My heart raced in my chest like a team of wild horses, and I pushed my way through the foyer to the spot beneath the landing. Guests backed away, and when Shepherd turned around, I stopped dead in my tracks.
Of all the men in that room who could have played hero, it was the one covered in scars and tattoos who cradled the weeping child.
“Oh, thank God,” I whispered.
Shepherd’s face was flushed, sweat crowning his head. He must have run the whole way back to the mansion.
“Move out of the way!” Patrick walked swiftly toward Shepherd and took the boy into his arms, his expression filled with rage and relief.
Shepherd’s empty hands closed into fists.
“Boy, how many times have I told you not to wander away?” Patrick hissed.
Glass had thrown the boy as a distraction to escape. When I looked up, I was startled to see him still standing there.
It took a second to register the two shiny blades protruding from his chest. Niko stood behind him, still wearing his mask and holding the other end of his katanas. When he withdrew his swords, Glass tumbled halfway down the right-hand staircase.
Gem flung her mask off and ran toward Shepherd. He wasn’t an affectionate guy in the least, but stopping Gem from her expressive ways was like stopping a tsunami. She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight.
That was how we all felt.
Wyatt blocked the rear exit, so I guessed Claude was outside in case our suspect had fled. The crowd dispersed.
Viktor placed his hands on my shoulders. “You did well.”
“I didn’t catch him.”
“But you tried. Split-second decisions reveal our true character. Saving an innocent life is always more important.” He tossed his mask onto a table of champagne. “This case is officially closed. I will speak with Patrick. Once the Regulators arrive, they’ll want our testimony, so no one leaves.”
We both whipped our heads to the side when someone gasped.
Gem was lying on her back like a fallen butterfly—her colorful hair haloing her head. Shepherd stared down at her with a look of guilt.
He held up his hands. “She just fainted.”
Niko stopped halfway down the stairs and leaned over the banister. “What’s going on?”
Confused, I hurried toward them. “It’s Gem!”
Niko gripped the railing with one arm and vaulted over it, his coat and kilt fluttering around him until he landed on the marble floor in a crouched position. He quickly rose to his feet and strode toward her with one arm outstretched.
Shepherd crouched down and touched her arm. “I don’t feel anything. She’s unconscious.”
Niko knelt by her side. “What about right before?” He gently ran his thumb across her closed eyelids.
“Fear.” Shepherd shook his head. “Shit.I think I accidentally transferred some of the boy’s fear into her. Fuck, I didn’t mean to. I wasn’t expecting her to accost me, and my hands were soaked in his energy.”
The guests had seen enough drama for one evening and were funneling out the door. Patrick’s guards redirected some of them to the back to prevent a bottleneck.
Niko cradled Gem in his arms. “I’ll stay with her until she wakes. Can someone get my weapons?”
“Already taken care of,” Christian said from the staircase above. He had Niko’s swords in one hand and Glass’s shirt collar in the other.
“Leave him there,” Shepherd barked out. “You’re tampering with the scene of the crime.”
“I’ll tamper with you,” Christian retorted. “He’s still breathing. I’m just going to finish what we started.”
I walked toward the stairs to join him. “I’d like to get in on that action.”
