When Hunter replied with a single touch, all Shepherd felt was love. Damn if he didn’t want to break down crying in front of everyone. That warm feeling coming from his son meant everything—meant more than the words he rarely whispered.
“There’s Claude.” Gem staggered to her feet and pointed toward the grove of trees. “He’s got Kira.”
Shepherd spotted Claude running at normal speed. Kira was on his back, her arms wrapped around his neck and head down. Claude had a good hold of her legs, but her weight and the slippery snow made it hard for him to run Chitah speed the whole time.
Shepherd gave Hunter a kiss on the head and set him down. “Go sit in the car. I’ll be there in a sec. Okay?”
Hunter wiped the tears from his blue eyes and nodded.
Viktor patted the boy’s head as he passed him and joined Shepherd. “What is the situation?” he asked Claude.
When Claude reached them, he took several deep breaths and swallowed a few times before speaking. “A Vampire ambushed us in the garage. Raven stayed behind to finish him off.”
Viktor stared in the distance where their tracks carved a pathway in the snow. “Were there more?”
“We ducked out of the garage and flashed off. Someone might have seen us, but we didn’t stop to look.”
“That’s a clusterfuck,” Shepherd said. “There’s only one way in and out of the garage, unless you count the secret door.”
Viktor stroked his beard. “She would not be foolish enough to go into the house. Claude, run back to the wall. Look over and see if she’s coming. If not, we have to leave. Every second we wait puts everyone at risk. Be careful no one follows you back.”
Claude set Kira on her feet and sprinted out of sight. Since he could run faster than a Mage, it wouldn’t take him long.
Gem gave a plaintive sigh. “Are we really going to leave her?”
“If we go back, we will have done this for nothing,” Viktor replied. “I cannot guarantee Hunter’s safety. Even if one or two of you go back to fight them, we still have to get the boy out of here. We are not prepared to wage a war against Sparrow’s men today. We do not have enough weapons, and you are too weak to use your gifts. They could easily trap us here in this driveway.”
Shepherd scratched behind his ear. Viktor was always right, but it didn’t make it easier. Gem was a Wielder, and her fireballs would incinerate them. But she had already depleted a large amount of her core light while flashing that long distance. He watched her lumbering toward the Jeep.
Kira smoothed down her unkempt hair. It looked like a flame threatening to set the trees ablaze.
He gestured to her socks. “Where are your shoes?”
Kira hopped from one foot to the other, her arms crossed and nose bright red from the frosty air. She barely looked like herself in sweatpants and a brown sweater. Wait, was thathissweater?
Viktor cupped her face in his hands, ignoring the dark soot on her cheeks and mouth. He spoke to her in a language Shepherd didn’t recognize. Kira had done everything to look less noticeable—less desirable—from the excessive dirt on her face and hands to her oversized clothes.
As if that could stop a truly twisted man.
Kira shook her head at Viktor, and he released a frosty breath.
Shepherd glanced back. It was a good walk to the car. “Come on. I’ll carry you.”
She stared at him.
Viktor translated, and she vehemently shook her head.
When Kira marched toward the Jeep in her wet socks, Shepherd couldn’t take it any longer. Whatever problem she’d had with him since day one didn’t matter. Kira had watched over Hunter, kept him safe, and there was no way in hell he was letting her get frostbite. He caught up with her and swept her off her feet.
Kira’s panic made him wince each time she slapped his chest and shoulder. When Viktor said something from behind, she stopped fighting. No matter what language they spoke, women would always remain a mystery to him.
“Why don’t you like me?” he murmured. “I eat all your food, even when the other knuckleheads are complaining they don’t get enchiladas or junk food. I stay out of your way, try not to make a mess, and I’ve never said a bad word about you. I know I’m not easy to look at, but you don’t have to flee every time I walk into a room. I’m not the devil.”
When he reached the Jeep, he couldn’t open the door, so Kira reached down and did it for him. Shepherd didn’t want to throw her in feet first, so he set her feet inside and let her crawl into the seat. When she reached out to close the door, her hair got right up in his face.
Damn if she didn’t smell like honeysuckle.
The door slammed.
