by JL Madore
She thought about the memory Seth showed her earlier that night. The poor little dude looked hollowed out when they found him. That stupid metal headgear. Those monitors. What were they testing? What kind of experiment had they subjected him to? An image flashed back to her of Bo wearing that same device.
Linsale hooked him up. What did that mean?
“You there!”
Layne’s heart raced, and she peeked through a crack in the stable wall. The demon was pointing at someone she couldn’t see. Shifting position, she pressed her cheek against the boards and tried to get a better view.
The demon launched forward, struggling to secure—
The scream of a girl had Layne reaching for the latch of her hidey-hole. She hesitated. She promised Bo she wouldn’t leave the hiding spot. If what Cassi said was true, her death would destroy him. The thought of causing him pain hurt her more than the idea of dying.
“Let go.” The little blondie squirmed in the male’s grip. “Angels! Helllllp. Bad man!”
Before Layne registered another thought, she was out from behind the panel and racing to the front of the horse stall. The brown-and-white beast objected to the running and whinnied, stomping back.
The demon looked over and Layne took advantage of the locked gaze. Reaching hard and fast, she tunneled into his mind. Gripping the bars that separated them, she pushed past the throbbing in her temples and kept fighting.
The male’s strength wasn’t all physical. Mentally, he put up one hell of a fight. When it got to the point either he or she would have an aneurism, the black blood dripping from his nose signaled she’d done enough.
Like a rubber band releasing after it’s snapped, she withdrew her assault and sagged against the stall wall. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”
The little blonde girl stood in the center of the corridor, shaking. “Sunshine.”
Layne nodded. “Okay, Sunshine. Let’s play hide-and-seek until Bo comes to find us, okay?”
The mention of Bo’s name brought tears to her eyes and she nodded. “I sorry. I wanted to see the horseys.”
Layne needed to get seated, and locked away. There was a good chance, with the world spinning, that she was about to pass out. Unlatching the stall, she let the little girl in and latched the door.
More gunshots outside had her focused on getting them to safety. “Bo won’t be mad. Come see where I’m hiding.”
“This is Pinto,” she said, running her fingers along the barrel belly of the patchwork horse.
Layne nodded. No doubt Zander put the hiding spot here for his wife’s safety. These males loved their family. She’d never had a love like that. It was pretty amazing, actually.
Closing them in the narrow space, she plunked onto the wooden seat and pulled Sunshine into her lap. “We’re going to wait and be quiet now, okay?”
Sunshine’s head bobbed and she raised a finger to her lips. “Hush near bad guys. Not a peep.”
Layne tightened her arms around the little waif, and let her head fall back. The damage she’d done to her own mind was considerable. She needed to get to a doctor, not hide. Not that a doctor could do much.
Just like the rest of her life—the damage was done.
Now she was left with the consequences.
“If I take a nap, don’t be scared. Bo and the angels will come when it’s safe.”
And with that, she blacked out.
Bo shook hands with Rayvn and Wilder once they shifted back to human form. Having two dragons on Team Watcher was one powerful kick to Darkworld ass. He bent over to catch his breath, the last of the demon attackers bugging out and fucking off. “Thanks for coming,” he said, looking over the charcoal carnage. “That’s some flamethrower you boys got going on.”
“Sorry about the scorched earth.”
Bo choked on blood and spat on the smoldering grass. “Forget the earth. I was worried about you scorching my balls. A little notice next time, eh?”
Zander rubbed blood from under his left eye, the Sumerian leaking from more than one hole in his body. The six of them had arrived only moments ago—in the back of someone’s pickup, of all things.
Nursing one hell of a limp, Z winced and joined them. “Did we get the ringleaders?”
Bo looked around. “The Serpentine, yes. The Dimme Queen, no. She crawled into Hell’s ass-crack the moment the Dragons showed up.
“Is everyone safe?”
“As far as I know.” Bo straightened, his strength and healing improving by the minute. “The house is battened down, and I stashed Layne in Austin’s stall.”
