Benny coughed, the sound pained. “I think I got shot in the ass. Damn it.” He took several deep breaths. “Your internet use was enough for us to track you, so no doubt it was enough for the Kurjans to do the same. I imagine once they caught your scent, they used satellite to find you. It was a good assault, actually. The Cysts have upped their game.”
“They were lucky with the weather,” Adare returned. He should’ve been more on guard.
Benny sighed, his eyes still shut and his head leaning back as he healed. “We’re gonna have to buy Veis a new condo somewhere. I really don’t want to piss his witch off.”
Grace cleared her throat. “Speaking of which, I’m really sorry I shot you, Benny. I was aiming at Adare.”
Irritation swept through Adare again. “Oh, we’re going to talk about that at length.”
Benny snorted. “No worries. I’ve been shot before because of the Highlander.”
Grace shifted her weight on his lap. “Also, I’m sorry I brought the Kurjans and Cysts to the condo, and you all had to fight and get injured. I didn’t realize how easy it was to track a person from internet use.”
Oh, she wasn’t getting it. “We’ve already dealt with that,” Adare muttered.
She jerked her head back to better see him. “Then what are you so angry about?”
His ears heated. “When I tell you to do something, to get the hell away from a fight, you do it.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh yeah. You threatened to choke me.” She slapped him in the chest. “What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking I wanted you to obey me and get out of there.” He didn’t give one whit that the word obey shot even more color into her face. “Apparently that’s a lesson you need to learn.” He settled his bulk more comfortably into the seat, and the storm strengthened outside the small craft, batting them around like a kitten with a ball of yarn. “We’ll discuss it on the ground. I need to heal now.” Without waiting for her response, he set his head back and shut his eyes, working on his arms and hands.
When she struggled briefly against him, he tightened his hold, not in the mood.
“You bet we’ll talk,” she muttered. “Just wait.”
* * * *
Grace slowly opened her eyes. She was in the back of an SUV, leaning against Adare’s side, as they drove up a snowy drive toward a darkened cabin set amidst a thick forest. The moon shone down, bright against the snow, sparkling like a fairytale welcome. “Where are we?”
“The corner of Colorado and Arizona, kind of,” Benny said from the driver’s seat. “It’s our lair.”
Adare shifted his weight. “I have asked you repeatedly to stop calling it that.”
“Huh.” Benny pulled to a stop in front of the quiet porch. “We had the demon nation’s pilots drop us at a private airstrip an hour away because we want this place to be public, right?Not.We wouldn’t even give them a hint as to where we’re going, so they’ll have to sleep in the copter if they can’t make it out. This is our lair.”
“It’s not a lair,” Adare growled, his Scottish brogue coming out full force.
Jacqueline turned around from the front seat, once again in human form with her clothes back on, her tawny hair flowing down her back as if she’d spent hours in a salon. “Looks like a lair to me.” She caught Grace’s eye. “You’re awake. Good. You sure faint a lot.” She smiled, her teeth all back in place and perfectly white. “You’ve been here before, surely. Is it a lair?”
Grace hadn’t even known Adare owned a place in Colorado. “I’m not entering this argument,” she said, forcing a smile. No way was she admitting she didn’t know a thing about her so-called mate. She pushed her curly hair away from her face, no doubt looking like she’d just been in a snowy battle before falling asleep in a military helicopter. Her life had gotten so odd since the coma.
Adare opened the door and stepped out into the cold. “Let’s grab something to eat and some sleep. We can plan in the morning.” He lifted his chin when Jacqueline exited the vehicle. “I don’t suppose the Ledonis will give us a discount on replacement explosives?”
“Not a chance,” Jacki purred, the moon highlighting her smile.
“I figured.” Adare returned her grin.
Grace shoved her way out, elbowing him in the side, her chest aching. She was not jealous. Not at all. “I’m going to skip food and jump into a hot shower.” The dried blood down her neck and chest was starting to itch, and she smelled like burnt soup. The shifter probably smelled like jasmine or orchids despite her battle with dangerous enemies.
Adare turned and led the way up the three long wooden steps, across the snowy porch, to a keypad near the door. He typed in a code, the lock audibly snicked, and he turned the knob. “You can shower, but you have to eat something afterward. Is this why you’re so thin? You’ve stopped eating?”
If he made her feel any more unattractive, she’d just kick him in the knee. “Of course not. I haven’t lost much weight.” Which wasn’t true. Whatever was happening with her, the fading of her mating mark had had several side effects, including nausea. The last Realm doctor had said she might end up in a coma eventually. So she had to take the virus from the queen and negate the bond. It was a risk, but it was also her only option. “Stop bossing me around.”
He leaned to the side and flicked several light switches, illuminating a great room with stone fireplace, southwestern themed furniture, and a wide entryway to a dark tiled room with a stainless steel refrigerator.
Benny crowded in behind them. “Adare’s rooms are to the left, mine the right, and the guest area is through the kitchen toward the rear of the house, Jacki. I’ll get supper started with whatever we might have on hand. Everyone else take showers, get clean, and prepare for a culinary masterpiece.” He flicked a switch by the fireplace as he walked toward the kitchen, and logs ignited instantly.
