Page 117 of Shadow Blind

For a moment, hope burst hot and wild inside of him. It surged through his veins as powerful as an adrenaline rush. Was Cosky right? Did she— He snapped the reaction off. There were multiple reasons Demi could be standing in front of his door. None of them meant she wanted to take him back.

Hell, maybe she’d dropped by to say goodbye. With Kuznetsov dead, she might think it was safe to head home. His hand lifted, clamping around the edge of the door.

He swore beneath his breath. Yeah, a goodbye was the likely scenario here. His fingers pressed harder against the edge of the door. Dammit, his refusal to let her leave would not help his case—not that he had much of a case to begin with. Or any case at all, to be truthful. But he didn’t want her thinking he was holding her hostage, either.

She couldn’t leave.

Not yet.

It wasn’t safe.

Day 23

Denali, Alaska

“Hey.” Demi stared at Aiden’s hand, which he’d wrapped around the edge of the door. His fingers were turning white. “I hope… I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

She tried for a smile, but felt it tremble and then fade from her lips. He didn’t look happy to see her. His face was tight. His black eyes were flat. And she’d heard him swear beneath his breath when he opened the door.

Was she seeing anger or frustration on his face? In the flat darkness of his eyes? Was he annoyed with her? But why? They hadn’t seen each other since the night they’d spoken and parted ways. Maybe that was it. Maybe he was mad at her for breaking up with him, then sitting beside his bed as he slept, when he couldn’t kick her out of his room.

It was odd, though. She would have sworn relief flashed across his face when he’d opened the door and saw her standing there. But it was gone now. She must have imagined it. Her gaze returned to his hand, studying the way it clenched the edge of the door. His fingers were bleached and rigid. Yep. Sure looked like anger to her. She hovered there, the urge to flee strong. She should leave. He obviously didn’t want to see her.

But she couldn’t. Something, possibly foolish optimism, or perhaps stubbornness, held her feet to the floor.

Olivia’s comment about compromises and heartmates and rare connections had burrowed into her mind like a bunch of ticks and refused to let go. She still didn’t believe in soulmates. But she believed in regrets, and some regrets could eat at a person, whittle away at them year by year. Walking away from him, without talking to him first, without trying to find a compromise, would haunt her for the rest of her life.

“Can I come in?” She forced the question out and braced herself in case he said no.

He stirred and stepped back. Without saying a word, he pulled the door all the way open. A physical, but not a verbal, invitation. Hardly an enthusiastic welcome.

She slipped past him. His apartment was identical to the one Wolf had given her to use. Same galley-style kitchen and combination dining-living room. Same bland, off-white walls with a total lack of prints or paintings. She glanced to the left, where a short hallway disappeared into darkness, and knew she’d find a bathroom and bedroom back there, both bland, both boring. Functional, but with less personality than your average motel room.

Apparently, Shadow Mountain put all their resources into fast planes and top-of-the-line equipment—military and medical—rather than sprucing up their employee’s quarters.

Typical.

“You’ll have to postpone the goodbye,” Aiden said from behind her, a hard edge chilling his voice.

She turned, cocking her head in confusion. He stood facing her with his feet squared, his shoulders back, and a challenge in the tilt of his chin. The steel was in his eyes now, too. Cold. Hard. Adamant. Pure black steel.

“Goodbye? Are you going somewhere?” She took a step back before forcing herself to stillness.

“You’re leaving. Isn’t that why you’re here? To say goodbye?” He didn’t move, yet his body seemed to tighten.

“No, I—”

“Just because Kuznetsov’s dead doesn’t mean you’re safe. Whoever created the nanobot weapon is still out there, still after me. You’re still in danger. You can’t go back to Coronado yet.”

That’s why he was so tense? So cold? “I’m not going anywhere. I didn’t come to say goodbye.”

The news loosened his shoulders. The black ice melted from his eyes. “No? Then why are you here?”

Right. She searched for an explanation that wouldn’t leave her vulnerable. But the only thing that came to mind was what Livvy had told her. Maybe she could use that as a lead-in.

“Olivia was telling me about the gifts the Shadow Warrior and Blue Moon Mother give to their tribal children. She said Kait’s healing came from the mother creator to strengthen tribal ties and that Wolf’s premonitions came from the Shadow Warrior to protect the tribe.”

Olivia’s self-proclaimed gift was on the tip of her tongue, but she shied away from mentioning it. She didn’t want him to think the only reason she was here was because Olivia had convinced her they were soulmates. But avoiding Olivia’s gift left her with no transition into what she’d come here to say, and he was waiting for an explanation. She could see it in the furrow of his brow and the narrowing of his eyes.

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