“You told me to turn the cameras off!”
“Oh my God,” Moira said, slapping a hand against her forehead. “Men are all the same. You’re all the same.”
“It’s not really that far of a stretch,” he pointed out, grumbling slightly.
Stretching up on her toes, she kissed him softly. “It’s a cute idea. I’ll keep it in mind for…eventually. How about that?”
He smiled, his eyebrows waggling. “Okay.”
Moira chuckled and grabbed her clothes, pulling them back on to avoid any further distraction. The moment of passion had passed, and now she needed to figure out more about what was happening behind the wall. “I need to figure out how to pry this steel covering off of this wall. I can’t get the right hold though. Or the leverage. There’s not enough space down here. Maybe if I angle…”
“Moira.”
“Or if I…”
“Moira.”
She looked back at Grady. “What?”
“How about I just have a construction team come down here and remove the steel?”
Stopping her perusal, she blinked at him. “I hadn’t considered that.”
“No, obviously. It would be much more logical for you to transition into your supernatural form so that you were strong enough to pry the steel back with your talons.”
Moira scrunched her nose. “I mean…that’s what I was thinking, yeah. But I see where you’re coming from. That might be easier. Not faster though.”
He laughed at her, tugging a rebellious piece of hair that was framing her face. “I’m an entitled rich boy. I’ll have someone here in a few minutes, and it’ll be done in less than an hour. How about that?”
“Entitled rich boys have their advantages.”
Chapter Twenty
Grady
“Remind me again why we’re doing this,” Grady said, standing in the propped-open elevator with Moira as they watched the four-man construction crew dissembling the steel walls of the underground tunnel that led to his vault. “I forgot how much work went into building this place.”
“We’re doing it because there’s something behind there.”
Grady glanced down at Moira, watching her as she chewed on her thumbnail, her eyes trained on the work the men were doing. He nudged her gently. “Hey. What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know what they’re going to release,” Moira said, keeping her voice low. “I don’t know what’s back there, Grady. You should be nervous, too, you know. We might be putting them in danger. I should have done it myself.”
He slipped an arm around her, rubbing her arm. “Don’t worry. It’s going to be fine.”
She tore her eyes away from the crew long enough to glance up at him. “You have no idea how weird it is for someone to be saying that to me. Usually I’m the one who is telling everyone else to just let things happen, that everything will be fine. I’m always the happy-go-lucky one determined to enjoy the day for what it is.”
Grady chuckled slightly. “So what you’re saying is that I bring out the worst in you.”
“Basically, yes.”
Before he could respond, the head of the construction crew turned to him and gave a thumbs-up, his beefy face cheerful. He had no idea that his purpose there was to potentially uncover the source of a supernatural evil that was targeting Grady’s financial stores.
“We’re all good here, yeah?” the man asked, walking closer toward them. “You just wanted it all pulled back?”
Grady nodded, moving forward to shake the man’s hand. “Yeah, that’s all we needed. Appreciate you coming out here so quickly, Alex. Thanks a lot. Jason has your check upstairs.”
“Hey, you know I’m your guy anytime you need anything,” Alex said, his grin making his face almost boyish. He winked at Moira. “This guy knows how to inspire you to work hard and fast, you know?”
Chuckling, Grady clapped the man on the shoulder, then went over to the wrecked wall, peering at the drywall that the crew had uncovered. He saw nothing, but he was getting used to that—he had been seeing nothing throughout the entire investigation. “Moira?” he called, looking over at her as she moved out of the way of the crew entering the elevator. “Take a look?”
She walked over to join him, and they both stood there, staring at the exposed wall. Grady had no idea what he was looking for, the supernatural world a complete mystery to him even after the incredible experience he’d had the night before, flying around with Moira. He was completely in her hands as far as this case went, but he trusted her, so it didn’t bother him the way it might have if they were in his business world.
The only problem was that Grady didn’t see a single thing that was unique or special about the wall they had exposed. He knew that it had burned Moira’s skin when he’d pressed her up against it, but nothing that was behind the steel covering explained that. Carefully, he reached out and touched the dry wall, which appeared completely intact, pressing his palm fully against it.
Nothing happened, and he looked at Moira, who followed suit, gingerly placing her palm alongside his.
“Nothing,” she whispered, sounding completely dumbfounded. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Suspecting that he had torn apart his underground tunnel for absolutely no reason, Grady dropped his hand and stepped back. “Well…it was worth taking a look, I guess.”
“We need to go deeper.”
Grady had already turned away, but when she spoke, he jerked his head back toward her. “What?”
“Deeper. Whatever it is must be further within.”
“Moira…” Grady shook his head, trying not to let any whisper of doubt shake that trust he had in her. “Listen, I know you felt something. I don’t doubt that. But there’s nothing back there, baby. And the problem…it’s in the vault itself. Remember? This isn’t even connected to it, except in terms of vicinity.” He gestured toward the wall again. “There’s nothing. See?”
She stood her ground. “There’s something. I still feel something. You have to trust me, Grady. Look, if I had a company that needed a new PR spin, I would trust you implicitly. You would be my consultant, and I would do what you said, right?”
