by Cynthia Eden
“Elise!” Harrison roared her name as he shoved past two cops in uniform.
They tried to push him back. They failed.
Three more joined them. “You can’t go in there!” One shoved Harrison and barked, “The building is collapsing, for everyone’s safety—stay back.”
Harrison grabbed the young cop and prepared to throw him out of—
“Harrison. Let him go.”
He knew the voice. Harrison turned—didn’t let go of his prey, not yet—and met the hard, dark stare of Detective Shawn Taylor. The African American cop was pretty much a legend in the city and in the supernatural world. He was one of the few humans who knew the real score, and he actually tried to keep the streets safe from monsters.
“Let him go,” Shawn ordered again. “Look, if you’re searching for the woman, she’s in the back of the ambulance.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “She crawled out, but she’s got a bullet wound and—”
Harrison freed the uniformed cop, turned on his heel, and hauled ass for the ambulance.
“Yeah, he’s sorry,” Shawn called out, “my friend didn’t mean to grab you, Officer Davenport, he’s just worried about—”
Harrison didn’t hear the rest of Shawn’s words. He’d yanked open one of the ambulance’s rear doors and leapt inside the vehicle. Two EMTs were hovered around the patient, and there was blood and— “You were shot?” His voice was too loud and rough.
One delicate hand pushed—shoved—away one of the hovering EMTs. “I’m fine.”
He blinked. He was staring at Krista.
Krista. Not Elise.
“Caught me by surprise, that’s all,” she groused. “I’m not dying, so these guys…” She glared at the EMTs. “Need to chill the hell out.”
He sucked in a breath. “What happened? Where’s Elise?”
She licked her lips. Fear flashed in her eyes. “She’s not outside? Not with that mess of cops?”
Harrison gave a hard, negative shake of his head.
The fear deepened. “She…dragged me to the door. Told me to keep going. I-I crawled forward a little and the cops grabbed me.” She tried to sit up. An EMT pushed her right back down. “I thought they got her.” Her voice rose. “I thought they got her out, too!”
He leapt out of that ambulance and rushed right back toward the blazing building. Another fucking fire. Twice in such a short time? He wanted to kill Gustave all over again. The sonofabitch had sent his humans to do this.
Shawn saw him coming. He threw up his hands. “Stop, you can’t go in there! You can’t—”
“She’s still in there.” He didn’t slow down. Just snarled those words. Cops were coming at him. Shawn was swearing. Harrison didn’t care.
Elise was in that building. She could be burning. Dying. He had to get her.
So, yeah, he tossed the cops aside. He might have punched one—two?—and he forced his way inside the speakeasy. He rushed inside and smoke filled his lungs. He could taste fire and ash and he could—
He kicked something. The smoke was so thick he could barely see, but he reached down because he’d touched something soft. Well, not soft exactly…
His hand closed around an arm. A rough, hairy arm.
Harrison crouched as he peered down at his find. Ward? Shit. Yes, it was the hunter.
“I…” Coughing and a weak, husky voice came from nearby. “I…couldn’t get him…out. Too…h-heavy…”
His head whipped around. Elise. She’d collapsed next to Ward. Her hand was still around his ankle, as if she’d been dragging him out. So close to the door, but not there. And she was coughing and choking and—
He grabbed her in his arms. Scooped her up and held her tightly against his chest with one arm. His body shuddered as he held her.
Her head nuzzled against his neck. “G-get…him…”
He grabbed for Ward with his other hand. Then he got them the fuck out of there. Fire was everywhere. Chunks of wall. Ceiling? Hell, he didn’t know what was in his way. He didn’t care, either. All that mattered was getting out with Elise. But he couldn’t get back out via the main entrance, so Harrison kicked at the closest wall until the thing gave way, and he got out. He kicked and kicked until that bitch collapsed, then he carried out Elise and Ward. Okay, he mostly dragged Ward out, and he kept a death grip on Elise—but I got them out.
And as soon as he cleared the building…
“Get EMTs over here!” Shawn yelled.
The chaos outside was even worse. More cops. More firefighters. Civilians who were filming with their phones.
