“Aric.” She exhaled his name on a broken whisper. “You’ve been shot.”
He didn’t answer, just went down on his haunches in front of her and tenderly caught her face in his palms. On a curse, he slanted his mouth over hers and kissed her, slow and deep, as if he needed the contact even more than she did. His Breed gaze traveled over her, his nostrils flaring as he inhaled a shallow breath.
It took her a moment to realize just how quiet the place had gotten. No more gunfire. No more thudding boot falls or sounds of violence. The fighting had ended.
Tavia materialized as if from thin air, her speed of movement far too fast for Kaya to track. “Thank God, you’re both all right.”
“Kaya’s been wounded,” Aric said, still hunkered beside her. She didn’t miss the odd pitch of his voice as he lingered so near to her bleeding injuries. His voice was rough, unearthly. Filled with an unmistakable hunger . . . and torment.
Sterling Chase strode in from the adjacent hallway now, accompanied by Mira and Kellan. Rio and Dante followed along with Darion Thorne.
“Carys brought Webb up from the waterfront. He took a few rounds, but fortunately he’s fine. Rafe is healing the worst of them.” The commander glanced over at Kaya. “Better let him have a look at you too.”
Aric’s answering growl was barely audible, but the possessive, animal sound vibrated against her. Something deep inside her responded with a blooming heat that throbbed through her veins and into her marrow.
“Scrully’s dead?” Chase asked Tavia.
She nodded. “I found him in the master bedroom. Someone wanted to make sure he didn’t get up ever again. Large caliber round delivered point-blank between his eyes and his throat sliced open for good measure.”
Dante blew out a low whistle. “Opus’s cleaners sure are messy motherfuckers.”
“And they came prepared for a fight from the Order,” Tavia added. “There are two crates of UV ammunition sitting in a van parked inside the garage.”
Chase cursed, running his hand over his jaw. “Opus’s assassins knew to expect us. And they were obviously ordered to take out as many of us as they could.”
Aric acknowledged that fact with a grim nod. “They blasted me with UV half a dozen times on my approach. You should’ve seen the looks on the bastard’s faces when I kept coming.”
Chase’s scowl deepened, then he glanced at Mira. “Captain, your call for us to stand down was a solid one. You probably saved our lives.”
“All except one,” she murmured thickly.
Kellan wrapped his arm around Mira’s shoulders and drew her close to him. “We all signed on for this mission knowing we might not come back. I’m sure Bal would tell you that too.”
Rio nodded. “The Order goes into every mission with the understanding it could be our last. But after seeing what happened here tonight? We’ve never had to be prepared for anything like this before.”
Dante slanted his comrade a sober look. “The rules of the game have changed, my friend. Opus is making that point loud and clear.”
“Yes, they are,” Chase agreed. “And that means we either adapt fast, or die trying.”
From his crouch beside Kaya, Aric glanced up at his father and the rest of the Breed warriors gathered in the small space. “If this is our new reality, the Order’s going to need more daywalkers.”
CHAPTER 23
Following the shitstorm they’d encountered at Scrully’s estate, the teams had returned to base haggard from the battle and somber over the loss of one of their own. Aric shared the disappointment of his Order brethren, but it was concern for Kaya that racked him during the couple of hours since they had arrived at the command center.
He’d kept his distance while Rafe tended her wounds on the drive back, if only because the cinnamon and roses scent of her blood was a torment he could hardly bear. His mouth still watered at the thought alone, his fangs still throbbing with the ache of his hunger. His own wounds would have benefited greatly from nourishment, but the idea of going out to the city in search of a blood Host was the last thing on his mind. Especially when the only vein he truly thirsted for was Kaya’s.
So it was probably a mistake to be standing outside the closed door of her room, yet for the past full minute, that’s where Aric had been. He needed to see her, make sure she was all right. Time away from her after nearly losing her in combat tonight was a torment all of its own. Swearing under his breath at his own weakness, he dropped his knuckles against the door.
She opened it without asking who was there, and the sight of her healed and whole, dressed in a soft top and loose-fitting yoga pants, dragged a low sound of relief from him. At least until he saw her dark brown eyes and the pain that clouded them.
“You’ve been crying.”
She swiped at the faint traces of wetness that streaked her cheeks and stepped away from the open doorway, an unspoken invitation for Aric to come inside. He closed the door behind him and followed her to the small living area of her suite. A half-empty bottle of wine and an empty glass sat on the cocktail table between the sitting area and a cozy fireplace that crackled with the embers of a dying fire.
She curled into the corner of the sofa, tucking her legs up and wrapping her arms around her knees. In the short time he had known her, he had seen Kaya Laurent stubborn and tenacious, fearless and unflagging. Now, he saw a tender vulnerability in the courageous woman that carved a hollow in his chest. He wanted to be the one to protect her from all hurts, physical and otherwise. It astonished him how deeply he wanted to be the only man she turned to for all
