He finally turned to Ava, who was standing stunned and wide-eyed, staring at the ground.
Roused from the fight, he blinked and tried to read her expression.
“Ava?”
“I…” She swallowed. “I killed it. Him. Well, I stabbed him and you killed him. And then… he melted.”
“It’s a kind of dust.” Malachi wiped phantom sand from his hands. “Irin and Grigori both—”
“I killed him,” she choked out. “He was coming toward me and I just…” Tears started to roll down her face. She clutched her arms around her body. “And you killed, like… lots of them.”
“There were four.” And he could have killed more. He’d wanted to. He still felt high from the thrill of the battle, but his mate’s reaction was starting to scare him. It was easy to forget in the heat of battle that Ava was a stranger to violence.
The shivers started in her shoulders but spread down her back.
“Ava.” He held out a hand and she just looked at it as if he was a stranger. The pain was swift and sure. “Ava, please.”
With a sob, she came to him, and Malachi wrapped his arms around her shoulders while the fist around his heart loosened. “I’m sorry. I’d forgotten. You’re not accustomed to violence.”
“Were they trying to kill me?”
“No,” he soothed her. “Just kill me. I think they were probably trying to capture you.”
She cried harder. Perhaps that wasn’t the right thing to say.
“K…kill you?”
“Shhh.” He stroked her hair, glad that Grigori didn’t leave messy corpses. “I only have a few bruises. They’ll be gone in minutes.” Then he tilted her head up with a smile. “And my fierce love has her own defenses after all. Where did you learn to throw knives?”
“C…circus camp.” She hiccupped. “Summer I was fourteen.”
The smile grew wider. “Circus camp?”
“I can walk a decent tightrope, too, but knives were my favorite. I liked throwing, so I kept practicing. Mom bought me a set and Carl’s gardener made me a big target.” Her eyes were wide and glassy. Her lip was still trembling. But Ava smiled through the tears. “It was fun.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Sensing the tension in her shoulders had eased, Malachi sheathed both knives before he turned and tucked her under his arm and they started back to the house. They’d have to leave that night. He’d need to call Rhys and let him know. Call Istanbul and tell Damien to expect them back. Call—
“Your knives are much better balanced than my set, though.” Her voice was growing steadier as they walked. “Can I get some for myself? They might come in handy.”
“Are you going to use them on me?”
“Probably not.”
“We’ll see. What other camps did you go to?”
“Um… circus camp. Art camp. Surf camp. Photography. Wilderness skills. Horseback riding. More photography. Sailing.”
“You’re very well-rounded.”
“You should see me start a fire.”
The car ride back to Istanbul was quiet. Ava slept since Malachi was still jumping with energy. Even their adrenaline-fueled sex back at the house had done nothing to take the edge off. He was beginning to think the woman had more energy than any Irina he’d ever met. It might have simply been a consequence of too many years with no Irin contact, but he was starting to suspect that, with training, her powers would be formidable. It made him want to thump his chest like a Neanderthal. His woman, his reshon, would be a force to be reckoned with.
His phone rang.
“Hello?”
Damien asked, “Is anyone following you?”
He glanced in the rearview mirror, but it was still empty. The only traffic had been scattered, though he knew it would become heavier the closer they got to the city. Here, they sped through countryside populated by more tractors than immortal assassins.
“We’re fine. Nothing suspicious.”
“Maxim said he’s picked up more activity in the last couple of days than what he’d expect for this time of year. More outsiders than he’s seen before. Something is definitely happening with the Grigori in the city. And Leo says that the elusive Dr. Sadik seems to be back in his office. Says the secretary showed up this morning, even though no patients came.”
“No sightings of the doctor?”
“No, but if the secretary has come back from her holiday…”
“The doctor could be expected soon.” He paused, adding the fact to the mosaic of information he’d been building about Ava. “Has Maxim heard anything?”
The young scribe was the best information merchant they had. While Rhys could command the computer systems, sometimes nothing beat having ears to the ground. And the quietly charming Maxim had become a favorite among some of the more… legally challenged elements of Istanbul. His love of gambling probably helped.
“Maxim claims your Dr. Sadik hasn’t rung any bells with the human element, though a Grigori he captured went stubbornly silent when the name was mentioned.”
“So he is Grigori. Or connected in some way.”
“Or the soldier knew he was going to die and didn’t feel like giving Maxim the answer to his question. It’s all speculation at this point, brother.”
He thought for a moment, wishing he could just be back in Istanbul without the long drive. Ava’s breathing changed slightly and she let out a soft murmur but didn’t wake.
“You and the woman,” Damien asked. “You’re together?”
“Yes. She’s mine.”
“You’re certain?”
“Yes.”
There was a long pause, and when Damien’s voice came back, he sounded amused. “It’ll be good not to be the only one tormented by a mate. Congratulations.”
Malachi grinned, reaching over to play with a piece of hair that was tickling her nose. “My Ava adores me. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Ha!”
He bit his lip to hold in the laughter when she frowned in her sleep and batted at his hand. Adoration, indeed.
“I’ll let you off the phone. Drive carefully. Rhys should be back tomorrow night. He left Göreme just a little bit after you left Kuşadası.”
“It will be good to see him. Has he made any progress with Ava’s genealogy?”
“He sounded like he’d made some kind of breakthrough, but he didn’t say what. Just that he had a few more questions for her.”
Malachi frowned. “Fine.”
“And I’m going to suggest she go see the mysterious Dr. Sadik.”
“Not without me.”
Damien paused, then said, “We’ll talk about it when you get back.”
“Not without me, Damien. It’s not going to happen.”
“She saw him for weeks with no danger.”
“We don’t know that. How do you think they found us tonight?”
“It’s hardly out of their normal hunting grounds. Perhaps it was a coincidence?”
“I don’t believe in a coincidence that leads six Grigori to corner me in an alley while I happen to have Ava with me.”
“You’re newly mated, and thus you’re paranoid. It’s completely understandable.”
“And I’m completely right. She’s not going to his office without me.”
“We’ll talk more tomorrow. Until then, take care.”
“I’ll see you later.”
As he hung up the phone, the question plagued him. How had the Grigori found them? Not just in Kuşadası, but in that particular restaurant at that particular hour? It couldn’t be a coincidence. He glanced at Ava, still sleeping securely. He didn’t think she’d called Dr. Sadik again, so how had it happened?
He slowed the car and pulled over near a roadside market, then he grabbed her mobile phone from the center console. Could Sadik have tapped into the network somehow? Doing so would indicate he was far more connected than Malachi or Rhys had initially suspected. Perhaps it was simpler. A tracker of some kind. A simple GPS chip would have allowed him to track Ava anywhere she went. He flipped her phone over, looking for any indication it had been tampered with.
“What are you doing?” Her sleepy voice didn’t distract him as he looked at the edges of her mobile. No scratches or marks indicated that the case had been manipulated or modified.