Harrison let go of Ward. The hunter was unconscious and blood trickled from his forehead. EMTs grabbed him and went to work on Ward immediately. But when they reached for Elise—
“Keep your fucking hands away from her.” The low warning tore from him.
They jerked their fucking hands back.
Shawn hurriedly closed in. He stared at Harrison’s face and winced. “Everyone, give the man some space!” He pointed to the left. “Harrison, another ambulance just arrived. Why don’t you take your, ah, friend, there for some privacy? We need to make sure she’s…” A pause. “Alive.”
“She’s damn well alive,” he snarled. He didn’t ease his hold on her, though, and he realized that he was holding her so tightly that the others probably couldn’t tell much about her. He wanted her away from the crowd, so he stalked toward the waiting ambulance. He jumped inside.
A female EMT was in the back. She stared at him with wide eyes. “Uh, are you—”
He put Elise on the stretcher. Spread her out gently.
She had ash on her cheek. A small burn on her wrist. He inspected her carefully. Was that blood on her shoulder?
Looked like a bullet hole in her shirt. Hell. “She’s shot,” he snapped at the EMT.
Shawn stood at the back of the ambulance and peered nervously inside.
“We need to see if the bullet is still in her.” Harrison ripped the sleeve off Elise’s shirt.
The EMT scrambled toward him.
“I’m not shot.” Elise’s eyes were closed. She coughed. “Just…choking.”
“She needs oxygen.” The EMT gave a firm nod. “Let me take care of her. Move back.”
He didn’t want to move back. He wanted to stay right there, holding her. He inspected her shoulder—dried blood was on her delicate skin, but he didn’t see any bullet wound.
She coughed again.
Shit. He backed away. “Give her oxygen. Give her whatever she needs.” He looked down and realized his hands were shaking. What in the hell? He balled his hands into fists.
“Harrison.”
He turned his head. Locked his gaze with Shawn.
“We need to talk.” Shawn peered over his shoulder at the chaos. “Now. Your lady is out, she’s safe. You can spare me a few minutes.”
His lady?
Harrison swung his stare back to Elise. An oxygen mask had been placed over her face. The color was already starting to return to her cheeks. If he’d been a little bit later…a few minutes… “Talk in here. I’m not leaving her.”
Shawn cursed, but then asked, “Is anyone else inside the building?”
Harrison’s breath caught. Shit, he didn’t know. Where was Razor? And Gray?
Elise pulled away the mask. “Only…d-dead…”
Harrison leaned down and put that mask back on her. “You breathe. You don’t answer questions right now. You get stronger, understand me?”
She nodded. Her gaze met his. A tear slipped from her left eye. Slid down her cheek.
He wanted to destroy. This was on Gustave. That sonofabitch. He’d done this.
“Uh, I need to know what happened here.” Shawn’s voice was hesitant. Careful. Probably because the EMT was darting nervous glances at them all. “I’ve gotten reports of several explosions from witnesses who were in the area. They reported seeing men with guns. Hell, looks like some kind of mob hit to me…”
Harrison didn’t take
his eyes off Elise. She looked stronger already. Her gaze was brighter. She was sitting up—
“Harrison,” Shawn prompted, voice tight. “This is a freaking nightmare out here, what happened?”
“If it looks a mob hit, then I’m sure that’s what it was. And innocent people got caught in the crossfire. Maybe check out Gustave Etienne’s place. Something tells me he might be connected to this mess. I’ve heard plenty of rumors that the guy has underworld ties.”
“Gustave?” Shawn repeated. Yeah, he knew exactly what Gustave was. “Shit.” He spun away. Harrison heard Shawn shout out orders to the cops.
Elise pushed the mask back toward the EMT. “Thank you.”
The EMT frowned at her. “Let me examine you. Let me—”
Elise shook her head. “I’m okay. I just…” She focused on Harrison. “I want to get out of here."
He wanted to take her out of there. Fast. But first… “Baby, you need to get checked out.”
Her eyelids flickered. A little furrow appeared between her eyebrows.
