She rose from the table and grabbed the frame. “None of your business.” She held the frame behind her back, and lifted her chin to eye him squarely. “What do we need to do about Lance?”
His lips pursed for a moment. Whoever the guy was, he was important to her. As important as the guy lying unconscious in her spare room? How many men did this woman have dangling around her? Just the thought she was a player made him fold his arms and match her brusqueness.
“I’ll work on clearing out the rest of the toxin, but I might have to halt after that. With the extent of his injuries, he’s going to need a slow rehab.” He made a split decision. “This could take a while.” It wasn’t quite a lie. He could justify it. He could speed up the process, but right then, he decided to take his time, take a little extra care.
She frowned. “A while? How long is a while?”
He shrugged. “A couple of days.”
“Days?” Her expression was a combination of surprise, horror and frustration.
He smiled. “Yep. Guess we’re going to be spending some quality time together.” This was an opportunity to discover more about the woman who had held him captive. He should move on, but he convinced himself this was a strategic move—and nothing to do with a developing fascination for the woman. He’d initially sought her out to destroy any evidence that could convict his brother of murder. Now his desire to stay had nothing to do with Ryder, and everything to do with the complicated woman standing before him. She treated him as though he should behave better—as though she believed he was capable of being better. Everyone else took him at face value. He frowned. No, he mentally corrected himself. He was staying because he needed leverage against someone who could match him. The witch had managed to capture a light warrior and hold him prisoner. She knew his vulnerabilities. He needed to find hers to level the playing field—because he sure wasn’t going to go through that hell again.
Her lips pursed, and his gaze dropped to her sexy little pout. She could be so sexy in a snit. “Just—just heal him, Hunter. As fast as you can.”
He bowed his head. “But of course. A deal’s a deal. I’m a man of honor.”
She rolled her eyes and snorted as she turned to leave the room. “Please, we both know that’s not true,” she muttered as she walked down the hallway to her room.
He brooded as he watched her go. She was right. He took what he wanted, when he wanted, and it had served him well in the past. He’d almost killed her trying to hide what he thought was evidence against his brother. When an Alpha Prime had died in his brother’s dental surgery, he knew it was just a matter of time before his brother was punished—either through the Reform court, or through the Alpha Prime’s werewolf pack. He’d seen the autopsy results, knew that the highly concentrated dose of wolfsbane that had killed the lycan leader could have only come from Irondell’s premier apothecary. Even during their disconnection, he’d wanted to protect his little brother, had felt the need to look out for Ryder. Maybe it was a throwback to a time that was no more, when the boys had behaved like brothers, and there had been love and camaraderie between them. Or maybe it was a deep-rooted sense of duty as protector after his mother died. Either way, he’d done it because he’d believed it to be the right thing to do. A bad act for good reasons. He frowned. Sometimes, he did bad things. Sometimes he regretted it. Sometimes he didn’t. It wasn’t a question of honor; it was a matter of expediency. Sometimes those virtues couldn’t coexist, and he’d never lost any sleep over it.
He eyed the closed door between him and Melissa. For the first time last night, though, he’d had trouble sleeping.
* * *
Melissa entered the spare bedroom carrying two glasses of water and halted. Her apartment was toasty. Like, the warmest she could remember. Candles were lit everywhere, and the fireplace in her living room was in full flame. She figured he’d find it sooner or later. While she might not know much about light warriors, she knew they needed light or flame, and with that they could create their own light and flame. She wanted Hunter to have the strength to heal her friend. She didn’t want him to have the strength to level a city block.
Hunter now stood over Lance’s still-unconscious body, but he looked different. He’d shaved, the dark beard gone to reveal a chiseled jaw. His hair had been trimmed, too. Gone were the dark, loose waves, and instead his hair was shorter. It was still long enough to curl, still gave him that rough edge, but the shaggy style made him look casual and presentable. She turned an inquiring gaze to Lexi, who nodded proudly, gesturing to the scissors that lay in the first aid basket.
Lexi had cut his hair. Melissa set the glass down on the bedside table. He didn’t look like the man who’d been kept in a cell for five months. He no longer looked like her prisoner. Didn’t look rough and dangerous, but instead looked much more civilized. Like a guy she’d pass in the street and probably turn to look at twice. Who was she kidding? She’d been thinking of him most of the day. Ever since that kiss, she couldn’t get him out of her mind. She’d look more than twice if she passed him in the street. Honestly, she’d probably do more than just look, after that kiss. And that frustrated the hell out of her.
She stepped back. She didn’t like the false air of civility he wore—and she knew it was false. He may have his hair trimmed neatly, be cleanly shaven and wear presentable clothes that clung to those broad shoulders before draping down to hide the washboard stomach she knew existed beneath. But that was the problem. She knew exactly what strength and lethal power were now hidden behind the facade of propriety—and she didn’t trust him. Not. At. All.
She’d pushed her nightstand against the door last night, and since waking she’d installed spelled wards around her home and shop. He wouldn’t be able to leave the premises—he couldn’t get past her apartment’s front door, but she’d taken extra precautions with her access points in the store below. He wasn’t going anywhere, no matter how hard he tried. He wasn’t in a cell any longer, but he was not free. He wouldn’t be until Lance was healed. She was still in control.
