Zane shrugged. “I plan to kill him.”
“Any time soon?” Talen drawled.
Irritation clawed up Zane’s throat. “Well, the plan was to get my family to safety here and then go take care of Suri. But it seems the Realm has lost a witch, and now Suri has her, which might be a problem.”
“Are you working with Nicholas Veis?” Dage asked.
Zane’s shoulders went back. So it was true. Nick was still aligned with the Realm, or Dage would never ask the question. Well, there wasn’t a reason to lie. “I was working with Nick, but since Suri now has Nick’s lady love, I’m thinking I’m on my own.”
Janie slid out from behind Zane. “So you can’t go back. It’s a trap.”
“Yes. The trap is most likely being set right now.” Zane tried to soften his voice. “But I have to go, Belle.”
Dage rubbed his chin. “Nick hasn’t reached out yet, but he will. My guess is tomorrow morning, since he’s ignoring our calls right now. So let’s head to the main conference room to come up with a strategy.”
Zane eyed the king. “I’m better off alone in this.”
Dage lifted one dark eyebrow. “Nick’s with us, and we’ll go in for him. Either get on board, or get out of the way.”
Damn, Zane liked the king. “I’m the only one who can get to Suri. He’ll mind-fuck you to death before you get near.”
“I can shield,” Dage said calmly.
“Not against Suri.” Zane shook his head. The demon leader had more mind power than anybody Zane had ever met. “He’s beyond gifted, and even other demons have trouble shielding against his psychic powers.”
“But you can shield?” Talen asked.
Zane lifted a shoulder. “I can shield better than most, and I’ve spent decades working on the skill against Suri.” He allowed his voice to lower into its natural state, sounding almost like a pure demon. “Suri frightened my mother and hurt my brothers.”And he tried repeatedly to break me. “So he’s mine. If we’re working together, you need to agree.”
Dage nodded. “And when he’s dead?”
Zane caught himself. There was no way Zane would live through killing Suri. That kind of power unleashed in death would fry Zane’s brain, but it was worth the sacrifice to rid the earth and his family of the monster. “Afterward? Figure it out. Maybe Nick will step up to lead until either Sam or Logan want the job.”
Dage surveyed him. “You’re the rightful heir.”
“Hell no.” Zane shook his head again. “I refuse to rule the nation—I’m a soldier, not a king.”
A wide grin split Dage’s hard face. “Welcome to my world.”
Janie finished her last yoga move while the fire crackled peacefully behind her, and the Pacific Ocean pummeled the world in front of her. The moon peeked through the rolling clouds periodically to illuminate the slashing rain and crashing waves.
A knock on the door brought her up short. Her heart thrumming, she stood and hurried to open the door.
Zane stood on her rough stone porch, his dark hair wet, his fit body encased in combat gear. Black vest, cargo pants, loaded weapons.
She stepped back, her throat drying up. The weapons fit his personality and appeared right at home. Vulnerability swept through her as she looked so far up into his implacable face. In her yoga pants and tank top, she had few defenses. “Come in.”
His boots clomped across the tiles. “You didn’t have to wait up.”
Of course she did. “I have leftover lasagna, if you’d like.”
He shrugged out of the bulletproof vest and placed it by the door. “We ate earlier, but thank you.”
The polite talk was going to make her sick. “Did you come up with a strategy for helping Nick?”
“I think so.” Zane kicked off one boot and then the other. Three knives and two guns then found places by the vest.
Butterflies winged through Janie’s abdomen. She couldn’t gauge his mood and was reminded once again of how little they really knew each other. The man moved with contained energy, and she instinctively tensed. The markings on her back began to burn.