“Right,” Grady said slowly, knowing where she was going with this line of reasoning.
“Then trust me as your investigator. Completely.”
“I do,” he promised, knowing that it was true. “I honestly do. I just…” He threw up one of his hands. “There’s nothing there, Moira.”
She looked back at the wall, staring at it hard enough to generate her own dark force to stand in for the one she’d expected to find there. He watched her, wishing, almost for her sake more than his, that she could figure out what it was she was sensing. Although Grady was certainly protective over his belongings and didn’t want to lose anymore of the gold bars that he had been storing in the vault, this case had almost become more about Moira and her friends, and how whatever was lurking beneath his building affected them. He could move his money. She couldn’t guarantee that this unknown force wouldn’t harm her.
The minutes passed slowly, and Grady finally sighed, walking up behind her and putting his arms around her. Given what had happened between them just an hour earlier, he felt confident enough to press a kiss to her hair. “Come on. Let’s try something different,” he urged. “All that’s here is this cockroach.”
He didn’t need an infestation to add to his problems, on top of everything else. Reaching down, he slipped off his loafer and smacked it against the wall, crushing the insect. There was another one emerging from a small hole at the juncture of two pieces of drywall, and Grady raised his shoe again, making a mental note to call an exterminator as soon as he got back upstairs.
He started to bring the shoe down, but before the expensive sole could make contact with the wall, the cockroach twitched and spun around. That in and of itself was strange enough, but as Grady leaned closer to see what was happening, the unimaginable unfolded before his very eyes.
&
nbsp; Moira grabbed his arm, pulling him back, and he stumbled along with her as they both scrambled to get out of the way of the man that suddenly appeared beside the wall, his hair long and wild around his face, his beard thick and dark, and his body completely and totally naked.
“Shit!” Grady shouted, grabbing Moira to him and trying to push her behind him even as he was hurrying backward so fast that his back came into contact with the opposite wall. He didn’t know where to look or what to think, but as soon as he made eye contact with the man suddenly invading his building, all he could think about was the absolute hatred and fury in his eyes that were so dark they might as well have been black.
Grady had never experienced such pure detestation before, but he knew he would never forget what it looked like written on someone’s face.
Chapter Twenty-One
Moira
Moira figured out what was happening just seconds before Grady, but all she had time to do was grab his arm and pull him back so that the person about to materialize didn’t fall directly on top of him. When Grady had crushed the first cockroach, there had been a shift in the sensation that Moira kept picking up on, and after a second to process that fact, her mind began connecting all of the dots at once, landing her at the terrifying conclusion that they were dealing with another group of shapeshifters—and that Grady had just killed one of them.
“He didn’t know,” Moira said, pushing in front of Grady even as he kept trying to get her to stand behind him. She addressed the wild-looking man directly, not showing a tremor of nerves, even if she felt them. “He didn’t know what he was doing. You know he didn’t. He thought he was killing an insect—a cockroach. It was a mistake.”
The naked man spat at her, fire in his gaze. “He thought what he was killing wasn’t human, so that makes it better?”
“No,” Moira said, backpedaling as she held up her hands to try to calm the situation down. “Of course it doesn’t.” Shapeshifters had higher regard for all life, given that they had multiple forms. Moira had only one other form—her dragon form—but she knew that there were shifters who could change themselves into any living form and therefore didn’t view any living form as less than human. Such shifters had totally different backgrounds from Moira, and they were dangerous creatures to have as enemies. Their power was immense, and they never forgot a wrong done.
And now Grady had killed one of them. Moira knew they would be lucky if either of them lived through this encounter, and she braced herself for the fight she knew was coming even as she continued to try to diffuse the situation.
“It doesn’t make it better,” she said again. “But you can’t hold him accountable for what he did. You were in his space after all. You and…”
“My brother,” the man said, taking a step closer. His eyes shifted from hers to Grady’s. “Do you not speak for yourself?”
Grady continued to stand in shocked silence for a moment, but then cleared his throat. “Of course I do. Who the hell are you and what are you doing on property?”
“I am Darren, and the man you just killed was my brother, Callum.”
“I didn’t kill anyone,” Grady insisted, sounding affronted. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Moira spoke to him in a low voice, one eye remaining Darren. “The cockroaches,” she whispered. “Shifters.”
Grady’s eyes went wide with the realization, and then his skin went green. She wanted to help him, but Darren was growing closer to them, and she positioned herself between the two men, letting her own power flash in her eyes to warn Darren to back off.
“I’m not going to let you hurt him,” Moira told the man. “You were in his space. Disguised. There are risks that you take when you shift—you know that as well as I do. Shapeshift into a mosquito but don’t be surprised if you get slapped.”
Darren sneered at her. “That’s how you would speak about my brother? Dead, trapped forever in the carcass of a cockroach? We won’t even have his body to bury.”
