Page 22 of Place of Torment

“Argh!” Alice turned to me. “Can I punch him in the nose, Brooklyn? You are stronger than him, right?”

“You can.” Dominic answered with a lopsided smile that made my heart skip a beat. “I can do it for you if you like, Alice.”

“There is more than one.” Chester breathed still pressed to the glass.

“Intruders?” Samir forgot to reply with something arrogant and annoying and rushed to where we were clustered by the window. “I could use a little exercise.”

“Yeah, you could.” Alice shouldered her way between him and Dominic so she could see as well. “You have a muffin top, old man.”

“I do not!” the ancient Atua gasped in outrage staring down at my human friend in horror.

“It’s going to be a long night.” Groaning, I turned and tucked my face into Dominic’s chest.

His soft chuckle vibrated from his chest into my brain, and it made me smile.

15

Dominic

“Ithink we should go alone.” Brooklyn spoke softly from in front of me right before she stuck her head out to see if anyone waited for us around the corner.

We turned the exterior lights off all around the property so none of the sensors would trigger when we stepped out. All of us could see in the dark anyway, and for the most part we kept them on for Alice. The way she was staying right on our heels I was starting to think we might need to reevaluate her needs. She moved stealthily and silently like the rest of us.

“You will have more luck stopping them than I ever would.” Steeling my courage, I stepped around Brooklyn and pressed her to the building by placing my chest against her back.

“What are you doing?” She hissed and froze like a marble statue immediately.

Clearing my throat, I refused to look down at her while she craned her neck to glare at me. Instead, I placed my hand around her hip and leaned to the side pretending I wanted to see as well if anyone was sitting in wait for us on the side of the mansion.

Another presence registered in my periphery a second before a tiny hand gripped my bicep and Alice stuck her head out from behind me placing me between her and Brooklyn. “Tell her you’re flirting.” She whispered.

“Alice suggested…” I started but my mate’s groan made the words die on my tongue.

“When in the worlds did she have time to suggest anything. She just woke up like two hours ago.” Annoyed, she pushed back to dislodge me, and without confirming it’s safe. started walking along the side of the building.

I was glad Samir and Rowen took the other side and the two demons decided to scan everyplace from the rooftop. I would’ve never heard the end of it if that pompous ass heard this conversation. As second in line, I kept checking behind me to make sure the human was safe. Seeing she held back and could move faster than I turned, I snatched her arm and dragged her between me and my mate. She would be safer there. Plus, while my mate was arming herself to the teeth, I had to make sure the human is dressed and ready to go. She didn’t waste the opportunity to teach me how to act like an interested male.

“You will be surprised how much the human can talk.” I told Brooklyn.

“I’m not surprised at all. I’ve known her longer.” She replied and hope poked its head up inside me. Maybe I didn’t mess up too much this time, I thought to myself.

“Hey guys,” Alice piped up from between us. “I know I’m invested in this relationship maybe more than the two of you…” when suddenly, her scream pierced the night when a dagger sang through the air, and I shoved her into Brooklyn’s back.

The blade sank deep into my forearm, and I ground my teeth hard enough to crack them as I gripped the handle and yanked it out. Without thinking, I flipped it in the air, and after catching it between thumb and forefinger, I tossed it back where it came from. A pained grunt echoed from the tall topiaries.

“We have to move.” Brooklyn grabbed Alice by the hand and darted along the wall of the building, keeping low.

“I think I should shift and sort them out on my own.” I grumbled but let her lead us to where she thought it would be the best place to go.

“Yes, because it proved very wise for any of us to fight against the Syndicate alone.” Brooklyn said wryly. “Look where it got us.”

“Didn’t you suggest that we should’ve done this alone a minute ago?” Alice snickered when we reached a rather tall live fence cut in the shape of a spiral. It was wide enough to cover all three of us.

“I meant Dominic and I, not you Alice. That makes us fight together not on our own. You just healed and need time to get back to normal. You shouldn’t be here in the middle of a deadly fight.” Gesturing for us to stay low, she rose from her crouch and peeked around the shrubbery. “I can see three Guardians at four o’clock.” She added when she got back down.

I nodded.

“This is only deadly for the poor shmucks who got saddled to come here and fight against all the badasses in this house.” The human kneeled on the grass and grinned at us. “And, I have this, too. I’m going to rock their world.” Giggling, she reached into a pouch that I didn’t notice until that moment hanging around her waist and she pulled out a small vial full of some iridescent silvery blue liquid.

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