And Isaac knew no more.
Chapter 8
Shadrach
When Isaac’sbody finally slackened, Shadrach slumped in relief. His broken rib throbbed in pain—and not the fun kind. His head had healed, at least, and Isaac’s weight was an afterthought as he caught his breath, waiting for the bone to realign and heal. Bad breaks tended to take a minute or two.
Nearby, Luke sank to the floor, wiping the sweat from his brow, and Alex was sitting up, rubbing his chest. Talon still stood near the weapons table, looking thunderous. His shirt was ripped across the chest, but the wound itself looked shallow. It would heal the old-fashioned way, so shallow was good.
“He’s fucking crazy,” Malachi declared. “That was nuts.” He dropped to his knees beside Luke. “Are you okay?”
Luke nodded. “Yeah. Alex?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Knocked the wind out of me, that’s all. Talon?”
Talon brushed a hand over the slash on his chest. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Cold black eyes fell on Isaac. “He’sgot to go.”
A jolt went through Shadrach. He gently pushed Isaac off and sat up. “What?”
“He’s too dangerous.”
“You said?—”
“I know what I said, but he would’ve killed any of them to get out of here,” Talon said, pointing to the humans.
“Can you blame him?” Ira said. “We’re holding him hostage. Nobody’s given him any food or water. He probably thinks he’s as good as dead already.” He wagged a finger at Shadrach. “Itold youyou needed to take care of him. No wonder he’s crazy desperate to get away!”
An unfamiliar feeling made his stomach drop. Ira was right. Shadrach was supposed to see to the human’s needs, and he hadn’t. He’d thought starving him was a better strategy than torturing him, but all he’d done was convince Isaac he’d have to do something drastic to save himself. His desperation was as much Shadrach’s fault as anyone’s. Whatever they shared during the dream, Isaac didn’t know it was real. He didn’tknowthe real Shadrach was the one asking for his trust.
“Take him back to his cell,” Talon ordered coldly. “Tie him up. And thenI’llspend a little time with him.”
The back of Shadrach’s neck prickled. He’d never wanted anything less. “Talon,” he began, searching for calm, “I don’t think?—”
“No, you don’t think!” Talon roared, and Shadrach’s jaw tightened. “You’re the reason he got out! Someone could’ve been killed!” He gestured wildly toward Alex and Luke, still sitting on the floor.
Alex rolled to his knees. “Talon.” He reached for him, and Talon helped him up. “I’m okay. We’re all okay.”
Tucking Alex under his arm, Talon’s glacial gaze foundShadrach’s. “Take the traitor to his cell.” His voice was dangerously soft. “And leave him to me.”
Shadrach wanted to snarl, and he didn’t understand why. He wanted to bare his teeth and place himself directly between Talon and Isaac. No one should be allowed to touch this human but him. No one else should be allowed to catch the scent of his blood or hear the melodic cadence of his voice. Before he knew what he was doing, his tense body was moving to step between them even though Talon hadn’t advanced. Talon was, in fact, looking down at Alex, listening to him murmur softly about them all being okay.
He stopped, turning away before Talon could see the aggression in his stance and expression. What was he doing? Did he really want to fight Talon for the right to benearIsaac? He was only a human. They were all the same… weren’t they? He shouldn’t care.
“Fine,” he relented. “Do whatever you want. I don’t care.” Because hedidn’t. Shadrach knelt beside Isaac and gathered the man into his arms. “I’ll go tie him back up—and find him something to eat,” he added at Ira’s glare.
“No,” Talon said, stepping closer. “You wanted him desperate enough to talk. Well, he’s desperate right now. When he wakes up, I’ll get started on him.”
Unease quaked through him, and this time when he looked away, he found Ira’s knowing gaze. His warm brown eyes stripped Shadrach’s defenses away, leaving him raw and vulnerable. Ira knew exactly what he was feeling somehow, and Shadrach had never felt more exposed.
Scowling at his own reactions, he picked Isaac up and carried him away without another word.
The storage room door wasn’t quite enough to filter out the conversation taking place without him.Talon was arguing with the humans about how best to torture Isaac, and Shadrach clenched his jaw so hard his teeth ached. He carefully placed Isaac in the chair—which would’ve been a lot harder without supernatural strength—and tied his wrists once more behind his back, connected to the back rungs of the chair. Then, he crouched down in front of the human to inspect his wounds.
The head wound seemed to be the most grievous one. There was a head-shaped crack in the mirror where Talon had slammed Isaac into it. Blood spilled down the left side of his face, matting in his hair, but his pulse and breaths were steady. Concussions were bad for humans, weren’t they?
Shadrach patted his cheek. “Wake up, killer. I need to make sure Talon didn’t do permanent damage.”
Isaac groaned, his face twisting into a grimace as he tipped his head back and opened his eyes. “Fuck. I…” His green-gold eyes found Shadrach, kneeling between his legs, and sucked in a quick breath of surprise. He tugged at his bindings and then slumped in defeat.
