“They will find I’m not easy prey.” The doors above them slammed open, and he didn’t need to look to know the rest of her men were descending on them. Edgar frowned down at the girl before him, so delicate and strong at the same time.
He’d been fascinated when she burst into his life so many years ago, like a beacon in the darkness. He would never have guessed the hell she had to live through just to survive, and he vowed to do whatever was in his power to keep her safe. But he’d never expected that she would save him in turn. “Whatever happens, we’re in this together.”
“Eddie…” Annora murmured distractedly, a smile breaking across her face when she glanced up as her men descended on them, and the love shining in her eyes shredded his heart a little because it wasn’t directed at him. “…you’d better stand behind me. I don’t think the guys are happy with you.”
He snorted at the absurdity, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall to wait for them. While her men were a power to be reckoned with, they had one thing in common—her safety was paramount.
They would not fault him for protecting her.
“Edgar,” he mumbled under his breath, barely biting back the snarl at the mention of the other name, and the distance she was putting between them. Darkness stirred inside him, awakened by his agitation, and he gritted his teeth and swallowed it down.
One way or another, he would earn back her trust.
Chapter Six
Annora jogged up a couple steps to head off the guys, watching Xander practically sail down the stairs as he leapt from one floor to another, the coattails of his duster flapping behind him like wings of a large bird of prey. Mason moved like a predator, swift and silently, while Camden took up the rear, guarding their backs.
Xander landed before her without a sound, his sea breeze scent curling around her. He scanned her from head to toe, then grunted, glancing at Edgar over her head. She expected him to lunge at the other man, and she braced herself to stand between them, but Xander only nodded.
Then Camden and Mason were there, and the testosterone went off the scale.
Instead of stopping, the guys took formation around her and swept her up, practically frog-marching her out the door. “Camden—”
“Greenwood has forbidden them to go after you, but I don’t think it will stop them.” They burst out of the building into bright daylight. Camden surveyed the quad, viewing everyone as a suspect, his usual status quo. The scruff along his hard jaw made him look intimidating as hell. Sunlight hit his black hair, highlighting the iridescent colors that only showed when he was feeling strong emotions.
And based on the way the muscle in his jaw kept ticking as he clenched his teeth, he was more than pissed.
Unfortunately, she had a feeling it was directed at her.
“I’m sorry. I—”
Camden whirled so fast she had no time to stop and ran smack into him. Before she could fall on her ass, he grabbed her close, making sure not to brush his toxic touch against her skin, the muted contact all he allowed himself. She wasn’t sure if he wanted to strangle her or if this was his version of a hug. “What were you thinking?! Goading the witches to war will have consequences. They will never let you go now. They—”
Annora reached up, brushing her palms along his face, the scruff along his jaw prickling her fingertips. “You and I both know they were going to come after me either way. I’m willing to pay their price if it means I get to stay with you. I’ll pay any price to keep you and the rest of the guys safe.”
With a muffled curse, he tightened his grip around her hard enough to leave bruises. The bite of pain licked along her nerve endings, calming the rising panic at what she just set in motion.
“Foolish girl.” He dipped down and brushed his lips across hers. Without giving her time to even taste him, he was gone, marching her back to the house.
The rest of the guys appeared to be just as resigned to her actions.
It was why she didn’t warn them.
She knew they would’ve tried to stop her.
“They were after the book.” Mason’s voice was a low rumble. “They’re going to keep coming for it. We need to stash it somewhere they can’t find it.”
Mason was built like a giant, his body still bulked up even though he’d calmed slightly, while still poised and ready to protect her if anyone got within five feet of her. She patted his arm and smiled up at him. “We don’t need to worry about the book. It’s someplace safe.”
Edgar whirled to gawk at her in horror, and he wiped a hand down his face. “Tell me you didn’t.”
Annora pursed her lips and avoided meeting his eyes, not wanting to see the recriminations. He was doing everything in his power to protect her, but she couldn’t seem to stay away from the afterworld. Each touch was like coming home. It called to something in her on a deeper level, an addiction that she couldn’t—wouldn’t—give up, despite his warning.
Edgar marched toward her, murder on his face. “It’s too dangerous to go into the afterworld without—”
“I didn’t set a foot across. I swear.” She shrugged. It was the best she could give him. “I just opened it up a little and put the book in a safe place. Somewhere no one would look for it.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it, his expression pained. The other guys gave him commiserating looks, and she resisted rolling her eyes at their antics, as if she was being unreasonable.
As they approached their house, her skin prickled almost painfully. Instantly on alert, Annora scanned the campus. The people had thinned out considerably, just a few dozen students using the paths on their way to their classes or dorms.
At first, her attention slid over the woman who looked like she was camped out under a tree, gazing intently at her phone, a fierce scowl on her face. Annora had to force her eyes back to her, like there was something around the woman that was telling her to look away—nothing to see here.
