“Anyone know how we’re going to explain this?”
They all turned their gazes to the room filled with dazed and injured humans, as well as the bloody remains of the dead and the scattered ashes of destroyed demons.
Kylie sighed and pulled out her cell phone. “I have no idea. But you know what? That’s why we have mayors, and why mayors have public relations specialists. I’m calling 911. We did the hard part, now someone else can clean up the mess.”
Chapter Twenty
Az der soyne falt, tor men zikh nit freyen (ober men heybt im nit oyf).
Rejoice not at thine enemy’s fall (but don’t pick him up, either).
That night, over Indian takeout, they watched the news. The lead story on the local station was of the terrorist attack at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center.
According to eyewitnesses, a hallucinogenic gas had been deployed in the auditorium during an important speech by noted philanthropist Richard Foye-Carver. Assailants had then stormed the room, killing seventeen people and wounding more than a hundred others. Carver’s representatives assured the media that his security team had gotten him to safety, but that he would be canceling his public appearances for the near future out of legitimate concerns for his safety.
“I’ll give them concern for his safety,” Kylie mumbled before biting savagely into a hunk of naan.
Beside her Dag chuckled. “Down, girl. We still need to see what the Demon was really up to. Then we will decide how you are going to kill it.”
That pacified her for the moment. Barely.
It also helped mellow her homicidal tendencies that she was frickin’ exhausted. The events of the morning had led to five more hours at the convention center talking to police, talking to the FBI, giving statements, giving more statements, getting checked by paramedics, and giving yet more statements. By the time their group had finally returned to the brownstone and collapsed in the living room, she’d barely had the energy to call the restaurant and have the food delivered.
Seriously. She and the other Wardens had played rock-paper-scissors to decide who had to answer the door when it arrived. She had suggested rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock, but had been vetoed. Apparently, she was just “a big ol’ geek.”
Pshaw.
They all perked up, at least mentally, when the television transitioned to the world news. There, the terrorist attack in Boston took second fiddle to the news of a much greater disaster in Ireland.
“More than seventy people are dead, and authorities warn that the numbers may continue to rise as they sort through the aftermath of this afternoon’s tragic events in Dublin, Ireland. Sources in the capital city are calling this attack ‘an utter and complete surprise,’ as well as ‘one of the worst terrorist attacks in the history of the Republic.’ Coming on the one-hundredth anniversary of the Easter Rising, Sunday’s bombing and riot shocked authorities who claimed to have had no prior warning leading up to the event.”
The station cut to film of an Irish official looking shocked and devastated as he delivered a statement to the press. Kylie felt a knot of dread in her stomach as she turned toward her friends.
“I think we know now what the Demon was really up to.”
Fil looked blown away. “I can’t believe they could do this. I mean, I can’t believe they managed to coordinate across two continents to create simultaneous events. And to use one as a distraction for the other? That is way more sophisticated than we’ve been giving them credit for.”
“Not to mention that we’ve been so busy concentrating on the things happening here in North America that we’ve completely ignored the rest of the world,” Wynn said with a troubled frown. “I don’t know what else we can do, though. We’re already spread out between here and Canada, all the way from the East Coast to the West. Now we need to be worried about the British Isles and Europe, too?”
“Should we always have been worried about Europe?” Kylie asked. “I mean, that is where the Guild was based, and where the Order started, right?”
“Are you trying to make us cry, Ky?” Ella teased weakly. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m already feeling overwhelmed. I don’t know if I can take on another continent right at the moment.”
Kees hugged her close to his side. He had barely let go of her after hearing how she had been hurt attempting to prevent the portal from opening. A knife to the side had taken her out of commission, but had thankfully deflected off a rib before it could do much real damage.
“No one expects any of you to take on all of Europe,” he reassured them. “You have enough on your plates as it is. This simply means that we must redouble our efforts to find the remaining Wardens and Guardians as quickly as possible. I have to believe that some of our brethren remain overseas. To have moved us all to the New World would make no strategic sense.”
“That is assuming that the nocturni infiltrator did not arrange for our assignments,” Knox growled, holding Wynn tightly on his lap. If Kees had been overprotective since this morning, Knox had been nearly feral. The sight of a knife to his mate’s throat had thoroughly shaken him.
“Do not give in to paranoia,” Spar advised. “To do so only weakens us. We must keep clear heads and trust in our Wardens until we have evidence to the contrary.”
Dag sighed. “I trust our Wardens implicitly. It’s the ones who came before that I wonder about.”
Kylie pushed aside her plate and climbed onto her mate’s lap. He looked surprised, but welcomed her with open arms and settled her comfortably against his chest.
“We can’t give up on them all,” she said, leaning her head against his shoulder. “The ones who’ve gone into hiding? They’re probably on our side and are just as much opposed to the Order as we are. If we find them and share with them what we’ve learned, I’m sure they can help us. And at this point, we need all the help we can get.”
She had to stifle a yawn with a fist to her mouth.
“You’re right,” Wynn said, “but that doesn’t make finding them any easier. The three of us have been trying for months.”
“Not on the deep Web.”
“What do you mean?”
Kylie explained. “Before I knew magic existed, I never thought about where people would be able to safely discuss it without freaking out the public and shit. I mean honestly; you put that stuff on the surface Web, and someone is either going to burn a cross on your lawn, or send the men with the white coats to talk to you about it.”
