“Fuuuuuuuck!” He slammed his palm against the wall when his door took too long to open, and he found a grim-faced Gareth standing on the other side.
Gareth stared as if he already knew exactly what was happening.
Cassiel crossed his arms, his own sword shimmering where it was strapped to the Knight’s back. “Never seen you like this, Commander. What happened?” When he said never, he meant never. Not in living memory, and Cassiel was young for an ancient but he’d still been around too many centuries to count.
Gareth cleared his throat. “Isabella happened.”
“Shit.” Vander stood a few feet behind Cassiel. He raised his brows with a half grin. “What did she do?”
“She kidnapped Dagan’s Darkoor prisoner and is taking the creature back to his base.”
“No.” The single word slipped from Gareth’s mouth before Falden’s second in command could stop it. “Is she fucking insane? Have a death wish? She’s human!”
“She’s mine. Understand? We kill first and ask questions later.”
Vander’s half grin became a twisted smile. “Slice up some Darkoor. I like the sound of that. Let’s go.”
With a synchronized motion that spoke of centuries fighting together, the four Knights nodded as one. Each touched a button on their armor and disappeared as if they had never existed at all.
Isabella fought the urge to lean on the Caldorian walking behind her and approached the ugly thug standing just outside the doors of one of the seediest nightclubs in town.
Of course they would operate out of a place like this. Old warehouse. Tons of space, above- and belowground. This particular building had two levels of basement; she knew because she’d broken the story on the last set of owners who’d been running a chop shop for stolen cars out of the lower levels.
Stolen cars didn’t sound so bad now, not compared to what she was afraid she would find inside. Stomach churning, she covered her mouth with the back of her hand, stomach acid burning her throat.
“Skinner.” The huge creep guarding the double doors that led inside looked her over with interest. “You’re late. Boss won’t be happy.”
“And just who is your boss?” Isabella asked oh so nicely.
The big guy shrugged. “Don’t know his name.”
“Of course you don’t.” She put on her best fake smile and continued with her plan. “What is your name?”
The big man looked to Skinner, who, as ordered, remained silent. “Boss calls me Spider.”
Isabella inspected the oversize tattoo of a large spider that took up the entire half of the man’s neck and understood exactly where he’d gotten his name. “That a black widow on your neck?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Spider grinned down at her, and she tried not to grimace at the blackened edges of his yellow teeth. Man really needed a dentist. And a new job.
“Are you human?” she asked, batting her lashes at the scum.
“Mostly.”
Mostly? What the hell did that mean?
Later. She’d ask Falden… No. She wouldn’t ask Falden anything. He’d lied to her. Kept secrets from her. Told her they could never be together, not for real. If this thing between them was just sex, well then fine. It was just sex. Still, anger warred with pain at the thought of losing him.
“Spider, how many other bad guys are inside?”
“Fuck. We keep standing here, we're going to get shot,” one of the Caldorians standing behind her grumbled, but she ignored him.
Spider looked past her to the Caldorian guard with a sneer. “You’re already dead, Caldo. Already fucking dead.”
“Spider. Tell me how many others are inside and whether or not they are armed.”
The guard laughed, actually laughed. “I don’t know. I don’t count. And yes.”
Shit. “Do you know where the boy, Matthew, is being held?”
Spider just looked at her.
“Spider, tell me where Matthew is being held.” She pushed her voice harder, saw the shimmering energy in the air between them and watched, fascinated, as the energy waves seemed to be absorbed by the man she spoke to.
“He’s one floor up, left side, third door on the left. Drugged up real good, too. Ain’t going nowhere.”
They’d drugged Matthew?
Isabella caught her breath, sweat beading her brow. Spikes in her temples. No, not just spikes, iced spikes with barbs. No. Screws. Iced screws twisting slowly. Slowly. Boring into her head through her skull.
“Miss, your ear is bleeding.” The Caldorian behind her sounded concerned, but Isabella didn’t have time for that, not now. Not with Matthew in there overdosing or dying. God.
“Spider, you are going to open this door and take us to Matthew. And you are going to kill anyone who gets in our way. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Spider turned and slid a key card over a lock she hadn’t seen before. The strange pop of a magnetic seal or air lock opening sounded, and she glanced to Bhaosz.
“Bhaosz, you will help Spider take us to Matthew. Kill anything and anyone who tries to stop me or hurt me. Do not hurt me, Matthew or the Caldorians. Do you understand?”
Bhaosz’s face shifted, and she caught a glimpse of the gaping maw, the rows of teeth below eerily human eyes. How did he do that? Change his form only halfway? Gross. Somehow he managed to form words. “I will devour your enemies. I am hungry.”
“Fine.” She didn’t care if he ate bad aliens. “Just kill them all first, eat after.”
He shook his head. “Eat on the way.”
Shit. Looked like that was the best she was going to get, and the Caldorian guard was right. A warm trickle of blood made its way from her ear canal down past her earlobe on down to her neck. Bhaosz sniffed at her.
“No. Not me, asshole. Save it for the bad guys.”
“Smell good, human.”
“No, I don’t.” Her nose scrunched up in disgust.
Bhaosz’s maw opened wider, and he leaned forward. Immediately the muzzle of a Caldorian weapon was shoved up under his jaw. Hard.
“Back off, Darkoor.”
Bhaosz lifted his hands in a sign of surrender and followed Spider inside the building. She looked back at the two unlucky guards she’d brought along.
