For once, she didn’t argue. Atria practically plastered herself to his side as they briskly walked across the street and down the block, toward that ugly little building and its single dull lightbulb hanging above the door.
“I don’t think anything will happen, but— I mean, if we were in a situation where itdid,like with the gargoyles, what should I do?”
Kaz reached blindly for her hand. Though he kept his eyes on the street, he was hyper aware of her soft skin, her fragile bones, the size of her little hand in his ugly mitt.
Feeling like he needed to reward her for trusting him enough to ask the question, he brought her hand up to his lips for a lingering kiss. Her fingers twitched under his lips, almost like she was surprised by the electric current thatzingedbetween them when they touched.
Lowering her hand but keeping it firmly in his grasp, he answered, “There are only two scenarios. First one: You always let me fight for you. Stay down, stay covered, stay quiet. Let me protect you. It’s my fucking job and you getting in the middle of things will only make it harder. Second scenario: I go down.”
He paused to catch her eye. They were one house away from the lab, but this was important enough that he risked a brief stop. Giving her fingers a quick, firm squeeze, he told her, “Princess, if I go down, you fucking leave me, okay? No exceptions. You haul ass to safety and you find a way to contact Teddy. He’ll take care of you.”
Atria’s expression went from stunned to outraged in a heartbeat. Hissing through her clenched teeth, she replied, “That’sstupid.I’m not leaving you if you get hurt!”
“Non-negotiable,” he grunted, walking again. “Now hush. I need you to act like this is a normal visit — just like the one you planned.” And didn’t that little admission still chap his ass! “You just happen to have brought along a friend.”
“He’s never going to believe that.”
“Why?” Kaz eyed her. Was it because he looked ridiculous standing beside her — a hulking half-orc in a leather jacket looming over a luscious fairy tale princess?
Atria kept her eyes on the lab. “Because he knows that he, Ruby, and Margot are my only friends.”
Kaz’s mind went quiet.Heronlyfriends?
They were closing in on the lab. The air felt thicker the closer they came. An unnatural energy buzzed at the very edges of his senses, warning of some danger only the animal part of his brain could discern.
Her only friends.
That icy rage came back with all the subtlety and speed of a knife’s thrust. Kaz disliked Norman on principle and suspected he would have looked for reasons to hate him even if he wasn’t involved in the plot to kidnap his witch.
However, it was the first time since he learned of the man’s existence that Kaz actually prayed hewasn’tinvolved.
He no longer wondered why Atria would stubbornly stick to her belief that he was not the man who sold her and Ruby out. If he was one of only three people she was close to, of course she didn’t want to think he’d betray her.
What a blow that would be, to discover the man she’d loved for six years, her friend, her research partner, one of the vanishingly few people she trusted, turned on her so spectacularly.
It seemed the world kept taking shots at his mate. He wassickof it.
Kaz tightened his grip on her hand before forcing himself to let it go. Slowly, they followed the plain concrete path that led to the metal door. Immediately, he caught the barely there gleam of a camera lens in the far right corner of the door jamb.
There was nothing inherently wrong with having security, particularly around a lab full of what he imagined was expensive equipment, but Kaz still felt his hackles go up.
Something was off.
I shouldn’t have brought her here,he thought, watching her press the small, worn intercom button next to the door.
He couldn’t see the future like Delilah, but he had a good intuition. At that moment, every gut instinct screamed for him to wrap his arms around her waist and haul her back to their car.
Except it was too late. Atria was already leaning down to speak into the hidden microphone. “Hi Norm,” she began, tone only a little falsely cheerful. “You in? I’m here for that tour you promised me.”
There was nothing but faint static for a handful of seconds before a raspy voice came across the line, “Atria? What— I was expecting you this morning. Where were you?”
“I know. I’m sorry I didn’t call, but you wouldn’tbelievethe forty-eight hours I’ve had. It was torture trying to get to my hotel last night, and then my phone wassmashedon the street by some careless man.” Atria shot him a baleful look. “This trip has been nothing but trouble. I could really use a drink.”
“Oh, of course! I’m sorry you— Ah, Atria, who’s that with you?”
Kaz lifted his head to stare boldly at the camera.Come on, motherfucker. I’d love to say hello.
“Um, this is my friend Ka…arl,” she answered. Even in the dull yellow light of the bulb over the door, Kaz could make out the dark flush in her cheeks. A practiced liar his mate was not.Cute.