The woman was young, her prickly nature settled around her like a cloak. Her hair was black as pitch, long and straight. Bangs covered her forehead, her face so pale it gave her a classic beauty that people envied. She was slim and fit, her clothes expensive.
Though shifters were abnormally good-looking, this woman resembled a foreign princess.
She didn’t belong.
Going on a hunch, Annora narrowed her eyes and allowed the dark particles to fill them…and nearly fell on her ass.
Another phantom!
Dark particles floated around Annora like a typhoon, ready to rip into the world when unleashed at any sign of danger. Now that she was using her power, if only slightly, she could feel the other woman like a cold chill against her skin, a light touch of death.
She immediately blinked away the dark particles, but it was too late.
The girl’s head snapped up and their eyes locked.
The ferret poked his head out of her bag and perched on her shoulders, then hissed, tugging at her collar, urging her to run.
But it was much too late.
The whites of the other woman’s eyes were swallowed by pure darkness while she scanned her surroundings, dismissing Annora as unimportant, her eyes locking on Edgar instead.
Every protective instinct surged to life.
“Edgar…”
He turned and gazed down at her, a smile playing about his lips, his eyes softening. “You used my name.”
But he quickly lost his good cheer when her eyes flicked toward the stranger. Now, instead of sitting, the woman was on her feet, making her way toward them.
Edgar’s face hardened, and he grabbed Annora’s face, his grip just short of pain as he tipped her head back. “No matter what, you must not use your powers.” Without giving her a chance to protest, he shoved her toward Camden. “Get her inside, and don’t let her leave.”
“What?!” She ignored the way the guys surrounded her and hauled her away. “Wait!”
But no one paid her any attention as they hustled her up the stairs.
Then the door shut between them with a snap.
Everything inside her burned white-hot.
“Hey, let me out of here.” When she reached for the handle, Mason wedged himself between her and the door, then crossed his arms, refusing to move his massive bulk.
There was no way she would be able to budge his ass.
For a few seconds, the delicious urge to ghost them rippled through her.
That woman was touching Edgar.
Her Edgar.
Xander stepped up behind her, slipping his arms around her waist and pulling her tightly to his chest. Her ribs creaked, the pain grounding her, then twisted to pleasure as the sensors in her brain mixed up the wires. He knew just the right amount of pressure needed—stopping just short of breaking her bones—to pull her back from the edge of panic.
His touch was both a threat and a promise.
If she went, he was determined to go with her, and she refused to allow anything to happen to her men.
Only when she deflated against him did he reluctantly release her, trailing his fingers down her spine until she shivered.
Her lungs expanded, the air sweet as her body automatically inhaled. She turned away from them, chewing absently on her bottom lip, trying to resist peeking out the window like a jealous girlfriend.
Camden stepped into her path, reaching up to run the pad of his thumb along her bottom lip, easing the sting. The wild, exotic smell of flowers wrapped around her, soothing her ragged nerves. His vivid green eyes, the color of a venomous green tree frog, examined her face carefully, no doubt studying her for signs that she was affected by his touch.
She reached up and linked her fingers with his. He stiffened, his expression uncertain and she tightened her grip. “It’s not the venom that’s calming me—it’s you.”
He didn’t look convinced, but neither did he pull away.
Footsteps stomped up the stairs from the basement, and Camden twisted them around until he was standing in front of her. Mason’s form bulked up, while Xander calmly reached over and grabbed two knives from a wooden cutlery block on the counter.
Terrance entered the kitchen, flipping his sandy-blond hair out of his face. The friendly, boy-next-door persona was gone. He’d lost weight in the past week, concern for his brother weighing heavily on him.
His brown eyes were no longer laughing as his gaze locked on her. “He’s gone.”
Annora blinked at him in confusion. “Who?”
“Kevin.” Terrance leaned against the wall as if he didn’t have enough strength to hold himself up anymore. He glanced down at a piece of paper in his hands that she only just noticed. “He cleaned out his things and left.”
The guys relaxed some, even going so far as to stand aside and set down their weapons. While they tolerated the kids in the house, they weren’t part of the team.
No one was trusted with her protection but them.
“What?” Annora plopped down on the chair by the counter, guilt churning in her stomach. “That’s not what we discussed at all.”
Terrance’s head snapped up, his face whitening. “You didn’t kick him out?”
“Of course not!” Annora surged to her feet and began pacing. Then she remembered spotting Kevin walking out of Greenwood’s office just as they arrived and blanched. “He went to talk to Greenwood without me.”
“Greenwood? What does he have to do with anything?” Terrance pushed away from the wall, suddenly alert, life surging back into his eyes. “What did you say to Kevin?”
“I told him to stop acting like a victim, that other people had it worse. I told him to get off his ass and share whatever information he had on Erickson with Greenwood. I never meant for him to go off on his own!” Instead of retreating, she stood her ground when he approached.
