“Took you long enough.” I cocked a hip and placed my fisted hand on my waist.
Lucian kept coming at me, the cold, stiff lines of his face unflinching. His chest pumped with ragged bursts.
His arms went around me, and he squeezed me tight. My body softened against him, recognizing my haven, but my brain had other plans, though. He hadn’t told me they had a lead on Cierra.
He squeezed me harder, his trembling finally settling.
I gasped a breath out.
“Ouch.” I pushed at his chest until he let me go. Crimson stained his arm.
“You’re hurt?” His eyes widened, and he scanned my body, hands extended toward me. “Where?”
“No need to sound so pissed off, this is your fault,” I shot back at him.
He shut up, his expression becoming a cold mask.
“I hate to get in the middle of a lover’s spat, but we don’t want to call attention to ourselves.” Alex tossed a robe at Lucian, and he deftly caught it. I took a deep breath to ground myself. He was right.
“Where the fuck is Toby?” Lucian snapped. “I left him here to watch you.”
“Well, that would have been helpful,” I drawled. Of course he’d had someone watching me.
“Stuart found his body. Someone shot him.” Alex spoke so softly I almost missed it. “That woman is shameless.”
Killed him? Not only was she shameless, she was evil. I hadn’t interacted with Toby at all, other than when he’d fought Cierra for her place as a dominant. Now, he was another pointless death in Cierra’s game. I gritted my teeth and turned my glare to Lucian as he finished tying the robe sash at his waist.
“Well, she won’t be hurting anyone else.” I lifted my chin.
“You have her?” Alex gawked.
I grinned and patted the back of the van. Bad move. It caused the wound on my arm to pulse. I grunted, clasping my elbow to cradle my arm close.
Lucian frowned at me, but I ignored him. I rolled my shoulder and peered at my bicep. The black fabric of the long-sleeved shirt allowed the blood to blend in. I slid a finger into the sliced fabric. A gash was opened across my skin. Blood no longer dripped, but it was red and angry.
“Fuck,” Lucian snarled, suddenly so close, and his hand hovered over the wound. I swatted him away before he could touch. “Contact Melodie.” The order was abrupt, loud, and angry.
For a moment, I thought he was talking to me, but Alex answered from behind him. “She’s already on her way, Verity called to tell me Joey had been shot.”
The fall of footsteps approached. Lucian stiffened and looked over my head, but relaxed once he saw who it was.
“I got her inside,” Verity gasped. “But she’s refusing to listen and keeps following me out.” She bent over with her palms on her knees. “She’s on her way,” she wheezed.
“Baby,” Alex exhaled, eyes on his mate as he stepped out of the shadow of a truck.
“Alex?” She smiled and straightened.
“I’m here,” Melodie shouted, running down the concrete toward us with a bag in hand. Her shoe caught on a jutting piece of concrete.
Alex grabbed her arm, stopping her from falling face down. Verity yelped, dragging my attention over to her to see her clasping her chest.
“Ouch,” she muttered, her eyes wide and hand on her chest. Her focus remained on Alex, who stared, seeming confused for a moment. Then he yanked his hand off Melodie’s arm.
Verity’s eyes flicked from me to Alex, to the ground. She was making the connection. I’d told her about the pain from feeling Lucian touching others in these last years. Melodie reached me and studied my arm. She ripped the sleeve open, inspecting it.
“Lucian,” Elain shouted from a distance, bringing my eyes up to watch her wobble towards us in her too-high heels. She stopped a healthy distance away from me, sneering. “You should have seen this monster; she beat her until she bled,” his mom cried. “She’s a violent criminal, Lucian.”
“Bloody?” Lucian raised an eyebrow. He’d been hovering close, watching Melodie work. “I’m proud of you.” He kissed my forehead. The edge of his robe brushed my arm.
