There. That didn’t sound so aggressive.
He didn’t care for anyone else to see her naked.
Andthatgot him moving. He would get her one of his t-shirts to wear.
Chapter 9
“It wasa war zone down there. Damn gang fights!”
Nik caught the end of Aethan’s annoyed words as he reformed on the terrace to Michael’s study later in the morning. All the Guardians were there for the meeting.
“Underground?” Nik panted, chest heaving after his earlier run through the vast estate.
“Yeah.” Aethan’s mouth thinned as he flipped a dagger. “Close to the coordinates you gave us. Some casualties.”
Frowning, Nik propped a palm up on the doorjamb and swiped his sweaty face on the sleeve of his damp tee. He hadn’t seen any signs of dissension while there, but who the hell knew with those hoods running the gangs. At least Shadow was out of there, but anger roiled deep in his belly that she’d gotten hurt by some demon scourge.
“We located the portal entry point the horde used. No tears in the mystical veils between realms, so someone must have opened that gateway for them,” Aethan said. “But a short distance away, we found this.” He pitched the dagger over.
Nik caught it midair then ran a finger over the deadly edge of the iron blade—a demon-killing weapon with a leather-wrapped hilt. Frowning at the oddity of the grip, he sniffed the metal, and his gut tensed. Amidst the cloying sulfur on it, a faint floral scent teased his nose. “It’s Shadow’s dagger. She must have dropped it when those fuckers grabbed her.”
“There’s something else,” Blaéz said. “We found a body some distance away from the gang fights. The human took a blow to the head and sported several stab wounds. He carried a scent similar to the blade.” He nodded to the weapon Nik held.
“Description,” he demanded, his gaze pinned on the Celt, heart banging inside his chest.
“Here…” Blaéz pulled out his cell and showed him the picture.
One glance at the dark skin man with cropped gray hair and receding hairline, Nik shut his eyes. Fuck. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I know him. Eddi. He keeps—keptthe people of The Refuge safe from demons and watched out for Shadow.” He looked up, dark anger whipping through him. “Anything else?”
“Just fading images when I touched him,” Dagan added quietly, his yellow eyes held concern. “He’d been tracking two males. Demons or humans, I’m not sure, but they were dragging a female with them.”
“So the bastards are hunting underground for their fucking abductions,” Týr bit out, expression pissed-off. “Away from our detection.”
Nik stood there, barely hearing them, staring at the dagger in his hand. How the hell did he break the tragic news to Shadow that the man she thought of as her friend—maybe even a father—was dead?
He couldn’t.
Not now, not while she was ill. He wouldn’t put it past her to take off, wanting to avenge Eddi, which would be understandable, but she’d make herself a target for the fucker who’d marked her.
* * *
Bright light and a parched throat dragged Shadow to consciousness. Lethargy swamped her, leaving her feeling as if she’d swam through a bog. Everything hurt inside her, even though whatever she laid on cocooned her in incredible warmth and comfort. No poky springs. No hint of the usual darkness or musty air in her chilly basement.
Bright light?
Frowning, Shadow squinted. Late noon sunlight poured through the windows.
She jackknifed up and winced, pain gripping her chest in a crushing force, and it all came surging back. The demons abducting her, Tolvi hurting her—
Eddi!She had to warn him and get to the garage to alert Nate.
Shoving the covers aside, she stumbled out of bed. Her head spun, her knees caved, and she dropped back onto the mattress. Ugh. She rubbed her fuzzy head and blinked at the overlong white t-shirt bunched around her upper thighs.
“Need help?”
Her head snapped up, her gaze clashing with the pale stare of the man sprawled in the armchair near the window. Crap. With all that brightness, no wonder she hadn’t noticed him.
She shook her head. “I have to go—”
