“No. The demon and witch nations have decided to stay with the Realm for now, and the shifter nation wouldn’t set a trap. They’d come at you head on, and my sources say they haven’t voted on that possibility yet.” Papers shuffled as Dage did something on the other end of the line. “If it’s a trap, it must be Kurjan and Cyst.”
“Not possible.” Adare looked at the deep blue sky and bright, albeit weak, sun. If the Kurjans were dumb enough to attack on a sunny day like this, they deserved to fry.
“Okay. Well, good luck.” The king disengaged the call.
Adare spoke into his earpiece. “I think he’s starting to like us a little.”
Ronan snorted. “Whoever was supposed to pick up the money is an hour late, so I’m thinking it’s humans who got stupid. Let’s go talk to that Bobbi and find the sister and boyfriend. This has fucked-up humans written all over it.”
“Agreed.” That didn’t mean the baby was safe, however. Adare had looked at a few of Grace’s pictures, and the little girl was a cutie. They had to save her. He couldn’t break Grace’s heart by failing, and he couldn’t stand the idea of an innocent little toddler being hurt. He stood and tucked his gun away before slinging the backpack full of cash over his shoulder.
He loped down the walkway to meet Ronan, who’d taken point from behind a tree. “Have you heard from Benny?”
Ronan shook his head and settled his gun back beneath his jacket. “No, but he’s not the best about checking in.” He clipped his knife back at his thigh. He looked at the backpack. “You and Benny just store millions in your lair?”
“Stop calling it a lair, and yes, we store millions. Sometimes it comes in handy.” Adare lengthened his strides, wanting to get back to Grace. “Do you believe in love?”
“Sure. It’s fundamental.”
Adare frowned. “I don’t see you skipping through meadows and singing sonnets.”
Ronan chuckled. “Love hurts a lot more than that, my friend.”
The breeze lifted, tossing powdery snow over the walkway. And the scent of moldy lemons. Adare’s head jerked up, and he looked around. Forest on one side, rushing river on the other. Good place for an ambush. But the sun shone down, bright and brilliant.
The breeze came off the water again.
Ronan halted. “I smell—”
The Kurjans attacked from the forest first, and then a squad rose from the river, having hidden in its depths just under the ice. Adare immediately pivoted, putting his back to Ronan’s and whipping out his gun. He hit the first Kurjan in the neck and the second in the eye, but took several bullets to his torso. The lasers turned to metal and dropped harmlessly on the ground. Then a round hit his arm, and he winced as pain flew along his bicep and blood spurted out.
What the hell? The Kurjans weren’t wearing protective gear. The sun glinted off the nearest Kurjan’s skin, turning him pink but not burning him to death.
“I’ve got two down and six coming,” Ronan hissed.
“Two down and two coming,” Adare said, looking for a way out. How was this happening? “Forest or river?”
Ronan’s shoulder jerked, hitting Adare’s arm, and he groaned. “Fuck. The river. On three.”
“Three,” Adare bellowed, ducking his head and running full bore for the first soldier as Ronan turned and ran for the other. Bullets struck his back and legs, but he kept going, tackling the asshole into the ice and through to the freezing depths.
He slashed and diced with his knife, finally plunging it in the Kurjan’s neck and sticking him to a rock at the bottom. Ronan crashed into him, and Adare turned them both, staying under the surface and letting the current take over.
The Kurjans ran along the river, firing wildly.
Bullets pierced the ice, several impacting Adare’s other leg. Blood flowed around him, but they kept going. The water punished them, smashing them against rocks, but they stayed under until they reached a large pool where the water slowed.
He shoved himself up, along with Ronan, and they both gasped air into their lungs.
Adare looked around a fairly busy park. The pool was deep but the water kept moving around a bend toward the city. The Kurjans were gone. Adare partially stood, his legs protesting. Blood poured from several wounds along his arms and legs as well as one in his neck. He sent healing cells immediately to the injuries, stomping across river rocks to the bank.
Ronan slugged along beside him, bleeding from a wound in his cheek.
A woman walking a baby all bundled up in a stroller paused and then screamed.
“Shit.” Ronan held up a hand. “We’re okay. We were working upstream on the electrical grid and fell in. The rocks did a number on us.”
“Electrical grid?” Adare muttered under his breath.