She deserved his recriminations and much worse for meddling in their lives. Worry that he would seek out the drugs again to make him whole made bile rise to the back of her throat, but she quickly dismissed her fears. Kevin wouldn’t risk dragging his brother down with him again.
The brothers were too dependent on each other. They fed off each other. If they wanted a healthy relationship, they needed to start living separate lives. She just never expected the kid to jump into the deep end. “I’m so sorry. I—”
Then another horrible thought occurred to her, cutting off her breath. “Logan. He’s going to infiltrate Erickson’s pack and go after Logan.”
She turned toward the door, ready to charge after the stupid fool, when Terrance stepped into her path. “You didn’t send him, then?”
“Of course not!” Annora reared back, dread tearing up her insides. “Fuck, he’s just a kid. I can find Logan without your brother risking his life to do it.”
Terrance gave her a small smile, a tendril of hope lightening his expression. “You got him out of bed. You gave him back the fire he’s been missing, something I couldn’t do. He was dying down in that basement.” He glanced down at the paper clutched in his fist, then shoved it into his pocket and straightened his shoulders. “While he might be in danger, it’s the first time he’s acted like his old self since before he started taking those damned drugs.”
Terrance glanced around the kitchen as if noticing the tension in the room for the first time. He went on alert, his face hardening. “What happened?”
Though he wasn’t much taller than she was, there was an understated power to him, a kind of competence that made people think he could solve whatever problem arose. Too bad her problems were most likely to get them all killed.
“Or maybe the more important question is—what do you mean you can find Logan?” Edgar spoke from the kitchen doorway. Annora whirled to find him watching her closely, his face hard with suspicion. He’d entered so silently she hadn’t even been aware that he’d joined them.
“I just meant that I won’t put other people in danger.” Annora backpedaled, but, judging by their forbidding expressions, none of the guys believed her.
“What did you do?” Camden’s sharp question had bite, his accusation making her take a step back.
Instead of cowering, she lifted her chin mutinously. “The same thing I would do if anything happened to any of you. I’m searching for Logan.”
Xander’s brows slammed down, and he edged in front of her. “How, exactly?”
That was the crux of the problem, and likely to land her in hot water. She crossed her arms, suddenly feeling awkward with him so close, the chill of his anger not inviting her to touch. She swallowed past her dry mouth, pressing her lips tightly together to keep from spilling her secrets.
She might as well not have even bothered, since her silence gave her away. When the guys began to swear, Edgar wove between the others, coming to a stop in front of her. “What have you been doing?”
Annora refused to be intimidated and narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t you be changing the subject…who was that girl out there?”
She peered around the other Edgar to speak to the guys. “That girl is a phantom.”
Xander and Camden surged into action, covering the windows and doors. Even Terrance swiped up the deadly knives from the counter and took up point in the living room, while Mason boldly stepped into her space and place a giant hand on her shoulder, as if to dare anyone to take her from him.
“She’s like you?” The troll looked down at her with his lavender eyes, fear making them appear darker.
“No.” Annora wasn’t sure how to answer the question. “She’s like Edgar.”
The guys paused at her comment, and Camden turned to look at her over his shoulder. “What do you mean?”
Edgar was the one who spoke when she was at a loss for words. “Sadie is a pureblood, sent to check out a disturbance in the area. So far, she doesn’t have a clue about
you, and we need to keep it that way.”
The steam left her suddenly, and Annora gouged her fingernails against the fleshy part of her thumb, using the pain in an attempt to stave off her anxiety. “She will report me to my father.”
It wasn’t a question.
Edgar gazed down at her, his blue eyes darkening with worry. “In a heartbeat.”
Chapter Seven
When Annora opened her mouth to demand more answers—like why the fuck the girl would be hanging off him like a monkey? Or, more important, why he didn’t push her away—Edgar tucked a finger under her chin and tipped her face up to his, silently demanding the truth.
“What do you mean you can find Logan?”
The rest of the guys came stalking back into the room, maybe realizing that if a phantom was after her, there was no real way that they could stop them from claiming her when they could simply transport into a room and get out before any of them could blink.
Camden crossed his arms, Xander leaned his hip against the counter, and Mason squeezed her shoulder, their silent censure making her flinch. Even Terrance looked concerned, tucking the knives in his belt in case he might need them.
Smart man.
Blowing out a harsh breath, she admitted the truth. “I’ve been doing some digging.”
They stilled, the silence in the room so sharp, the edges clawed at her conscience. She glared at them, daring them to take her to task. “I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing!”
No one spoke, their condemning gazes nearly suffocating her.
Camden broke first. “Show me.”
He looked more resigned than angry, like he should’ve expected her to do something and was kicking himself for not catching on and stopping her sooner.
Shackled to the World: A Phantom Touched Novel Page 6