Um, no way. No matter how good-looking they were, she refused to trap herself in a chair surrounded by thesemen.
“I’ll stand, thank you.” She remained near the entrance, well aware that escape was an illusion. If her abductor were able to move as fast as he did, chances were, so could these guys. And didn’t that just make her want to—ugh, yeah, stay put—get this overwith.
Hehanded something to Michael then strolled over to the open door leading out onto theterrace.
He hadn’t even told her his name, the louse. And she wasn’t about toask.
“Dagan, you know,” Michael informed. “That’s Týr.” He nodded to the stunning blond with eyes the color of melting toffee. “Aethan, with the hair. And Blaéz,” he indicated the guy with the buzz cut and deep blueeyes.
Day-gun?Her gaze flickered his way, and she found him watching her, arms folded across his chest. His expression remained cool, remote, but his eyes burned with a dark heat that made her tummy dip… Maybe it was the heat of hate. She hadn’t exactly been nice to him. But thenheseriously needed an attitudeadjustment.
She greeted the others with a quickhello.
The men nodded. She refocused her attention on Michael, who placed a small metal slug on the mahogany desk. Frowning, she stepped closer. About to pick it up, a callused hand grasped her arm, startling all hell out of her. “Don’t touchit.”
Rattled at Dagan’s sudden appearance, she pulled free and wrapped her arms around her waist. “What’s going on? You snatched me from the club, then informed me that someone took a shot at me—which is highly unlikely, considering I’mnobody.”
“That’s not just any bullet,” Michael said, picking up the cartridge. “It’s one only a supernatural being woulduse.”
“Supernatural?” sherepeated.
“It wasn’t accidental,” Dagan said then. “It was meant foryou.”
Shae froze. After everything she’d been through this past year, she didn’t need any more talk in riddles. “What are you saying? What’s wrong with thebullet?”
“It’s spelled, meant to immobilize until retrieval. It’s one demons are fond ofusing.”
At Dagan’s blunt words, a sickening pit opened in her stomach. She grasped the backrest of the chair she’d declined moments ago. “Who—” She licked her dry lips, taking in the other men who hadn’t said a word yet. “Who are youpeople?”
“We are warriors—Guardians of this world,” Michael said. “We keep mortals safe from supernatural evil and have done so for the past three and a half thousandyears.”
“Guardians of…” she breathed, feeling as if the air had been sucked out of her lungs. Instantly, her gaze darted to Dagan. No wonder he acted like the world owed him a favor. She glanced back at Michael. “Demons?”
“Yes, though not all are evil, at least not those who now live in this realm. Butdemoniis—”
“I know about them,” she finally admitted. “They steal human souls to revive their dying ones. My best friend is a demon, he told me. Whyme?”
“We have no idea. But we think there’s something about you that caught their attention. We try to protect mortals with strong psychic abilities. And until we can determine why they want you, it will be safer for you to stay here while we handle thissituation.”
God, all she wanted was to find her mother. She did not need evil demons afterher.
Shae rubbed a weary hand over her burning eyes, wishing this were all some bad dream. But six months was just too long to not wake up. And, yet, despite her skepticism at what Michael had revealed, somewhere deep inside her, she felt the truth of his words. “I can’t just stay away, my uncle willworry.”
“Call him. Make an excuse,” Dagan’s quiet voice cut through her cloud of fear. “Far better than making him a target,too.”
Oh, Lord, if whoever wanted her dead was desperate enough, they could use Lem as bait. She refused to put the only family she had left in danger. “All right. But I have to go back, get my things and leave a note forhim.”
“Dagan?” Michaelasked.
Those cool, yellow eyes met hers. “Let’s go.” He tilted his head to the terrace and steppedout.
Even though she’d rather run in the opposite direction from his arrogance and archaic ways, he was familiar, and he hadn’t gotten mad at her despite her dreadful behaviorearlier.
“Damn pestilence!” one of the Guardian’s muttered. “They should all beeviscerated.”
“Indeed,” someone elseadded.
“Then we’ll be out of a job,” the blue-haired guy, Aethan,drawled.