They all eyed her with various levels of confusion.
She sighed. “The average person on the street, or on the Internet, doesn’t believe in magic, guys. When they hear people talk about it they either think they’re a Satan worshipper or a lunatic. So where can people who know magic is real go to connect with each other? The deep Web. In fact, I found some interesting conversations on the darknet while I was searching for nocturnis. If any of the missing Wardens are even remotely tech savvy, that’s the place where you should be looking.”
Ella started to look excited, and by “excited” Kylie meant “awake.” “Oh, wow, that makes perfect sense. If even a few of them are on the darkwhoosie, if we contact them there, then they can spread the word to others they might already know of. I mean, it’s not a guarantee of anything, but I think it’s the best lead we’ve had in a while.”
Fil nodded. “Agreed. Can you show us how we can get hooked in to the ‘darkwhoosie’ there, Koyote?”
“Only if you all swear never to call it the ‘darkwhoosie’ again. At least not in my hearing.”
“Deal,” Wynn said firmly. She flashed her old friend a smile. “We really lucked out the day you became a Warden, Kyle E. Woyote. I don’t even know where we’d be right now without you. We wouldn’t even know that a third of the Seven had been set free, let alone about the attacks here and in Dublin. You’ve helped us save some lives.”
“Not enough,” Kylie said.
“It’s never enough.”
&
nbsp; Kylie felt the sad silence stretch between them, but Dag let it go for only a moment before he hugged her tightly.
“You Wardens might be lucky to have Kylie join your ranks,” he said, smiling down at his mate, “but none of you have half my luck, for I have had Kylie join my heart.”
Kylie returned his smile and added a roll of her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Back at you, big guy. You know, for such a tough Guardian-type dude, you can be a real sap, you know that?”
The others laughed while Dag tickled her in retaliation.
“This is perfect then,” Wynn said, snuggling against her mate’s chest and nodding to the rest of the group. “Kylie will get us on the darknet, we’ll intensify the search for the missing Wardens, and continue to dig up everything we can on those last three Guardians. I think Ireland is as good a place to start as any. And who knows? Maybe we’ll get lucky again.”
Kylie grinned and leaned in to whisper in her mate’s ear. “I know what would make me feel lucky. Having the house all to ourselves again.”
Dag laughed and whispered back. “At least we have the third floor to ourselves. Perhaps we should be thankful for small mercies.”
Looking up into his flaming black eyes, Kylie felt her heart melt and the rest of the world recede. This Guardian, this mate, this man had burst into her life in a shower of stone and violence and changed absolutely everything. He had opened her eyes to an entire world she had never known existed, and opened her heart to feelings she had never thought were possible.
Really, the only thing she had to be thankful for was him.
And she would be, for the rest of her life.
Don’t miss these other paranormal romance novels from bestselling author
Christine Warren
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From St. Martin’s Paperbacks
About the Author
Born and raised in coastal New England, Christine Warren now lives as a transplant in the Pacific Northwest, where she gets ocean, mountains, forests, and farmland all in one pretty package. When not writing (as if that ever happens), she enjoys spoiling her horse, playing with her dogs, concocting all sorts of yummies (both liquid and solid), and most of all, reading things someone else had to agonize over. She enjoys hearing from readers and can be reached via e-mail sent to [email protected]. You can sign up for email updates here.
Also by
Christine Warren
Hard as a Rock
Stone Cold Lover
Heart of Stone
Hungry Like a Wolf
Drive Me Wild
On the Prowl
Not Your Ordinary Faerie Tale
Black Magic Woman
Prince Charming Doesn’t Live Here
Born to be Wild
Big Bad Wolf
You’re So Vein
One Bite with a Stranger
Walk on the Wild Side
Howl at the Moon
The Demon You Know
She’s No Faerie Princess
Wolf at the Door
Anthologies
Huntress
No Rest for the Witches
Praise for the Gargoyle series by
New York Times bestselling author
CHRISTINE WARREN
Heart of Stone
“The opening of Warren’s hot new paranormal series is a snarky, creative, and steamy success that delights new and longtime fans alike.”
—RT Book Reviews (4 stars)
“The sexual attraction … is palpable.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Steamy scenes, mixed with an intriguing story line and a hearty helping of snarky humor.”
—Reader to Reader
“Rousing … [an] engaging urban fantasy.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Fast-paced with characters you’ll love, and even some you’ll love to hate, Heart of Stone is another winner for author Christine Warren!”
—Romance Reviews
Stone Cold Lover
“Soars with fun, witty characters, and nonstop action.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Fascinating, complex, and so well-crafted … perfect for keeping fans … coming back for more.”
—RT Book Reviews (4 stars)
Hard as a Rock
“Fiery, fierce, and fun.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Smoldering-hot … the stakes are fatally high and the chemistry [is] simply blistering.”
—RT Book Reviews
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
About the Author
Also by Christine Warren
Praise for the Gargoyle series
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
ROCKED BY LOVE
Copyright © 2016 by Christine Warren.
All rights reserved.
For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].
eISBN: 9781466889385
St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / March 2016
St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Rocked by Love (Gargoyles Series) Page 27