“Come on, Michael. Get the diamond and bring it here,” Mandy said. “You can control it within the Realm of Light compound. Nothing will happen and the demons can’t get to them here.”
“This is a Realm of Light compound?” Ryder asked.
“You new people haven’t been to one yet?” Michael asked.
Dalton had been to several, so he naturally assumed everyone knew where they were. But Ryder and Trace were newer members of the team and they’d been on the go since they’d been brought on board. No chance to bring them into one of the Realm’s locations.
“So what’s here besides the obvious?” Trace asked, getting to his feet.
Dalton waggled his brows. “Fun stuff. Wanna see?”
“Hell, yeah,” Ryder said. “I can’t believe we haven’t been given a tour of the secret stuff yet.”
“Sorry.” Michael’s lips twitched and he rubbed his fingers across his lips. “We’ve been busy.”
“Boys. Start talking high-tech toys and gadgets and they get all testosteroney,” Mandy said.
“That’s not even a word,” Trace said.
“It is now.” Mandy arched a brow, then turned to Angelique and Isabelle. “You coming?”
“Are we invited?” Angelique asked.
“Of course. This affects you, too. You need to know what’s here and how it all works.”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Michael said, standing, too.
“Oh, lighten up, Mike.” Mandy turned to him. “Are you always this stuffy? Does every Keeper have to be all about the protocol? Ease up a bit. Angie and Isabelle have been through hell.” She threw a glance over her shoulder. “No pun intended, ladies.” She turned back to Michael. “They deserve to be in this every step of the way. No more secrets.”
Dalton wanted to laugh. He’d met Michael before; he had fought beside him more than once. Michael was all by-the-book and into his role as Keeper, and no one challenged him.
But Michael had never gone toe-to-toe with their wild child Mandy before. She always said what was on her mind and damn the consequences. She was their group’s adopted little sister, and had been since she’d been brought in to the hunters when she was barely a teen.
Though she was all woman now-all five ten of her, with her luscious body and raven hair that fell to her waist.
None of them had ever let a guy within a hundred yards of her, much to Mandy’s irritation. Not that there had ever been time for the kid to have a normal life, or a normal date.
Had she ever even had a date? He couldn’t recall.
And he really needed to stop thinking of her as a kid. She was twenty-three years old now, and a woman.
A sassy, bold, able-to-stand-on-her-own woman.
One who wasn’t afraid to talk back to a Keeper.
“Well?” She put her hands on her hips and faced off against Michael, who at nearly a foot taller than she was didn’t seem the least bit intimidated.
“Well, what?”
Michael looked irritated. He was always calm and in control, but right now he looked pissed.
“Well, are you going to let us into your secret inner sanctum, or am I going to have to get my laser and start blowing through the doors?”
Michael’s gaze narrowed. “Lou warned me about you.”
“And yet you let me in the door anyway. Your mistake. Come on, Mike. We’re waiting.”
“It’s Michael.”
“And I’m Mandy. We’ve already met. You don’t want to make me angry. . Mike.”
“And you don’t want to make
Tension filled the room, and something else that Dalton felt and recognized, but wasn’t certain was actually here.
Power. An otherworldly power that seemed to squeeze the air from the room.
It wasn’t evil, but it was definitely a warning.
Dalton’s gaze shifted to Michael, who still had his attention on Mandy.
Ah. This Keeper had some muscle. Typically no one else could sense a Keeper’s power. But Dalton felt it. Hell, everyone in the room could.
So did Mandy, because she didn’t even flinch, not even when the strands of her hair started blowing over her shoulder.
“Impressive,” she said. “Can we go now?”
But her voice had lowered an octave, no longer laced with as much bravado as before. Still, she got points for not flinching. Dalton wouldn’t want to piss off a Keeper.
