Page 42 of Immortal Unveiled

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Manus had recognized Kim’s voice the second she’d uttered a curse.

What the fuck was she doing here? How had she been able to follow him without him noticing? But more importantly, why?

However, none of this mattered in this instance because Kim was fighting him, trying to rip free of his grip. And if he let that happen during the journey through the portal, she could end up anywhere, forever trapped in the portal system, aimlessly flying through time and space.

“Stop it, Kim!” He tightened his grip, but it made her struggle even more fiercely.

“Let go of me!” she cried out.

“No! Damn it, Kim, hold still.”

But the firecracker in his arms beat at him with her hands. Something hard hit him in the chest. Shit! Kim was armed with a gun. He switched his grip, wrapping one hand around her wrist, then the other around the second one.

“Let go of me, you bastard! You lied to me! You killed her!”

Light suddenly streamed into the portal. They’d arrived, and the door was open. But he didn’t dare let go of her wrists. Instead, he yanked her out of the portal and willed it to close behind them. At least one danger was past. Now, he had to deal with Kim’s inexplicable anger toward him. What the fuck had happened since the night before?

Kim glared at him, her jaw tight, her eyes narrowed. “Who the fuck are you?”

Manus tilted his head in contemplation, carefully studying her. “You know who I am.”

“Yeah, a liar. That’s what you are!”

She was right, of course, but he wasn’t about to admit that. He had to first find out what she thought he’d lied about. He wasn’t going to admit to anything more than she’d already discovered.

“I’m helping you find your mother’s murderer, and that’s the thanks I get? Insults?”

He loosened his grip slightly and immediately realized that it had been a mistake. Kim kicked him in the shin, making him yelp at the momentary pain, distracting him enough to free herself fully, her right hand still holding the handgun. A small-caliber pistol she now aimed at him.

“Step back!” she ordered firmly though he noticed her hand shaking.

Manus didn’t move, but he lifted his hands in a submissive motion. “Don’t do anything you might regret later.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t regret this. All I regret is having believed your lies, having slept with you. How gullible I was!”

“Listen to me, Kim, you’re obviously upset about something. Take a breath. Let’s talk about it.”

“When you left my place last night, you went back to the storage unit and broke in. Did you find what you were looking for? What you killed my mother for?” she spat.

In disbelief, he shook his head, ignoring her question, and instead homed in on her first statement. “There was a break-in?” It could only mean one thing. The demons were on their heels. “Shit.” What if they’d followed Kim and discovered the entrance to the portal?

He took a step toward Kim. “We have to make sure nobody followed you. Give me the damn gun.”

Kim shrank back a few steps, her retreat cut short by the wall. “How stupid do you think I am?”

“I admit I underestimated you,” he hedged. “You set me up at the café, so you could follow me. Smart, I give you that. But you’ve set up the wrong person. I didn’t kill your mother. And I didn’t break into the storage unit. I had no reason to.”

Kim tipped her chin up. “Maybe this will teach you not to lie to me,” she said and made a movement with the gun, aiming for his shoulder.

Manus lunged for her, but she’d already pulled the trigger. The gunshot echoed against the massive stone walls. Simultaneously, searing pain shot through his left bicep. Blood splattered, and he crashed against Kim, taking her to the floor with him. With his good arm, he reached for the gun and wrestled it from her hand, tossing it as far as he could.

He tried to pin her down, but Kim punched her fist into his open wound and shoved him off her.

“Fuck!” he hissed. “Did you have to shoot me?”

When she picked herself up and veered toward the direction he’d thrown the gun in, Manus jumped up despite the pain and lunged for her, managing to snag the back of her jacket. Luckily, it was zipped up, so she couldn’t slip out of it easily and he was able to yank her back.