Although, she hadn’t been in control last night... Oh, there it was again, that mental image of him kissing her against the wall. No, damn it, he was her prisoner, not the hunk of her dreams. She refused to start thinking of him like that, kisses be damned.
She handed the second glass to Lexi, her gaze remaining on what Hunter was doing. She could see those light tendrils snaking around her friend’s body. She’d had to go downstairs and open her store, and this was her first opportunity to return to check up on her friend. She wouldn’t have left him alone in Hunter’s care, but Lexi had taken up temporary residence watching over her brother—and playing hairdresser, apparently. That left Melissa able to tend her business.
Although all morning she’d been distracted, wondering how things were going in the apartment above the store. She told herself it had nothing to do with this good-looking angel of death, but everything to do with her friend.
“How is he?” she whispered to Lexi.
Lexi sighed. “He’s improving, but Hunter is taking it slow so as not to hurt him more.” The woman shook her head, her straight blond hair shifting with the movement. “I have to tell you, Mel, I’ve never seen anything like this. I don’t know what he’s doing, or how he’s doing it, but Lance is improving.” She raised the glass to her lips.
Melissa leaned against the wall. “He’s a light warrior,” she told her. Lexi coughed on the water, her eyes wide. She wiped her chin, and glanced between Melissa and Hunter, who seemed oblivious to their conversation, so focused was he on his patient.
“Are you serious? I thought they were extinct.”
Melissa shook her head. That was the common belief and, until recently, it had been hers, as well. “Apparently, the reports of their demise are greatly exaggerated.”
Her brother’s friend, Vassiliki Verity—a half-blood vampire, and an annoy
ing one at that—was defending a shadow breed dentist on a murder charge, and had tracked him down to the home of his brother—Hunter. The man who’d destroyed her apothecary. Hunter Galen and his brother were having an argument when she and Dave had arrived, and they’d hidden, managing to overhear snatches of the conversation. She and her brother had been astounded when Arthur Armstrong, a Prime of the human faction, had arrived. Armstrong was as wealthy as he was powerful, an active participant in the intrigues of the Reform elite—and father to Hunter and Ryder. Just as his light warrior ancestors before him, Armstrong had kept the light warriors’ existence secret. Everyone assumed that Arthur Armstrong and his sons were highly skilled healers among the shadow breeds. Nobody had guessed it was their light warrior powers that helped them be so.
Armstrong had been manipulating various members of the shadow breeds for years, during their treatment appointments. Melissa stared at the man standing over her friend. Who knew what he’d done with his patients. Was he as sick and twisted as his father?
She folded her arms. Of course he was. He’d tried to kill her, hadn’t he? Then he’d used her dreams against her, and finally he’d used her to recharge his inner battery by kissing her. Everything this man had done to her had been one form of deceit and betrayal after another.
“Don’t leave Lance alone, okay?” Melissa told her friend quietly.
Lexi frowned, concern darkening her gaze as she stared at the man standing over her brother. “Why? What would he do?”
Melissa pursed her lips. “I have no idea, and that’s what scares me.”
Hunter lowered his arms, extinguishing his light, and turned to face them. He really was too damn good-looking. “I think that will do for today. Any more and I might overload him.” His gaze was friendly, and mildly tired. He hadn’t heard their whispers in the corner.
He saw the glass of water on the bedside table and his brows rose in surprise. “Thanks, Melissa.” He reached for it and drank, swallowing the contents in two gulps. He smiled, holding up the empty glass. “Thirsty work. Appreciate it.”
She nodded. “I have to go back to work. Let me know if you need anything,” she told Lexi meaningfully, and left the room.
“Oh, wait,” Lexi called, and stepped out into the hall behind her.
Melissa turned to face her, her hand already on the doorknob to leave the apartment. “What’s up, Lex?”
Lexi grimaced. “I’ll, uh, I’ll need to head back home tonight.”
Melissa’s eyes narrowed, and her gaze dropped down to Lexi’s hand. The green snakeskin jasper ring was still on her finger.
“I need to have a chat with my boyfriend,” Lexi told her quietly. “I’d put it off, but after what’s happened with Lance, I think there are some things I need to address.”
Melissa nodded solemnly. “I understand. What time do you need to leave? I’ll make sure I’m back here by then.”
“Five?”
Melissa hesitated, then nodded. “Sure. I’ll get Jenna to close up. I’ll be here.”
“Thanks. I’ll stay the night at Lance’s place,” Lexi told her, her hand gesturing toward the rest of Melissa’s apartment. “It’s pretty full here. Is that okay?”
While Melissa would love the buffer between her and Hunter, she realized Lexi’s words were true. All available beds or furniture were taken with Lance and Hunter here. Besides, Lance was a dhampir, and his home was probably the best option for Lexi to stay at if she was leaving her vampire boyfriend.
“That’s fine. Will you be all right?”
Lexi waved a hand casually. “I’ll be fine.”