Zander frowned. “This could’ve been avoided. Your female was running with these bastards—”
Bo’s beast lunged forward, and his Mark burst into a brilliant gold. “Pick your words carefully, Z. Layne was the one who figured it out. She didn’t know the plan but gave us a heads-up anyway.”
He didn’t want to fight. He’d done enough of that tonight and was damned tired. “What happened to you guys? And who’s pickup was that?”
“A good Samaritan who we commandeered and then brain-wiped. Long story.”
“Did you find her?” Ronnie came racing down the front steps, her blonde hair flying around her tear-stained face. “Sunshine. Has anyone seen Sunshine?”
That brought a second wave of ready to roll over the group, and they all jogged over. Danel wrapped his arms around his wife and chucked her chin to meet his gaze. “Was she missing this whole time?”
Tanek nodded. “I searched every inch of the house, D. She wasn’t there. Then the shit hit and I had to defend the entrance. I’m sorry. Wherever she is, she’s dug in good.”
“The stables,” Danel said, breaking away from his female and taking to the air. Bo went with him, and they raced inside together. “I took her to see the horses after her visit with Drina. She asked to go back, but I needed to head out.”
They burst through the door and Bo cursed at the dead demon on the stable floor. Both of them drew their guns and eased inside. “Layne? You okay?”
The silence had his bowels twisting.
“Clear,” Danel said, rebounding from the far wall and checking each of the stalls as he grew closer. “Sunshine, where are you, monkey?”
“Hiding,” came the answer from behind Pinto’s stall.
Bo was already reaching out with his gift and unlocking the panel. When he swung it open, Sunshine blinked up at him and jumped off Layne’s lap in the darkness. The girl’s smile beamed with a radiance that spoke of just how perfect her name was. “You found me. Again.”
“Yes, sweet girl,” Bo said, picking her up and kissing her cheek. “I’ll always find you when bad guys come.” He swung around and gave her to Danel. The Persian looked like his knees might buckle with relief.
“Is she here?” Ronnie called from the doorway.
Danel strode out and met his mate, the three of them group-hugging it like you read about.
“You did good, Layne,” he said, holding his hand to the shadows. She didn’t move. Dropping to his knee, he reached into the cubby and pulled her forward. She flopped against him, her dead weight nothing he was prepared for.
Cradling her in his arms, he got to his feet. He rushed past the happy trio and raced for the clinic.
“Drina! Kyrian! I need a goddamn medic.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
You don’t know what you don’t know. Laying in the safe place in her mind, she realized that despite years of university studies and lectures of behaviors and relationships, she hadn’t learned what she learned. She took notice of the world around her. She watched. She formed opinions. She voiced opinions. But despite pointing fingers and talking the talk, she kept herself behind a veil of separation.
Taid got through her defenses—and then he died.
That was a big part of her anger. She risked a piece of herself, and lost. She didn’t need a Psychology degree to recognize how unhealthy behavior broke down relationships. Look at her current status with J
haia and Gheil.
Somehow Bo got behind her veil.
He stumbled into her life—literally—and turned everything upside down. She pictured the first time she’d seen him, naked and his chiseled body glistening from the heat.
The mighty Viking warrior staggered away from hammering back drinks with the Dark Prince and flopped on a bedding platform across from her.
“Hello, little Djinn. My you’re beautiful.”
In those days down in Purgatory, she hadn’t meant to give him so much, but she had. Something unexpected happened between them. Free love. No consequences. It was more than that. He woke something inside her. She let loose, and he accepted everything she gave him.
No, he didn’t just accept it—he devoured it.
She saw his childhood love and the guilt he carried over her death. She saw his love for his family and his brothers. When she scanned his mind and soul outside the hotel, she saw the darkness within him and how he suffered to carry that weight. She also saw his remedy to that pain.
Her.
She was there, imprinted in his soul.
She slipped behind his veil too. He loved her.
A warm caress on her hand disrupted her mental musings. She blinked awake, not surprised to find him sitting there, looking wrecked.
