Malachi flipped him off with a sneer, and Luke leaned toward him and murmured, “You’remyrocker wannabe.”
Shadrach rolled his eyes so hard it hurt.
After a beaming smile at Malachi, Luke added, “I’m just not sure what our options are long-term. Are we ready to kill him? Because if not, we’ll have to let him go eventually. We can’t just hold him forever.”
“We can hold him for now,” Shadrach said. “Let me see what I can learn from him. In a few days, we’ll reassess.” Something about the prospect of killing the human set his teeth on edge, but he couldn’t put his finger on why. Isaac was an enigma wrapped in crazy. Shadrach might even be sad to see him go. He was certainly making things interesting.
“Okay,” Ira said with a decisive air. “Shadrach can take the lead on this. I think he’s probably our best hope of getting through to him.”
That was high praise from Ira.
Nathan blew out a breath. “I’m not inclined to doubt a prophet, but I’m going to worry nonetheless.”
“Yeah, same,” Luke said.
Shadrach deadpanned, “I’m really feeling the love, you guys. So glad I threw my hat in with you all.”
“You go where Talon goes,” Wolf said.
Shadrach sniffed loftily. That was true, unfortunately. Boredom got the better of him, and Talon joining up with the ex-paladins was the most exciting thing to happen in centuries. Talon was also the only other leviathan on the west coast. Where else would he go?
“Shadrach can take the lead, but I’m sticking around,” Nathan said, sending an apologetic look Storm’s way. Storm laid his hands on Nathan’s shoulders, massaging gently.
“Me, too,” Luke said. “It’s still pretty early. Why don’t we order breakfast?”
The humans continued to converse, and Shadrach turned away. They didn’t trust him to deal with Isaac. They didn’t know the thought of the cold-eyed redhead sent heat spiraling under his skin. There was something about the human that was different than any other. He couldn’t put his finger on it.
Talon’s approach startled him from his thoughts. “If you don’t want to be involved, I can take over,” he offered. “I didn’t mean for you to get wrapped up in this. I thought we could handle it quietly. I should’ve known I couldn’t keep anything from Ira.”
The thought of Talon being the recipient of that flinty-eyed glare made Shadrach want to gnash his teeth—which was stupid. Why should he care who got to torture the paladin? The end result would be the same.
“No, it’s fine,” he said belatedly. “Ira says I can getwhat we need from him. I’ll do that and then we can wash our hands of the whole mess.”
Talon nodded. “Okay. None of the others will say it, but I trust you. You know what you’re doing.”
None of the others would say it because theydidn’ttrust him, and it was a rare thing for even Talon to admit it. Shadrach gave him a gentle shove.
“Don’t go getting soft on me, Talon.”
He chuckled, a sound as sharp as a blade’s edge. “Never.”
As promised,the humans stuck around all day. It wasn’t unusual, since they ran their private investigative business out of the Rink during daytime hours. In fact, the more unusual thing was for Shadrach to hang around all day, watching them work. He generally claimed to have better things to do with his time, though at this hour of the morning, that would’ve beensleep. He could’ve gone home and done exactly that, if only to pass the time, but the thought of going so far from the Rink and leaving Isaac in the others’ hands made him… uncomfortable. No, it was better to stay close by.
Around midmorning, Luke left to do boring PI things, and Alex was on the sofa with the laptop, typing up some paperwork. Shadrach paced for most of the day, too antsy to sit, too nervous to leave. It felt as though there was a rope connecting him to the paladin locked in the storage room, like he’d gotten free somehow and looped the rope keeping him captive inside Shadrach’s sternum. It tugged incessantly, like a hooked fish being reeled in. Caught and not yet aware of it.
He wasn’t caught by anything, goddammit. So he ignored the sensation and paced some more.
After the humans ate lunch, Nathan let out a sigh and said, “Shadrach.”
“Yes?” he answered, not faltering.
Nathan glanced between the other humans, and when none seemed forthcoming, he said, “You know humans need to do things like eat and drink, right?”
Shadrach stopped walking to pin Nathan with a withering look. “Yes. I’m not an idiot.”
Nathan pursed his lips as though struggling not to say something.
Shadrach arched a brow, daring him.