“I’m sorry,” she said sincerely, though she didn’t let her guard down. “But that’s not our fault. You’re thieves, both of you. If you hadn’t come in here to take what wasn’t yours, you’d both be alive right now.”
The intent flashed on Darren’s face, and then he shifted, a bright orange and black Bengal tiger appearing where he had stood just seconds before. The tiger’s jaw snapped open and shut, baring sharp teeth that could easily double as daggers. Its claws scraped along what was left of the steel floors as it stalked toward her, and Moira took a step back.
But only to give herself more room. She shifted too, though the tunnel was too small for her large form. She would have trouble navigating, but she stood no chance against the shifter in her human form and they both knew it.
The tiger looked surprised at the sudden appearance of the fire-red dragon, but adjusted quickly, its slitted-eyes gleaming with murderous rage as he lunged forward. Moira opened her mouth, letting fire pour from her lungs that should have completely enveloped the tiger, but instead hung in the air, burning harmlessly as the tiger disappeared and was replaced by a bat that easily flew out of the fire’s range and circled behind Moira.
Moira went to turn toward the bat, knowing that Darren’s form would soon shift again, but the tunnel was too narrow for her to turn easily, and she got stuck, her long tail that usually provided her with balance and grace serving only as an unmanageable mass in the tight quarters. She pushed, craning her neck to try squeeze past, but all she could see out of the corner of her eye was the bat shivering and transforming into a basilisk that was at least fourteen feet long—plenty long enough to wrap around the center of her body and squeeze until her armor began to splinter and crack.
There was no time for fear. Moira had to move or he was going to split her body in half. She had strength, speed, and power, but so did a basilisk, and he had far more flexibility than she had at the moment, as he was demonstrating by slithering toward her, yellow eyes gleaming with intent. He was out for blood—hers and then Grady’s.
Grady. If she couldn’t move, she couldn’t protect him, and he would stand no chance against Darren’s powers.
The basilisk slid along her underbelly, and Moira repressed the shudder that moved through her, forcing herself to wait, feigning helplessness. She let Darren encircle her, feeling the snake’s body begin to tighten around her. Moira could almost feel his glee as he considered her to be utterly at his mercy.
Still, she waited.
“Moira!” Grady’s bewildered, frantic voice came from somewhere behind her. “Moira, move!”
She hated that Grady was afraid for her, but she knew exactly what she was doing, and it wasn’t time yet. Darren tightened further around her, circling her not once but twice. The muscles in his long body were wreaking havoc on her hard shell, and she could feel the pain as it threatened to crack. She could feel the loss of her breath.
Still, she waited…and waited.
And then, just as Darren must have thought he had her, she shifted back into her human form, rolling away from Darren just as he was squeezing as hard as he could. He collapsed in on himself, just the way that someone would if they were pressing as hard as they could on a door that suddenly disappeared. He writhed around on the floor, trying to get his bearings, but before he could, Moira launched herself at him, grabbing a piece of the steel that the construction workers had peeled away from the wall and going straight for his throat.
She thrust with all of her strength, but just as the jagged metal touched the enormous snake’s skin, it disappeared, and Moira tumbled forward, the metal clanging harmlessly against the floor as she struggled to stay upright.
“I’ve got you.” Grady was right behind her, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her into his body. “Holy shit, Moira. What the hell just happened?” His face was buried in her hair, and she was clinging to him, almost as shaken as he was, despite her experience in the supernatural world. It took incredible self-control, she’d f
ound, to stay still and let someone get as close to killing you as possible before fighting back, and now that it was over, she was trembling.
“Where did he go?” she asked, not able to completely fall apart yet. “He’s still here. Somewhere.” She started to push away from Grady. “He’s here—he didn’t just disappear.”
“Come on.” Grady picked her up in his arms like she was weightless, then stooped to grab her clothes. Moira didn’t protest as he hurried them both into the elevator, jamming his finger against the button that would close the doors as quickly as possible. “I don’t know where he went,” Grady said, as the elevator began its ascent. “But we’re getting the hell away from here, Moira. We’re getting out of the whole damn building.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Grady
The safety of his own apartment, towering high above Boston, was some relief to Grady, although if he’d had his way, he would have put both himself and Moira on the first plane leaving the country. What he had seen happen in that tunnel beneath his offices had shaken him. There had been nothing he could do in the midst of a battle between a dragon and the biggest snake he had ever seen. He hadn’t been able to protect her—he hadn’t even been able to understand what was happening. He still didn’t.
All he knew was that he wanted to get them both someplace where they could catch their breath and regroup, and his apartment was the closest available space for that. Once he knew she was all right, he would make the required calls to get his business moved to the other side of the city. He wasn’t about to ask Moira to keep investigating what had infiltrated his building. Not when it put her life at risk. It just wasn’t worth it—not the money, not the space, not any of it.
“I’m okay,” Moira said, for what was at least the tenth time in the last half an hour. She held up a hand as he tried to guide her to the couch and get her to sit down. He wanted her off her feet, but she offered a slight smile and a shake of her head as she gestured for him to give her some space. “I’m fine. Just let me…just let me have a minute.”
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