“Hello, Viking. You look like a cat’s asshole. Smell like one too.”
He choked and stood to kiss her forehead. “That should be a postcard.”
She winced at the reek of him so close and pushed him back. “No. Seriously, that’s disgusting.”
He chuckled and sat back on the chair beside the bed. “Ode to demon death. Sorry, I didn’t have time to clean up. Too busy saving your life.”
She tilted her head to take in the brocade blackout curtains, the scattered clothes, and her bags sitting on a long black dresser. “Why is the room swirling?”
“Likely brain damage.”
“Is that bad?”
Bo shrugged. “You never used it much. Should be fine.”
Layne ran a hand over the blankets covering her and smiled. “Well, as long as it won’t affect anything. Hey, how’s Goldilocks? Is she okay?”
Movement in the corner brought her attention to the dark-haired warrior with a goatee that brought Bo the handcuffs. He filled the door frame, the sleeves of his top touching each jamb, his head just shy of the top frame. His massive shoulders blocked the hallway behind.
Stepping into the room, he fisted his hand to his chest. “Sunshine is alive, thanks to you. My mate is safe, thanks to you. There are no words or future deeds which can ever repay my debt.”
Layne blinked. Okay, intense.
“I’m sorry the danger got to the point it did, and my part in that. If I could rewind and do it differently, I would.”
He dropped his gaze and smiled. “Not one of us has a clear conscious. Everyone in this family has things we are forced to reconcile and live with. As far as I’m concerned, your slate is clean.”
“Thanks, Persian,” Bo said, nodding to his brother as the warrior backed out and left the two of them alone. With his feet planted on the carpet and his hands in his lap, he waited for Danel to close them into his room. Zander wasn’t a hundred percent happy with Layne staying in the house, but Austin and the women overruled him. They understood what she was going through and said they’d keep an eye on her until they were on solid ground.
The click of the door brought on a wave of anticipation. His beast’s need to claim his mate was shredding the last of his control. He was seriously aroused.
Really. Fucking. Hard.
The only thing that would ease his suffering was getting naked and sweaty with the female he still wasn’t sure even liked him. And then there was her recent brain injury. He didn’t want to send her into heart-pounding orgasms if her cranium couldn’t take the pressure.
“What’s wrong?” Layne asked, sitting up in bed. “Is everyone not all right? Was someone hurt because of me?”
Bo shook his head. “No. Everyone’s fine. Honestly. I was just wondering . . .” He cursed and got some distance. Heading to the door, he kept what was happening in the front of his jeans out of sight and looked back. “I’ll make you something to eat. You must be starving. If Austin weren’t sick, she’d make you a feast. As it is, you’ll have to make do with my sad attempts at nourishing you.”
“In a minute. You know what I want more than a meal?”
Please say me. Please, please say me.
“A shower. I smell like I spent hours sitting in a horse stall, and you smell—I don’t even know how to describe it.”
“I believe you mentioned a cat’s asshole.”
She chuckled and pulled the blankets off her lap. “Would you help me? I figure, two birds, one stone.”
Except, when these two birds got naked in the shower, the stone would be front and center and impossible to ignore. “That might not be the best idea. How about I draw you a bath, and I can shower when you’re done.”
“That seems like a waste of natural resources. Haven’t you heard, there are water shortages?”
Bo frowned. “Not in Toronto. We’ve got a whole lake at our disposal.”
After a moment, she sighed. “So, what’s changed? I thought a shower would be a great way to start our morning after the night before.”
“Did you? Why? Why now?”
She stilled, looking off at the window across the bedroom, as if considering his question. “I was wrong about things, and I’m sorry. I knew when Gideon and Xamia started talking about the wives and children that I didn’t want any part of it, but I wanted justice for Taid.”
“You’ll get it. I swear.”
She nodded. “I think I have a lead on that. I want to get cleaned up and meet with your brothers, if that’s possible.”
Okay, that might smooth some ruffled feathers.
