When Blue went to follow, Matteo gripped her arm. “Female, you’re bleeding.”
“I don’t have time for this.” She freed her arm from his grasp and gave him a sharp look. “You can’t come inside. That’s the rule, Chitah.”
“You need help,” he insisted, trapping her against the car.
Blue touched his arm, realizing he was close to flipping his switch. “It doesn’t hurt. I’ll be fine.”
He dipped his chin. “Balderdash. Not only can I scent your pain, but I can also scent your lies.”
“Mylife isn’t what matters here,” she said rapid-fire. “Your tongue isn’t going to fix my wound. That little girl needs me. Let me go unless you want to be responsible for her death.”
Concern bled from his expression, but he finally capitulated and backed off.
Blue brushed by him, hoping it wasn’t too late. She couldn’t have a child’s death on her hands.
Once inside, she slammed the door and dizzily followed the commotion coming from the middle of the house. Halfway to the stairs, she collapsed.
“Blue!” Viktor appeared over her like an angel. “Why do you not shift?”
“I need to see the girl.” Blue sat up but had to lean on her hand to steady herself. “I have to make sure she’s okay.”
Guilt set in. Why hadn’t she noticed someone in the trunk of her car? How long had that girl suffered in the heat? Even though it was late afternoon and she had parked the car in the shade, it was too hot for a kid that age to lie in the trunk that long. Blue thought about sitting on that rooftop, sipping lemonade and eating while that little girl was probably beating on the trunk lid to get out.
“Youmustshift,” he insisted. “So much blood.”
“Not enough to kill me, Viktor. Help me up—I need to see if she’s going to make it. I have to be there. I have to see.”
Viktor lifted her into his strong embrace. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, nuzzled close to his stubbly neck, and caught a faint whiff of cologne. He swiftly moved down the hall, whispering Russian words she didn’t understand. Was he admonishing her? Praying for her? Reciting the grocery list?
None of it mattered. She was home.
Chapter 14
“How’s your arm?” Christian asked, a twinkle in his eyes.
I glanced at the dried blood where a bear clawed me and then finished pouring his whiskey. “My arm’s fine, but I still have phantom pain in my leg.”
“You get used to it.”
I set the glass down and sat in the bench seat opposite him. We had the dining room to ourselves, and it was nice to have a moment of peace after our scuffle with the bears. Blue and Niko hadn’t made it back yet, so we were waiting to see if they had anything exciting to report.
Candlelight flickered on his handsome features as he lifted the crystal glass. “Thirsty?”
“Depends on what you’re offering, Mr. Poe. I’ve had my fill of the red stuff tonight.”
“’Tis a shame.” After sipping his drink, he gave me a hot look. “Are you sure you don’t want to take a short walk upstairs and rub your knockers on my knob?”
“Not when you put it like that.” I sat back and stared at his glass. “Blue and Niko should be back soon. We need to figure out what we’ve got—if anything.”
“My money’s on the apocalyptic virus.” He swirled his drink before gulping it down.
I sighed, glancing at a lantern by the entryway. “I can’t rule it out.”
A piercing chirp sounded from somewhere in the house. I looked over my shoulder. “That sounds like a fire alarm. Do we have a fire alarm?”
Christian guzzled his drink and stood. “Get your arse up. Someone’s hurt.”
“How do you know?”
