“Oh, great.”
He climbed the tree from the back side and spotted the orb perched on a branch. He needed to grab it before it flew away and would then follow them. Obviously sensing his magick, it crept down one of the many roots that grew from the branch back to the ground. Cyn reached down and snatched it, crushing it in his hand with both force and magick. “Let’s go, before he shows up to pay us a visit.”
Thirty minutes later, Cyn pulled into a guest parking spot at the Raphael high-rise. Ruby pulled her long braid over her shoulder and stroked the length of it as she looked at the sign. “Hah. The Raphael. I get it. So, what are we seeing this guy about?”
“Grayson is going to take you back in your memories to the night your father went on the run. Maybe you heard something that might help us.”
Cyn had only told Grayson that he didn’t want Ruby to go any farther than the moment of impact. He didn’t want to take a chance that she’d seen him and buried the memory. He wasn’t ready for her to leave him yet.
Because you want her.
I don’t want her out there alone.
“Cyntag Valeron to see Grayson Winters.” He showed his ID.
The man checked his screen and gave him a nod. “He’s expecting you. Go on up.”
The elevator automatically took them to the twenty-first floor. The mirrored walls reflected Ruby to infinity, the back of her braid trailing down to the top of her waistband, her shirt not quite meeting it to reveal a slice of her skin. Her gaze met his in one of those reflections, jolting his heartbeat. He was glad the door slid open at that moment.
Grayson was already waiting, filling the doorway with his muscular bulk.
“Good to see you, my friend. I appreciate you doing this.” Cyn made the introductions.
Grayson gave Ruby a nod. “Would you like a drink or should we get right to it?”
“Let’s get right to it,” Ruby said, rubbing her hands together in what Cyn thought was a nervous gesture.
Grayson motioned for her to sit on the leather couch and then sat across from her on the thick glass coffee table. “I’ll need to put my hand on you to establish a connection.”
Ruby nodded, her gaze on Grayson. “You can touch me,” she said in a soft, inviting voice. Her head tilted, and her mouth curved in a smile. “Your eyes are beautiful, with little sparks like frost.”
Even his tough little Ruby wasn’t immune to the Thrall. Well, not his Ruby.
Cyn’s Dragon clawed at his skin. Mine. Its tail swished down the center of his back.
Back off. Not ours.
Grayson’s big hands rested on Ruby’s shoulders. “That’s right, just relax.” He turned to Cyn. “Dial back the territorial feelings.”
Ruby blinked, coming out of the spell. “You can pick up his feelings? Territorial feelings?”
“Surely Cyn told you about the whole Dragon-beast territorial thing, especially considering what I’m picking up between the two of you.”
Cyn kept his expression neutral. “I’m her protector and teacher, nothing more.”
Ruby hitched her thumb toward Cyn. “What he said.”
Grayson took in their earnest expressions and shrugged. “Look, you don’t have to pretend around me. I pick up feelings; I don’t judge them.” Grayson focused on Ruby again. “Go back to the memory you want to explore. I’ll be there, but try not to pay attention to me. It’ll yank us out of the memory.”
Ruby sank against the back of the leather couch as her eyes closed. She was tough on the outside, but Cyn sensed something could shatter her protective shell and crumble her. He drew closer and watched as Grayson put her into a hypnotic state. What exactly was Grayson picking up from him? What Cyn felt for Ruby was foreign, like the rash she had described, an itch somewhere deep inside him.
“Daddy, what’s going on?” she asked in a little girl’s voice. She listened, as he must have given her some explanation for their last-minute trip.
“Who’s he on the phone with?” Grayson asked in a soft voice a minute later.
“Darren, his lab partner. We go to their house a lot. They sometimes have me over so my parents can go out on a date.” Ruby smiled. “Magda, his wife, says I’m her surrogate daughter. She pretends I’m her daughter sometimes.”
Cyn moved closer yet, eyeing Ruby’s tensed hand on the couch. He had an insane desire to hold it. Resist.
Ruby frowned. “But Daddy’s wigging out, telling Darren, ‘Brom was right. What we’re doing is dangerous. I’ve destroyed everything. I’m taking my family and leaving.’ I can hear Darren yelling, but I can’t hear what he’s saying. Then my mom’s taking me down into the cabin, telling me it doesn’t concern me.”
Cyn said, “That’s enough, Ruby. We’ve got what we need.”
She shook her head. “I need to see more. Maybe I saw the man who murdered my parents.”
“All you’ll see is the Dragon. That won’t be enough to identify him.”
Cyn’s chest tightened, drawing Grayson’s attention to his pain. The frost glittered in his eyes. He knew Cyn played the part of an assassin during his tenure as a Vega. He’d probably figured out why Cyn didn’t want her to go too far.
Grayson removed his hands from her shoulders, and Ruby snapped out of the memory.
“Why did you break the connection?” she asked Grayson.
“I can only hold on for so long.”
Poor Grayson was picking up Ruby’s disappointment and Cyn’s tangle of emotions. Hopefully he also sensed his gratitude.
To make sure, he gave Grayson a subtle nod. “I told Ruby I would introduce her to the Vega who was assigned to kill her parents. But right now she has to focus on what’s important, like saving her life.”
She pushed up from the couch, her mouth in a pout. “I just wanted to see him, a tiny glimpse.”
Cyn led Ruby to the door, turning to Grayson. “Thank you for your help.”
“Anything for a friend.” Grayson’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve changed since the last time I saw you, what, five years ago. You were easy to be around. You’re not anymore.”
Hell. Before he’d been flatlined, emotionless; that’s what Grayson was saying. And now? It was probably best that Cyn didn’t know.
“That too will change.” After Ruby stalked out of his life.
“What did that mean?” Ruby asked when they were once again closed inside the elevator. “Why aren’t you easy to be around anymore?” When he didn’t answer, she got right up in his face. “Is it because the previously unfeeling Cyntag Valeron has feelings now? Feelings he’s afraid to admit?”
She had no idea the courage it took him not to act on those feelings, and yet, she called him a coward. He steeled that courage and pushed out the words, “I have no personal feelings for you.”
The elevator door opened, and they walked out to his car in silence. She leaned against her door, facing him. “So you would have no problem if I, say, approached Grayson for a date. You were right. He’s friggin’ gorgeous and—”
Cyn reacted before thinking, grabbing her wrists and pinning them against the car. “Don’t do that.”
“What? Make you jealous? But you have no feelings for me, so you couldn’t possibly get jealous.” She raised her eyebrow, an impudent spark in her hazel eyes. “Or could you?”
“You’re trying to rile me up so I’ll expose my feelings? Is that what this is about?”
“Yes.” She glanced down where he held her wrists. “I’d say it’s working.”
Damn, but she had him twisted up inside. He leaned so close that their noses almost touched. “Ruby.” This time he could hear that intimate tone she’d been accusing him of.