over his chest. His gaze drifted from Risk to Kara’s sister, where it settled and stayed.
The twin grabbed Kara’s arm and shoved her way past Risk. “Let’s go.”
Kara balked. Using her body weight against her sister, she refused to move.
The garm raised an amused brow and turned his gaze back to Risk. “Were they worth it?”
Risk tilted his head.
With a low laugh, the garm pulled a pair of jeans from behind the bar and tossed them in a heap in front of Risk. “Heard you were coming. Thought you might want to change.” He grinned.
Not in the mood for forandre humor, Risk grabbed the denim in his teeth and dragged it backward until he was a few feet away from Kara and her sister.
With a small amount of privacy, he turned his back to the others and began to shift.
“Damnation,” he heard Kelly mutter. Ignoring her, he finished his change and began tugging on the jeans.
When he spun back around, both Kara and Kelly were staring at him. The garm bent down to rearrange some bottles with angry clanks.
Risk stood, dressed only in the garm’s worn jeans, his gaze on Kara, feeling vulnerable and exposed — something he’d never experienced before meeting Kara, before loving Kara.
Unable to form words, he held out one hand.
“No way.” Kelly placed a restraining hand on Kara’s forearm. “We still don’t know what happened back there. Maybe he’s been sent through to watch us, use us somehow.”
Kara shook off her sister’s grip. “He saved us.”
Kelly sputtered. “Not. How do you figure that? We had Lusse dead to rights. We were winning. Then he did… something. Broke your concentration. He caused us to lose the battle.”
Her eyes focused on Risk, Kara replied, “But that’s it. Don’t you see? If we’d won, Jormun never would have let us go. Risk convinced me to lose. Jormun thought Lusse was stronger — that’s how we escaped.”
Kelly frowned. “He convinced you to lose? How? Just with that one note?”
“No.” Kara smiled. “The note should have been enough, but it wasn’t.” She took a step toward Risk. “I’m sorry. I should have trusted you.”
The band around Risk’s heart loosened.
“Kara,” Kelly objected.
Kara held her hand out to her sister, shushing her, then took the last few steps into Risk’s arms. He pulled her to his chest. His nose buried in her hair, he inhaled her scent, her love, her.
“You can accept…” He let the words trail off.
She looked up, her eyes shining with tears. “Everything. I love everything about you.”
When he started to speak again, she pressed her fingers to his lips. “What about you? Can you forgive me for throwing you out? For being so…” she glanced at her sister “…stubborn?”
He laughed, all the stress, worry and fear he’d been carrying evaporating like mist. “Anything, everything. If you can accept me, and all I’ve been, there’s nothing I wouldn’t forgive.”
He lowered his mouth to hers. With a sigh, she met his kiss. His fingers tunneled through her hair, he held her there, forgetting where they were, who was around them, and all the unsolved problems that still lay ahead.
Then her fingers brushed the silver chain around his neck, and she pulled back, concern in her eyes. “What about this?” She gripped the chain as if willing it to melt in her palm.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m still bound to Lusse. Even with her in another world, the bond doesn’t break.”
Kara stared up at him, her brows lowered in determination. “Can we break it? You thought we could.”
Risk glanced from Kara to her sister, who stood listening, her face lined with suspicion.
“It doesn’t matter. Jormun won’t let Lusse go. As long as she’s trapped, I may be bound to her, but she can’t touch me.”
“That’s not good enough.” Kara pulled back, out of his arms. “We’ll free you.” She spun toward her sister.
Kelly shook her head. “No way. You haven’t convinced me he’s one of the good guys yet. We don’t know what will happen if we unleash…that.” She made a disdainful gesture toward Risk. “It’s probably all part of his plan.”
“Kelly…” Kara took a step toward her sister, her head lowered, her gaze fixed. “We are going to free him.”
Kelly braced her feet and stared back. “No. We’re not. Trust me. It’s for your own good.”
The garm chuckled. “Yes, be a good little witch and listen to your sister who got herself caught in the first place.”
Kelly turned, her gaze slicing. “Stay out of this. I’ll settle with you later.”
The garm grinned. “I can hardly wait.”
The sisters stood toe to toe, neither giving an inch.
Risk shook his head and stepped around them to talk with the garm. “Did Sigurd keep his word?”
The garm shrugged. “He hasn’t been back here.”
Risk nodded. Unsure what to say next, his gaze returned to the sisters. They still stood in the same confrontational stance.
“How long you think they’ll last?” the garm asked.
Risk shrugged. “Who knows.”
“My money’s on the cranky one,” the garm replied, pulling a bottle from under the bar and filling two glasses.
Risk picked up the glass and took a sip. Honey-tinged whiskey burned down his throat. They stood for a few moments watching the twins.
“Your son escaped,” the garm murmured.
Risk turned. “Venge?”
The garm nodded. “Sigurd released him the day you left. Rest of the hounds, too. It’s caused quite a stir in the nine worlds. Aren’t used to hellhounds running around. Could cause trouble.”
Risk nodded, his thoughts on his son. “Hear where he went?”
The garm shook his head. “No.”
Risk nodded again. That was fine. As long as Venge got a chance, it was all Risk could ask for. More than he’d ever had — until now.
Kara stomped forward, her hand wrapped around Kelly’s wrist. “We’re doing it.”
The garm raised a surprised brow and held his glass in mock salute to Risk. “Wonders never cease.”
Risk wove his arm around Kara and pulled her to his side; with her sister glowering beside them, he pressed another kiss to her lips.
No wonders never did cease, and with Kara by his side, he had a feeling they never would.
Kara pulled back and motioned to her twin.
Her brow creased, Kelly stepped forward. “Remember, this wasn’t my—”
“Just do it.” Kara slipped her hand under the heavy chain around Risk’s neck. With a frown, her sister mimicked her actions. Together they folded their hands around the heavy silver then grasped each other’s free hand, forming a closed circle.
Rick stood frozen as the space around him swelled with power. The twins, their eyes shut, concentrated on their job.
The metal at Risk’s neck warmed until he wondered how the sister’s could bare to maintain their grip. Then suddenly the heat along with their hands were gone, but the chain still lay heavy against his throat.
Kara stared up at him. “So?”
“It’s okay. I told you, it doesn’t matter—” he began.
Kara’s sister rolled her eyes. “It’s done. We just left the final act…” She made a pulling motion at her throat with her hands “…to you.”
He glanced back at Kara; her blue eyes smiled up at him. “So, show us.”
His gaze locked on Kara, he wrapped both hands around the ancient metal links, then after expelling the long