Melissa frowned. She may have thought Lexi was annoying or frustrating, and perhaps a little insecure, but after witnessing the care and love the young woman held for her brother, Melissa was warming to her, a new respect dawning behind the exasperation. Trying not to, but she couldn’t quite help it. Lance had asked her to look after Lexi, and she would, but now she’d do it possibly as much for Lexi as for Lance.
“You call me if you need me,” she told the young woman, her tone serious.
“Oh, Mel—”
“Don’t ‘oh, Mel’ me. If you’re in danger, you call me. I don’t care what time, okay?”
Lexi smiled. “Okay, but seriously, I’ll be fine.”
“Just call me when you get to Lance’s place, okay? Promise?”
“Promise.”
Melissa nodded, moderately satisfied, and left the apartment.
* * *
Hunter listened to the whispered exchange in the hallway. His hearing was acute, and he had no trouble hearing the conversation near the front door, nor the one that had occurred earlier in the room.
He frowned. Why would Lexi need help? Why was Melissa concerned? The fact that Melissa was so protective of Lexi was a surprise. Hell, he’d been surprised ever since Melissa had told him she had a friend, and one that she was prepared to surrender her own need for vengeance in order to assist. Now she was going all motherly protective over Lexi—admittedly in a fierce, kick-ass kind of way.
Lance stirred on the bed, his eyelids flickering, before his eyes finally opened.
Hunter was next to him immediately, and gave him a friendly smile. “Whoa, hey, you need to rest,” he whispered, gently touching the dhampir’s temple, and the man’s green eyes glazed over, and he drifted off into unconsciousness. “Back to sleep, bud.”
No, he wasn’t ready for the dhampir to wake just yet. He still wanted to find out a few things about the witch, and Lance unconscious and still not quite healed was exactly the way things needed to be for now.
Chapter 9
Melissa hadn’t needed to get Jenna to close up, after all. The weather had turned foul outside, with winds gusting and flurries of snow whirling down the street. Her store had emptied about an hour ago, so she’d sent Jenna home early. She was climbing the stairs when Lexi met her halfway.
“How is Lance?” Melissa asked without preamble.
Lexi smiled. “He’s doing well. It looks like Hunter has been able to neutralize the poison, and he’s working on the deep tissue cuts tomorrow. I think he’s wiped out, though. He was passed out on your sofa when I left.”
Melissa nodded as she turned to walk back down the stairs with Lexi. “Good. I’m not quite sure how it works, but I guess it can be exhausting, expending all that energy.” They walked down the corridor to the door that opened out onto the street. Melissa had bespelled and warded this access point, too. She twisted the locks and hauled the heavy door open. It wasn’t long after she’d set up her apothecary that she’d discovered some people viewed her store like a pharmacy, and she’d had a few break-ins, early on. Of course, when she’d tracked down the perpetrators and meted out her own form of punishment, word got out about what happened to those who tried to steal from a witch.
She didn’t get burgled anymore.
Still, she’d learned personal and property security was important, and preferred to err on the side of extreme caution. She wasn’t going to be vulnerable to attack. Never again.
She stepped aside to allow Lexi to leave. “Don’t forget, call me if you need me.”
Lexi nodded. “And you call me if anything changes with Lance. I’m not too far away.”
Melissa waved, slamming the door shut and engaging all the locks.
She was almost at the base of the stairs when she heard the pounding on her door.
* * *
Hunter quickly settled himself on the floor next to the bed. Lance was breathing deep and even, a sign of the dhampir’s rapid recovery. Lexi had just left the apartment, and Melissa would be up very shortly. He only had a brief opportunity to dreamwalk through Lance’s subconscious, learn a little more about her, before her arrival.
He closed his eyes, allowing the rush of unconsciousness to
sweep over him. In moments, he walked through Lance’s memories. It was as though projector screens surrounded him, each playing different memories. He noted the darker one tinged with red—the one where he’d been hurt. He’d be interested to take a side trip into that, but later. Now he whispered a suggestion to act as a shortcut to the information he wanted to access.
Melissa.
Instantly, the screens flickered to life, and he selected the one furthest away. Their first meeting. Everything around him changed, and he realized he was in a back alley. It was late afternoon, the sky bathed in swathes of crimson and orange, but it was already getting dark in the alley. He glanced around, trying to get a read on the location, and noticed the Better Read Than Dead Bookstore lettering painted on one of the roller doors. The alley behind Melissa’s bookshop.
Lance stood, leaning against a wall, his pose casual. He kept his gaze trained on the street, as though waiting for something—or someone.
Hunter heard the squeak as the door was rolled up, and he could dimly make out the figure of someone hauling down on the chains inside the dock as the door rose. Melissa.
She was younger, though. Early twenties, her red hair tied back into a ponytail. She wore a ratty T-shirt and jeans and scuffed sneakers, and already looked dusty.
Lance turned and frowned as Melissa emerged, glancing at her watch. “Go back inside,” he called to her.
Melissa paused, noticing the man at the end of the alley for the first time. She folded her arms.
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