Trapped in my grip, her eyes dart around the gathering crowd, grimacing. “Pretty sure that would make the situation worse and sabotage what Raiden’s trying so hard to prevent.”
“He’ll get over it.”
But she hesitates, and fucking hell, that goddamn bastard has managed to get intomyhead now. Between Amara’s earlier question about if we’re on the right side of history, and being unable to argue with Malcolm’s claims, my control is hanging on by a thread.
Lips pressed into a thin line, Raiden catches my eye and flicks his gaze down to Amara and back, silently conveying everything he can’t risk saying, but begging me to understand. I might heal, but we don't know how my being shot will affect the rest of them with our mate bonds in place now. I could kill Malcolm, but not without taking a few hits and possibly getting Amara killed. If Raiden takes a bullet to the head, we’re all fucked, too.
Kodiak storms his way through the crowd, physically shoving Evren at one of his men to watch. Scanning Amara for injury first, he turns on me with an accusatory glare before blonde hair in his peripherals catches his attention. Instantly, his pupils become slitted, and in two strides, he’s in front of Malcolm.
Loudly, he declares, “Breaking into a closed shifter event on private property is punishable by death.” One of the metal cuffs on his wrists morphs into a silver blade. “Thanks for the perfectly acceptable excuse to finally be rid of you.”
Malcolm opens his mouth, but Evren beats him to the punch. “While I appreciate your enthusiasm, Kodiak, Mason Devlin is on the guest list.”
Even crickets are too afraid to break the deadly silence that falls over the room.
Agonizingly slowly, Kodi turns to face Evren. “I checked twice this morning, and twice more after lunch. This bastard's face was nowhere on the clearance list.”
The arctic fox with the death wish shrugs. “I heard he was in the vicinity around three and extended an invitation. Not like I’m stupid; it’s obvious why your legion brother wanted to come tonight. It seemed only wise to offer his opposition equal access to network as well as to the items on tonight’s docket. I’vealwaysremained neutral on the political front. Can’t be seen playing favorites, you understand.”
For a few seconds, the guards all nervously dart their gazes between Kodiak and their prime client, a war raging in their eyes about what the fuck protocol dictates in this sort of situation. Several deep breaths later, Kodiak hisses between gritted teeth, “Take her to one of the conference rooms until the auction.”
Shoving to my feet with one arm banded beneath Amara’s legs for support, half of the table snaps and crashes to the floor, Avery indignantly flying off to find a new perch. Amara yelps in surprise, throwing her arms around my neck to steady herself. When Raiden steps forward to take her from me, I smack his hand away.
“Oh, fuck off. She’s out here thinking she has to learn how to live with her demons instead of letting us slay them for her because she wants to earn your praise and respect. I hope you’re proud of yourself.”
The shock and hurt that crosses his face barely even registers as I carve a path through the crowd, striding down the back hallway and stairs to the next level without slowing. Amara’s tense against me, biting her tongue, but she doesn’t argue either, which just proves that my instincts were correct.
I’ve spent too long ignoring them, second-guessing myself. No more.
Several rooms are already claimed, their doors closed for private, impromptu meetings that crop up all the time when you put a room full of powerful businessmen together. Three doors down one is cracked open, and I shoulder our way through, kicking it shut behind me. It’s set up with plush chairs in an informal setting enough to seat ten with a stocked bar running along the back wall, a small attached bathroom at the far end, and a dry erase board mounted on the opposite side.
We’re barely two steps in before I spin her around, trapping her against the door and flipping the pathetically flimsy lock that’s there more for an alert someone’s about to bust in than actual security. One hand braced against the wood, the other grips her thigh, my hips pinning her in place.
The question is akin to swallowing glass. “Why?”
She tightens her knees against my sides, swallowing nervously, but doesn’t shrink away from me. “I think you answered your own question when you snapped at Raiden, didn’t you?”
––––––––
Isay nothing, waitingfor her to fill in the blanks. When it’s clear that I won’t be dropping the matter, she closes her eyes, thumping her head back against the door. “I’ve spent nearly a decade with Malcolm being this constant shadow looming over me. I hadn’t evenseenhim in almost ten years until that day in the clearing. He’s the monster under the bed I’m always expecting to reach up out of the shadows and drag me under. Even if you killed him, I’d always be feeling like he was waiting in the wind to strike. Ineededto face him again, to remind myself that he was... human, I suppose.”
The marks from Avery’s talons are still on her shoulder, but beginning to scab over, dried blood marring her skin I gently swipe my thumb over. “You knew he’d come.”
She scowls. “Iwarnedyou guys time and time again to stop underestimating what he was capable of, but you were so confident in your abilities, you wrote me off about him being able to breach the security measures.” A heavy sigh escapes her as she opens her eyes. “He legitimately looked surprised to see me, though, so I don’t think Malcolm came here tonight for anything other than Evren’s invitation. And I saw the way his speech resonated with the people eavesdropping. Raiden was right. Killing him at the wrong moment turns him into a martyr. He’s a problem regardless, but certain scenarios can make the problem a hundred times worse than it already is.”
She fixes those golden eyes on me, desperately lost and frustrated. “I’ve seen the people Raiden’s trying to save. Hell, I’m one of them. So it seems kind of stupid and selfish to sabotage all of his efforts for a brief moment of personal satisfaction. Raiden’s working hard to make sure I don’t have to spend the next fifty years locked away in a tower, and while Malcolm is a threat, he doesn’t want tokillme, just you three. So it’s more dangerous to kill him and have hundreds or thousands of people come after your heads for revenge.”
Words fail me, so instead I give her everything I’m struggling to put into words, push it all into my kiss as I slam my lips against hers. Every bit of possessive jealousy from the men salivating over her on the other side of this door, the fear of constantly being one wrong move away from losing her, and the desperation to keep her.
My gods, do I want to keep her. I want to brand myself so fully onto this woman’s soul that she’ll never be rid of me, even if she tries.
“This is a stupid idea,” she murmurs against my lips, but doesn’t pull away. If anything, she actually pulls me closer. “You’re going to piss off everyone we came here to impress.”
“I didn’t come here to impress anyone but you.”
Rolling my hips against her, I swallow every soft, tortured sound that comes out of her mouth. Capturing her bottom lip between my teeth, I draw out her gasp, biting down until I draw blood. Only then do I soothe the sting away with a swipe of my tongue.
This. This is right.
