Page 29 of Dark Rebel's Reckoning

"What did you do when he started calling you names?"

She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her chin. "I slapped him and told him that I never wanted to see his face again." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No. The asshole deserved it." Max slumped in his seat. "I guess there is no point in me calling him and letting him know that I found you."

She huffed out a breath. "You can tell him if you want. After all, the only ones who can know I exist are people in your clan, and I assume there aren't that many of you."

"No, there are not, but there are many who are desperately looking for dormant and immortal females who are not related to them, so you will have an abundance of suitors. If you are interested, that is. If you want, I can tell everyone to keep their distance."

She'd been hurt, and she might not want male company for the foreseeable future.

Fenella made a comical face. "Are you kidding me? I can finally find a nice guy who I don't need to hide my abilities from and who can live as long as I can, and you think I'll pass up the opportunity because some degenerate hurt me?"

He swallowed. "You are very brave. I don't know many women who could be as brave as you in similar circumstances."

She shrugged. "I've lived a tough life, and I've been through a lot."

"Would you consider ever forgiving Din?" he asked cautiously. "If he apologized profusely?"

"Once an asshole, always an asshole." Fenella's tone left no room for argument.

Max decided to let the subject drop for now. Time might soften her stance, but pushing would only make her dig in harder. Instead, he gestured toward the window.

"Wait until you see the place you will be staying at," he said. "The penthouse has floor-to-ceiling windows with an incredible view of the city, and there's even a lap pool on the terrace."

Her expression lightened. "Isn't it too cold for swimming now?"

"You can heat the pool up. Besides, Southern California doesn't get all that cold anyway, and spring is coming. Pretty soon it will be scorching hot on the terrace."

"That sounds nice." Some of the tension left her shoulders. "I haven't had a proper swim in I can't remember how long."

From the corner of his eye, Max caught Kyra still clutching her pendant, her thumb stroking the amber stone as if reconnecting with an old friend.

"Stop staring at her," Fenella murmured. "Women don't like guys who fall for them too fast."

"Shut up," he replied without heat. "That's not true."

"Which part? Staring at Kyra, or that women don't like guys who fall for them too easily?"

"Both."

She chuckled. "Some things never change. You are still a sucker for a pretty face."

"I'm not," he protested, but they both knew it was a lie.

20

KIAN

Kian paced the length of his old penthouse living room, each pass taking him from the wall to the floor-to-ceiling windows to the double front doors that led to the vestibule. Beyond the glass, Los Angeles sprawled in the afternoon light. The cityscape usually provided him with a sense of calm—a reminder that here, everyday life went on, even while wars and conflicts savaged people around the globe. Still, he was restless, partly because he wasn't a patient male and he hated waiting for anything, and in part because he was ill equipped to deal with a bunch of traumatized females.

Initially, he'd planned to wait in the dungeon for the Doomer's arrival. His fingers itched to get started on the interrogation, to extract every bit of information about what the Brotherhood was plotting, but then it occurred to him that celebrating the rescue and welcoming Kyra and the others should come first.

After all, they believed that Kyra would be instrumental to finding Khiann, and that made her a very important addition to the clan.

She should get the red-carpet welcome.

The aroma of fresh coffee and warm bread wafted from the kitchen where Ogidu was working his magic. Since Okidu was driving the bus, Kian had borrowed one of his mother's Odus to prepare the penthouses for their guests and to make a welcome lunch, or rather dinner, as it was after three o'clock in the afternoon and it would be another twenty minutes or so before they arrived.

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