God, he wanted to hold her. Odd since he typically never wanted to hold anyone. Harrison cleared his throat. “I’m not taking you anywhere, not until I’m sure you’re all right.”
Elise’s gaze drifted over him. “You’re okay.”
He was battling a fast and hot rage, that was what he was doing. Okay didn’t cover things—
“The smoke didn’t bother you?” Elise asked as her head tilted to the right. “The fire?”
He’d barely felt the heat. Harrison waved his hand over her body. “Check her,” he told the EMT. “If anything is wrong, fix her.”
Elise’s lips quirked. “Look, I told you, I’m fine.” Her stare was on him. “Don’t need fixing right now, but thanks.”
He wasn’t leaving the ambulance until she’d been cleared.
When the EMT bent toward her, Elise batted the woman’s hands away. “Where is Ward? Is he all right?”
“I got him out.” He looked over his shoulder and saw that Ward had been loaded into the ambulance with Krista.
“But is he okay?” Elise demanded. “The place was caving in. He got hit—hell, I don’t even know what hit him. Please, please, make sure he’s all right.”
That would mean he had to leave her. Harrison shook his head. “You were targeted. You’re at risk. You—”
“Take me with you. I don’t need checking out. I’m all right.”
Was she? Because when he’d been in that burning building, he’d nearly lost control because he’d feared she might be hurt. Might be dead. She still wasn’t safe. He didn’t know who was a threat to her and who wasn’t.
He reached for her. Elise’s fingers curled with his. “Stay at my side,” he told her.
“Funny. That’s exactly where I planned to be.” She gave him a weak smile.
He wanted to kiss her. Hard and fast. Deep and slow. Every way.
Instead, he carefully took her out of the ambulance, ignoring the EMT’s protests. They made their way to the other vehicle and Ward—hell, yes, he was conscious. Conscious and already shoving his way out of the ambulance.
“I don’t need help!” Ward blasted to whoever was trying to help him.
“Jesus,” Shawn muttered from behind Harrison. “You guys are such ungrateful messes.”
Ward sported a big bandage on his cheek.
“You know hunters heal fast,” Harrison told Shawn.
“Yeah, well, what’s her excuse?” Shawn pointed to Elise. “You a hunter, too?”
She shook her head. Edged closer to Harrison.
His hold tightened on her hand. “She’s mine. You don’t need to know anything else about her.” He leveled a hard stare at the detective. “When we leave, forget you saw her.”
Shawn frowned. “Gonna be hard to convince all these folks they didn’t see her—or you. Hard to forget a man kicking down a wall—”
“The building was collapsing, you said so yourself. I didn’t kick anything down, it fell.”
Ward was weaving toward him. Seriously, weaving. The guy needed to sit his ass down.
Ward’s eyes narrowed on Elise. “Where are they?”
Elise glanced around. “Who is he looking for?” Her voice was low. Curious.
Ward lurched forward. “Where are they?”
A siren screamed from somewhere around them.
“No one else made it out,” Elise said. Her voice sounded normal when moments before she’d been choking on smoke. She had made a quick recovery. Too quick?
Harrison’s gaze swept over her.
And then Ward attacked. He grabbed Elise and yanked her against him.
Elise screamed.
Harrison basically lost his shit. He grabbed Ward—a hunter he’d known for most of his life, the closest thing to a friend he had—and he drove his fist into Ward’s jaw. Ward crashed onto the ground, falling hard on his ass. He gaped up at Harrison.
“Don’t fucking touch her like that ever again!” Harrison barely recognized his own voice. It was deep and low and cold.
Deadly.
Ward frowned groggily at him. Seemed confused. “Where’s…her wings?”
What?
Ward let out a groan and collapsed on the ground.
Harrison turned his head very slowly and gazed at Elise. She stared at him, eyes all wide and innocent. As if she had no clue what was happening.
“That poor man,” she cooed as she batted her long lashes. “He must have really taken a hard hit to his head.” She bent over Ward and gave his cheek a gentle pat.
And that was when Harrison noticed that her shirt had holes in the back of it. Not holes, exactly, but more like two long slashes…right over her shoulder blades.
