* * *
They made it with a minute to spare and only four traffic laws broken.
Kaz left the caravan running, parked haphazardly by the curb. Vesta would make sure it was parked safely somewhere. Or maybe she wouldn’t. He didn’t care either way. If something happened to the caravan, he’d just buy his grandparents a new one. Whatever.
What he couldn’t replace was happeningright now.
Kaz chased that feeling of warmth, that glorious trickle of sunshine that got brighter with every step he took toward the conference hall.So close.
He ignored the squawking workers at the entrance. He pushed his way past groups of loitering academics discussing shit he didn’t care about. He sprinted through a labyrinth of blandly carpeted hallways and black and white printed signs on stands that advertised upcoming panels in closed off rooms.
Main hall. Main hall. Main hall.
People were still streaming into the open double doors at the end of the long hallway. Beyond them, he could make out a dark auditorium and hundreds of filled seats. So many people.
Fuck.Were people on her? Did his team have eyes? Was she backstage by herself?
It wasn’t just her safety he was worried about. This moment meant so much to her. He knew how nervous she was, how much it hurt her to do this without Ruby. He also knew how difficult crowds were for her. At any moment she could have a panic attack and she’d be by herself, or with people who didn’t know how to help.
Cold sweat broke out over his whole body. His brain throbbed against his skull. The pain in his hands and temple was sharp, insistent.Too fucking bad.
He’d promised to be there for her. He would be. He didn’t care what it took.
Only the steady warmth of the bond kept him from outright, explosive panic as he hauled ass into the shadowy auditorium. If she was in trouble, he was certain he’d feel it instantly. Atria was definitely nervous, but she wasn’t scared for her life. He could handle that.
That didn’t mean he liked the sheer amount of people milling about, finding their seats, chatting quietly as they waited for the semi-illuminated stage to fill with the morning’s speaker. Any one of them could be a danger to her and he’d never be able to tell which one or when they’d act.
Backstage. She has to be backstage.
She was probably in the greenroom.Shit.You didn’t get to the greenroom from the fucking stage. There was always a door to the side or the back of the auditorium. There wasn’t time to circle back around, though. An announcement was blaring from the speakers, asking the crowd to take their seats.
Shitfuckshitmotherfu—
Kaz had just decided to rush the stage and take a shortcut to the back when something yanked at the back of his jacket. He jerked to a stop, but he wasn’t still. Spinning on his heel, he turned with his teeth and claws bared, ready to rip a very stupid person’s head off of their shoulders.
“Youmotherfucker.”
The punch came out of nowhere. A fist like a damn anvil hit him directly in the solar plexus, knocking the air out of his lungs as he stumbled back into the shadows between the stage and the front row.
Kaz’s arm snapped up automatically, blocking the next hit, but it didn’t do him any good. Using his left hand at the same time as his right, his attacker clapped his palm over Kaz’s ear.Shit!
His brain rattled in his skull as pain exploded in his ear.
At any other time he could have shaken it off easily, but the bond knocked him on his ass. His balance and reaction time were shot. His vision swam.
Kaz stumbled and would have crashed to the floor if a large blue hand hadn’t grabbed him by the back of his shirt and hauled him back up.
A pair of dark, furious eyes glittered at him in the shadows. Lips were pulled back from upper and lower fangs. A lock of black hair, loosely curled, fell across a furrowed brow dominated by a silvery marriage sigil. A menacing growl rumbled in a deep chest swathed in a bespoke three piece suit.
Kaz didn’t have time to be surprised. He didn’t even have the presence of mind to be mad.Teddy’s here.
His chest tightened for the span of a heartbeat before it relaxed again — a release of pressure he hadn’t even known he carried until that moment.
My brother’s here.
The relief of seeing his brother was real, but also short-lived.
Hissing through his fangs, Theodore said, “What the fuck are you doing? Are youinsane?Of course you must be! Only a fucking insane person would dohalfof the dumb bullshit you’ve pulled in two weeks, you damn idiot piece of shit stupid—”
