“If you think for a single fucking second I’m letting you out of my sight, you’d better think again.” The glare he gave her was sulfuric, and his voice dropped to a dangerous softness that normal y made grown men back up a couple of steps.
Chloe, of course, just sniffed, and her jaw took on a stubborn tilt. “You can go with me now, or you can let Luca drag me out of your sight again, in which case you won’t even get to see if I make it home safely.”
“Luca’s not going to let you go home,” he snarled, hating that she was right. When Caval i showed up again, she was gone. His grip on his weapon went white-knuckled.
Her eyebrows arched. “He can’t force me into protective custody, can he? I can walk away if I want to.”
“Do it, and you’l be dead within twenty-four hours.” His blood ran ice-cold at the mere thought, and he knew if he didn’t have a hold of the gun, his hands would be shaking again. He’d already come so close to losing her. Too damn close. “Tel me what happened with Luca and Peyton. How did Caval i end up running off to rescue your godson?”
She didn’t even smile at his obvious concession and fil ed him in on everything that had gone down from the moment she’d left the police department until he’d come bursting into the safe house. Luca, Alex, Peyton, the Fae torturer. What Peyton and the Fae had to do with Leonard Smith, Merek didn’t yet know, but he was going to find out. She’d just wound to a finish when she turned onto her street, which was awash with flashing lights from various law enforcement vehicles. He could pick out two patrol cars and what he’d guess were cars from some of Caval i’s FBI team.
Chloe left the car running and was already sliding out of the vehicle before it had rocked to a ful stop. She probably figured he’d stop her if she waited. She was right. And he was pissed. He should have asked her why she wanted to go home so desperately instead of assuming it had something to do with traumatic shock. “Fuck.”
He flipped on the blue light on his dash, shut down the engine, and caught up with Chloe before she’d reached the house. She didn’t look at him. “I’m not going to apologize.”
Getting a stranglehold on his temper, he had to remind himself of what she’d been through to stop himself from taking her over his knee and spanking her. “Do you know who broke into your house?”
“No, but I felt a breach to my warding spel , and Luca said he had people watching my house.” She slid her hands deep inside her pockets in an obvious attempt to conceal her mangled wrists.
His fingers flexed on his gun before he forced himself to relax them. “Why didn’t you let the authorities handle it then?”
“It could have been Alex.” She shrugged. “He comes over a lot, but I’ve never given him a key. I should have. I wil , actual y.”
He shook his head, trying to fol ow her train of thought. She might never get to come home again, and she was worried about giving someone else a key. He was more concerned about who was in her house right now. “Would Alex have led his pursuers to your home?”
One shoulder dipped in a little shrug. “I doubt it. He’s a smart kid, but he’s stil a kid, and he’s justifiably scared.” She snorted, and he heard tears in the sound, but she glanced away from him, so he couldn’t be sure. “Hel , I’m an adult, and I’m scared.”
“You damn wel should be scared.”
“Thanks for the confirmation.” Her tone was dry, and she arched a sardonic eyebrow.
They both stopped talking and pul ed out ID as they approached the nearest officer, who Merek recognized as a rookie on the MTF. In seconds, they were cleared to go beyond the police barricade and approach the house. More cars with flashing lights rol ed up, and the police officers did their best to move Chloe’s neighbors as far from the scene as possible. The fewer Normals they had to perform memory spel s on, the better. They’d have a telepath watching the crowd to see who noticed anything magical and snag them before they could talk.
Chloe ignored the ache in her limbs, the sting in her wrists, and the burn of sexual chemistry from Merek that apparently no amount of pain could fend off.
The closer they got to her house, the more secure she felt. It wasn’t just that her home was somewhere familiar and safe for her, it was the bright lights of the police cars, the people and noise and hubbub. She wasn’t trapped alone with terrorists who hurt her. Her heart tripped at the thought, her hands trembling so hard she had to clench them.
Every light in her house was on, just the way she left it. Just the way she always liked it. Bright and safe and surrounded by a city ful of people. Cities never real y slept. There was always something going on.
Today’s events had only reinforced a lifetime’s understanding that there were monsters in the dark. She knew from experience just how scary and dangerous it could be.
Tess stood on her front porch, her hands raised above her head, but her posture was relaxed. Chloe couldn’t hear what her friend was saying, but she watched her friend two-finger some identification out of her purse and hand it to the closest of the five officers surrounding the porch.
“Shit,” Chloe sighed.
Merek squinted to see through the flashing lights and high beams. “What? You know that woman?”
“Yeah.” Chloe tucked her hands even deeper into her pockets, not wanting her friend to see her damaged wrists. The fabric rubbing against her skin burned like acid, but an explanation was something she couldn’t give. “My best friend, Tess Jones. She was supposed to meet me here at seven. We were supposed to have dinner.”
He grunted and jerked his chin in her direction, but his gaze swept the area, taking in every detail of the street, the houses, the people, the cars. “She looks remarkably calm for someone with a whole lot of weapons pointed her way.”
Chloe found herself fol owing his example, discreetly checking everyone out. Her neighbors, she knew, but who else might be watching? Leonard Smith? More of his people? She usual y liked being around a lot of people, but now it seemed just as dangerous as being isolated. Her bel y cramped tight, and she stuffed the fear into the deepest corner of her soul, to be dealt with when she was in a safer place. “Tess’s a pathologist for the FBI. The Normal side of it. She’s a Normal.”
“Ah. So, she doesn’t know anything.” He made it a statement, but Chloe could hear the question in his words. Had Chloe told her Normal friend anything? Had she broken Magickal law?
“No, she doesn’t know anything.” Chloe had wanted to tel the truth. Many, many times. But she’d never given in to the temptation. She licked her cracked lips, wincing as her body ached as if she had run a marathon. Or been worked over by a basebal bat. Now that the adrenaline was fading, she could feel every single twinge, every screaming echo of pain.
Merek’s big hand closed around her elbow when she swayed on her feet, but the touch hurt so she tugged her arm away from him. “If you know who’s here, we can take you to the hospital now. Don’t you think so, Caval i?”
“Not just yet.” A low voice spoke from behind her, and she turned to see the vampire. A quiet and watchful Alex stood beside him, and relief so sharp she almost burst into tears sliced through her. He was safe and here. Thank the gods.
“You al right, Chloe?” His gaze searched her, his nostrils flaring as he caught her scent, using his senses to check her for damage.
Aside from the residual tension thrumming through her muscles, she wasn’t sure how much, if anything, he could sense of what had happened to her. She hoped nothing. This was something she didn’t want to talk about with anyone right now, maybe not ever. “I’m fine. You?”