Even from here, I catch the flash of murder in Vic’s eyes as he pulls a gun and trains it on Adam. “I don’t deal in the skin trade. In fact,” he cocks the gun, “the people that do? I take care of pro bono.”
As soon as he pulls the trigger, Adam’s hand snaps out, knocking Vic’s arm to the side.
Aimed right at Kiara.
With a startled squeak, she disappears in a silver mist, reappearing directly in front of the assassin. She nearly tumbles from the tree branch as she tries to find her footing, accidentally smacking Adam in the face with a flailing hand. Before she canbreak her neck, Vic snaps an arm around her waist, tugging her against him and holding her steady while simultaneously kicking Adam’s shoulder, sending him plummeting to the ground away from them both.
“Are you alright? Did it hit you?” Vic demands, looking genuinely upset at the idea she was caught in the crossfire because of his mistake. As he skims his palms down her arms, searching for a gunshot wound, he suddenly sucks in a sharp breath, eyes widening and jerking his hands back from her like she burned him.
Oh no. Oh no no no. I know that lookwaytoo well by now.
Kiara catches on quickly, gaze locked on his wrist. Or more accurately, the new tattoo seared onto it that’s a match to hers.
‘Fated mates are rare,’ my ass.
“Oh shit,” she breathes, stunned.
Looks like Myles’s bracelet is no match against fate.
Adam’s cursing pulls everyone’s attention, and when I see him pulling his own gun, everything erupts into chaos again. Ledger shoves me behind him, Bellamy and Myles shout a warning, and Arson resurrects himself, appearing in front of Adam with a wide, malicious grin as all the color drains from Adam’s face. “You didn’t really think it’d be that easy to kill me, did you?” In seconds, he has him disarmed and slammed against a tree. “Bell? Care to do the honors?”
Shadow tendrils pluck knives from Arson’s various hiding spots that he typically keeps them strapped in, and surprisingly passes them over to Bellamy. As if they’re sharing a brain, Bell works his way around the outline of Adam’s body, using his clothes to pin him against the tree spread-eagle. As soon as he’s immobilized, I glance up to check on Kiara.
Only to find the tree branch completely empty.
Fear sends a sudden rush of ice through my veins. I promised we’d look out for her, yet we haven’t even been gone from the compound for six hours before I lost her.
“Oh fuck.” I fist my hair. “Arson, you know that guy, right? You know where to find them? We have to get her back-”
I don’t even finish my freak out before Vic is standing in front of Adam with a furious glare. “You truly don’t care who you hurt so long as you get what you want, do you?” Voice cold, he pulls a knife from his hip and shoves past Arson, wrapping a hand around Adam’s throat.
Swallowing down my nerves, I tentatively close the distance between us. “Where did you take Kiara?”
Vic doesn’t tear his glare away from Adam, but the corner of his eye does twitch. “Somewhere safe. After this is handled and she won't be at risk of catching a stray bullet, if she wishes to return, I’ll consider it.”
“If? Why the hell would she rather be carted off by a total stranger?!”
Finally, he turns to face me, pinning me with a merciless glare. “For all I know, your group was holding her hostage, and this was a Fates’ driven encounter so I could set her free. After I’ve confirmed the details from her personally, she can decide where she wants to go. As long as it’s somewhere safe.”
Fates save me from men that think they know what’s best for women they don’t even know.
Myles squeezes my hip, silently urging me to stop antagonizing the violent stranger that’s the only one who knows where Kiara is. If we want any hope of getting her back, pissing him off isn’t a great move.
“I’m sorry,” Ledger interrupts with a growl, “but who the hell evenareyou?”
Arson wipes his palms on his thighs. “Shit, sorry. Guys, this is Havoc Knight, master of the ShadowKnight guild. He’s the poor sap that took me in as a kid.”
Myles surprises everyone by stepping forward and offering his hand. “Thank you. For being there for him when nobody else was. And,” his throat bobs, “for saving our parents for him to deal with. It meant a lot to him.”
Vic cocks his head, but shakes his hand. “You’re the brother he left us to find, I take it?”
Myles nods, and Vic gives him a fatherly smile. “Good fucking luck, you poor bastard. That sociopath turned me grey before I hit thirty.”
It breaks the tension, an unspoken truce settling between the guys. Adam curses, and we all look to find him trying to slide out of his shirt to free himself and epically failing. Honestly, it’s kind of pathetic.
Unable to help myself, I pull out my phone and take a picture. Nothing like a reminder that karma may be a bitch, but my mates are happy to be at her service.
“Bastard didn’t even pay me a dime,” Vic grumbles, sharing a look with Arson. “All your dramatic acting skills, gone completely to waste.”