“But why shower with me? Why the sudden come-on?”
“Aside from the pleasure of our crazy chemistry, the past twenty-four hours taught me that buried under all the ink, is a good man.”
Bo shook his head. “So, I’m nice to you, and you hate me, but I decapitate two demons right in front of you, and you warm to me?”
“I’m a complex girl.”
“Apparently.”
She dropped her gaze and brushed the blanket over her lap, looking sad.
His knees weakened, and he sat heavily on the edge of the mattress. “Hey, I’m sorry. If you were genuinely reaching out to me, the last thing I want to do is ruin it.”
When the scent of her tears hit him, he wanted to backtrack. If he’d kept his mouth shut, they’d already be naked and lathering up.
“No one has ever put me first,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “My parents led the Djinn until their death. Gheil and Jhaia saw to my needs but have always been a dynamic duo. I . . . you know how bad I screwed up, you’ve seen me at my worst, and still, you worry and fight and kill for me. Why? Is it only the Nephilim mate thing or do you accept me—Layne. I’m an impetuous, stubborn, stupid—”
“—passionate, beautiful, headstrong, caring female,” Bo finished for her. “I’d be lying if I said the mating madness hadn’t locked me into place, but honestly now that we’re here, I’m all in.”
He gathered her hand in his and pressed her knuckles to his lips. “We’re building the foundation for something epic. You saw Kyrian and Cassi together, right? How in sync they are, how devoted, how passionately in love?”
She nodded.
“All the bonded couples are like that. Some fall slowly. Some fall fast. They all get there. We will get there too.”
“You believe that?”
The faith he had in that was unshakeable. He let her see it and nodded. “We’re a done deal, little Djinn. We’ll have it all. I promise you. Love. Devotion. We’ll be each other’s perfect other half. You’ll never be locked in the dark and afraid again. You have me now, on your side and ready to die for you.”
Layne bli
nked, and her tears fell faster. “I want that. I don’t know how, but I’ll try. I have so much to make up for.”
He placed a chaste kiss on her lips and smiled. “It won’t be as hard as you think. With an apology, and a promise to do better, my family will welcome you with open hearts.”
Because she was his.
“Come with me,” he said, helping her from the bed. With one arm around her back, he made sure she was sturdy on her feet. “I’m going to settle you in a bath while I shower. There will be plenty of time to play once you’re feeling stronger. I’m in no rush.”
In truth, he was counting down the seconds.
Zander sat on one of the leather sofa’s in the war room while Tanek and Danel reported what got damaged in the attack and what held strong. Overall, he was damned impressed at how things turned out. Having Tanek on-site was a blessing beyond description. Another thing to praise Lady Divinity for on a long list of why they were devoted to her.
“How are you healing up, Z?” Danel asked.
“My cranium is still rocking one mother of a heavy-metal concert, but I think I’m finally getting to the encores.”
Danel glanced to Tanek, looking grim. “It was bad, T. A fucking Rugaru came out of the trees with this massive electro-cannon Bazooka thing strapped over his humped shoulder, and before we could respond, he blasted us into oblivion.”
Brennus stuffed his phone back into his vest pocket and frowned. “Aye, the five of us were only out for a blink, and then able to safeguard Z from the end-game attack. D’s right. If our lights had been out longer, those sick fuckers woulda lopped our heeds and we’d all be ghosts.”
Seth made a gifted bank shot and sunk the eight ball. “Zander’s gift for the win. If he hadn’t absorbed the majority of the juice, we definitely wouldn’t be standing here.”
“Where did the energy come from?”
Phoenix raised his hands. Someone’s been siphoning energy for weeks. I couldn’t pinpoint where or why, but I’d bet my left nut that’s what powered up that weapon.
“Did you get the gun?” Tanek asked.
“No,” Seth said, lining up his next shot. “Master Blaster with the Frankenstein scar didn’t hang around to watch his men get ginsued. As soon as we popped back onto our feet, he booked it.”