As if something had cut through her shirt.
Something like…
Fucking wings?
Chapter Seven
She liked this safe house. Provided it could be, really and truly…safe.
Only, technically, it wasn’t a safe house. It was a luxury suite. Elise strolled through the high-end bedroom and noted the rose petals on the bed. Rose petals that had been carefully sprinkled in a heart shape. She gave the petals an admiring nod before heading back toward the den. Or sitting area. Or whatever those places were called. Soft, romantic music filled the air as Elise strolled over the lush carpet.
This wasn’t just a luxury suite. It was the honeymoon suite in the swanky hotel. One that had a killer view of the city and had come stocked with chilled champagne. Win, win. Now this, this was more her style. The style that she hadn’t encountered since her rather unfortunate curse situation had started.
Elise reached for the champagne. No sense letting it go to waste. When they’d checked in, she’d learned that the couple who should have stayed there, well, their wedding had been called off. Something about the bride running off with the best man. Very unfortunate. For the groom.
Not so much for me. She popped the cork. Champagne dribbled onto her fingers and a wide smile curved her lips as—
“You seem to be in a good mood. For a woman who is being hunted.”
She grabbed a champagne flute. Poured in some bubbly. “I didn’t die today.” She plunked the champagne bottle back in the ice bucket, and Elise saluted Harrison with her glass. “That is definitely cause for a celebration.” She sipped the champagne. Felt the ever-so-delicious bubbles on her tongue. Lovely. “Ward didn’t die. Krista didn’t die. Wins all around.” Another sip. The champagne was awesome. But she had to be careful. She didn’t get to drink often due to a very specific reason.
Alcoholic beverages tended to hype up her base instincts.
Hype up as in…I lose control. But she’d be careful. Very careful. It had been one hell of a day and she needed a little relaxation, so she took another sip.
“Others died today.” Harrison’s voice was all grim and dark. Buzz kill.
The bubbles stopped feeling quite so good. She lowered the glass. He stalked toward her. The honeymoon suite w
as huge, and she was standing in front of a fire place. Flames flickered behind her, and she was reminded of what it had been like in that speakeasy. Trapped. So much smoke choking her.
“Gustave sent the humans after you. I found one of their bodies before we left the scene.”
Yes, she’d seen him nosing around with his cop buddy.
“The guy had a wolf bite mark on his neck. Figure the humans who attacked were wannabes who thought that if they did Gustave’s bidding, they’d be transformed.”
She forced herself to take another sip. The sip gave her time to think of a proper response. She’d realized the men had been bitten because she’d smelled the wolf on them. “Humans will do just about anything for a little more power.”
“Um.” His head tilted. He was right in front of her now. All big, bad, strong and sexy. He’d rushed into that fire like he had no fear. He hadn’t burned. Hadn’t so much as coughed when all of the smoke surrounded him.
That just made her nearly…giddy.
Or maybe it was the champagne making her giddy. Usually it took more than a few sips to do that but…
But so much about me has changed recently. And keeps changing.
“Why did you save Ward and Krista?” Harrison wanted to know.
Oh, she had an answer for this one. Elise gave a determined nod. “Because they needed saving.”
“You could’ve died saving them.”
Yes, true. She drained the glass. Just to be done with it and not because he was making her nervous. She dropped the flute near the ice bucket and considered flopping down on one of the nearby designer couches. For the moment, she resisted the urge and remained standing. “I was the only one there who could do anything. If I hadn’t helped them, they would’ve burned or died from smoke inhalation or…” A long sigh. “They wouldn’t have gotten out. You would have lost your friends.” Truth. “I didn’t want your friends dying because of me.”
He watched her with those eyes that Elise was starting to think could see in her very soul.
“I’m selfish.” Shit. The champagne had made her chatty. Or maybe his bright blues had done the job. “I know that. One of my big flaws. I look out for myself because that’s the way it has always been. Survival of the fittest. My mom died when I was born, and my dad? Let’s just say he was a straight-up demon and be done with it.” Oh, damn, damn, damn. Please let him just think ‘straight-up demon’ was an expression and not a confession.