin’s sayings: “You gotta keep your saddle oiled and your gun greased.” At least, she thought that applied. Didn’t it?
“I’d love to, but need to change my clothes.”
Ronnie nodded. “Okay, I’ll meet you in the foyer in ten.”
Thea was ready in four.
Pacing the front entrance, she wondered if Ringo had filled in any more of his drawing. She hustled to the kitchen island where he’d left his drawing pad and colored pencils earlier. She normally wouldn’t touch his things, but since he’d already shown her the drawing, she didn’t think he’d mind.
The pages were heavy as she flapped them back. She found one of Seth lying in the operating room and her heart sprang forward. Goodness, they’d come close to losing him today.
She thought about Zander’s question earlier in the tunnel and regretted that she hadn’t answered that better. She should have said she hoped with all her might that he pulled through.
Despite not knowing him well, he was a respected warrior, brother, and friend. Austin was right, there was far more to a male than his actions on his worst day.
She flipped a few more pages and found the drawing she’d originally been searching for. Sad. With all the excitement of the afternoon, he hadn’t worked on it any more. Taking a good look at the male in the picture, she memorized his features, so she’d know him if she saw him tonight.
It dawned on her then, that in the drawing, she was speaking to the male outside in the parking lot. Phoenix, Zander, and Danel had been very clear that neither she nor Ronnie were to leave the security of the club.
She understood and respected their concern.
No doubt, even if she remained inside, she would meet him. It wasn’t like he’d lurk in the shadows of parked cars, awaiting unattended females. No. He would certainly be inside first.
As she made to close the artist pad, she noticed something strange. In the drawing, peeking out from the arm of her jacket, she saw one of Austin’s platinum wrist cuffs. She glanced to the kitchen sink where Austin set the custom designed pieces while she rinsed the dishes.
Sure enough, the bracelets lay forgotten for the evening.
Anxiety niggled at her conscience. Borrowing the bracelets without asking didn’t sit well, but Austin had turned in early to tend to Zander. To intrude on them seemed unnecessary. Austin wanted her to move past her feelings for Phoenix, so it followed that she’d want her to keep things as accurate to the drawing as possible and meet this male. Right?
Despite her argument sounding weak, even in her own ears, Thea clipped the bracelets on and headed out to meet Ronnie in the foyer.
CHAPTER TEN
Danel walked the girls to the bar and made sure to scowl at any male onlookers checking them out. He’d mauled Ronnie as she changed for work, ensuring his scent was thick on her skin. That would take care of almost all the Darkworld studs who valued their nuts being between their legs. The rest would have to learn the hard way if they made advances on his wife.
“Mine,” he growled to no one in particular.
“Yes, Tarzan,” Ronnie snorted. “When you’re done beating your chest, feel free to check on your Dragon patient upstairs. We’re good here.”
He scrubbed his goatee, leaving his middle finger on its own for a few extra strokes. Flipping her off only made her laugh harder. Women. “You know the drill,” he said, about to recap the rules.
“Goooo!” she said, tossing a bar rag at his head.
Fine. He could tell when he wasn’t wanted. Beating feet back toward the kitchen, he met Meck on his way to the side door. “You got an eye on them?”
“Yep,” Meck said. “Mouse is watching the bar tonight. I’ve already explained the torture that will follow if he fucks up.”
Danel smiled. “Good enough. Second floor if you need me.”
“Hold up a sec, D. I’ve got a daemon at the front who wanted to speak to a Watcher about going upstairs.”
“Upstairs? Why the fuck would we let a daemon behind the scenes?”
“He says it’s about the dragon.”
Danel frowned. Whoever was asking was certainly more informed than he should be. “Point him out.”
Meck led the way and pointed to a badass Shedim with the prettiest hair he’d ever seen. Like ’80s supermodel hair.
No wonder the guy looked like he could take down any asshole in the place. He’d probably been fighting his way through life when comments flew his way.
“Thanks, Meck. I got this.”
He waved over Farrah Faucet and inclined his chin. “I hear you have a request. Mind if I ask who the fuck you are and why I should be talking to you?”
The male didn’t look at all put off by the welcome. “I am Larkin a.k.a. Slaughter, loyal warrior to Cassiane, the one true Mistress of Shedim. The couple you and the dragon saved from attack are my . . . well, they are mine. Pyper and Jace took me in when I needed a home, and I am forever grateful you warriors were there to help them.”
“They’re yours? Well, ain’t it a small world?”
Larkin nodded, ignoring the skepticism.
“You won’t mind if I check out your story, would you? ’Cause I’m gonna, whether you like it or not.”
“By all means.”
Danel called up Cassi’s number and laid out the sitch for the Greek’s wife. When she asked if the male in question had beautiful multi-colored hair, he figured the guy was in the clear.
“So, why are you here, Shedim?”
“The dragon. I would like to offer him a place to recuperate in thanks for his bravery. Pyper is terribly anxious about the attack. She’s determined to find the men who saved her, and I fear for her safety if she opens the wrong doors.”
Danel’s red flags started fluttering in the breeze. “I wiped her. She shouldn’t remember anything at all.”
Larkin shrugged. “Pyper has gifts of her own. I don’t believe she is Otherworld, but I suppose it would be arrogant to believe we could be the only ‘other’ in the universe.”
Universe? What exactly did he think she was? “Is she aware of the Otherworld? Should I be worried about exposure?”
“No, Watcher, honestly. She doesn’t ask about my world and I don’t ask about hers. It’s an implied understanding. I wouldn’t have come to you, if I thought you might harm her in any way.”
By the rise in the guy’s voice and the tension in his body language, Larkin had it bad for this Pyper. He got that. Ronnie was his life and he worried every minute of the day that knowing about him and his world would put her in danger.