“Bitching?” Talon repeated, faux-indignantly, and dove toward Alex’s neck. A peal of laughter escaped Alex as he tried to get away.
“See?” Shadrach murmured. “Sickening. They’re always like this.”
“Are we any better?” Isaac asked, something hopeful taking root in his gut.
Shadrach pulled back just far enough to level a soft smileat him. “In our own way, no, probably not. We’re not sickening, though.”
“Beg to differ!” Talon called from across the room.
“Shut up!” Shadrach shouted back.
“Bitching,” Alex stage-whispered.
“Time to go, Morrow,” Nathan said then, casting Storm a warm look and giving him a quick kiss before heading to the door.
“You sure you don’t want me to come?” Shadrach asked.
Isaac turned around, securing the sword to his back. “Are you really that worried?”
“There are halflings afoot.”
“I’m insulted that you think I can’t handle a few halflings.”
Shadrach growled in frustration. “I know youcan, killer, that was never in question. I just…” Something like despair filled his eyes.
Isaac understood then. This was the first time since Isaac returned that they would be separated. Just a few days ago, Shadrach wasn’t sure whether he would see Isaac again. Enemies were closing in from all sides, and the threats were very real, no matter how good a fighter Isaac was.
“I’ll be okay,” he promised. “I have your blood. Nate will watch my back. We can call if we run into trouble. And besides, haven’t they been patrolling like this for months now? And they’ve been fine.”
“The night you came back, Alex and Luke were attacked by halflings and stumbled in here with multiple broken bones,” Shadrach deadpanned.
Well, that sounded like a fight worth having, and his intrigue must have been evident on his face, because Shadrach shot him an exasperated look.
“That sounds fun to you? Really?”
“I can’t help that the threat of injury doesn’t have much weight now that I have your blood,” Isaac said dismissively. “I already know what it’s like to heal broken bones, remember? You two broke my arm.”
Shadrach winced. “Did I ever apologize for that?”
“Not in so many words.” Isaac kissed him. “Make it up to me later. Time to kill stuff now.”
Reluctantly, Shadrach let him go. He was almost to the door, where Nathan waited, when Storm stepped in front of him. A head taller than Isaac and built like a freight train, he struck an intimidating figure, but Isaac wasn’t one to be cowed.
“Talon doesn’t trust you, and I’m not sure I do, either,” he said, folding his muscular arms across his broad chest.
A comment about Storm not thinking for himself was on the tip of Isaac’s tongue.
And then Storm’s red eyes softened with worry. “But Nate trusts you enough to patrol with you. Watch his back. Don’t let him get hurt.”
Over Storm’s shoulder, Nathan smiled fondly at the back of Storm’s head.
“I will,” he promised. “You have my word.”
Storm inclined his head. “I guess we’ll see how much that’s actually worth.”
A spike of irritation went through him, but he probably deserved that. He pursed his lips, unwilling to rise to the bait, and gave Storm an agreeable nod as he moved around him to meet Nathan at the door.
Finally, they stepped out into the warm night air. They were patrolling the area nearby, so they left the cars wherethey were and fell into step toward the street beyond the parking lot.
