Page 35 of The Death Dealer

Maybe it was the way his burning gaze had traveled the length of her body, stripping her bare.

Maybe it was the memory of their shared fantasy.

Or maybe it was something more. Maybe they were developing an emotional bond deeper than either dared to acknowledge.

She touched her fingers to her lips and scowled as she tasted dirt.

Ick!

She dusted off her hands and shook her head. Trevor Blane could scramble her brains even when he wasn’t present. Deciding her concentration was crap, Soleil left the greenhouse. She walked along the path leading to the beach, passing the thicket of hibiscus bushes that disguised an eight-foot, metal security fence. The gate was open, so she traversed the steps down to the sand and approached the shoreline.

After glancing around and only spotting a powerboat in the distance, she snapped her fingers and changed into a one-piece bathing suit. Next, she bent to wash her hands in the water. As much as she loved having her hands in soil, feeling the magic flow through her when she was wrists deep into the planting process, she despised dirt under her fingernails.

A ping sounded behind her.

Startled by the noise, she straightened and turned. The movement saved her life as a bullet tore through her upper arm, where her heart had been seconds before.

Her first instinct was to teleport, and her cells warmed. The magic was immediately aborted due to Stockton’s Blockers’ spell. Locked in place, Soleil ducked and curled into a tight ball, conjuring a force field the way Sabrina had taught her to do after her niece’s abduction at the hands of an Arcane Devourer.

Bullet after bullet struck the shield directly in front of her face, and Soleil couldn’t hold back her terrified screams.

The protective bubble held.

Two more shots were fired in rapid succession, but she remained safe.

“Thank you, Sabrina,” she whispered. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Although the layer of her shield was translucent, there was a faint distortion when she tried to peer out and get a location on her attacker. The muffled sound of an engine roaring to life caught her attention, and in a blink, the powerboat sped away.

Heart practically beating out through her chest, Soleil staggered to her feet, wildly checking around her for the threat.

“Let the shield hold. Please, let it hold,” she prayed to the Goddess as she inched backward toward the steps leading to Gene’s back lawn.

A shout from behind her had her spinning in blind panic.

Trevor’s horrified expression was one she’d never forget. His gaze was focused on her ruined upper arm as he ran full-out to get to her. As soon as he was within touching distance, he reached for her—and got the shock of his life! The power of her force field knocked him on his ass. He blinked his disbelief, and his reaction would’ve been hilarious had Soleil not been bleeding out on the sand.

Knees weak, she dropped down.

“Don’t faint,” she told herself fiercely. Her pain was great, but she held on to consciousness through sheer stubbornness.

“Lower the shield!” Trevor shouted. “I can’t heal you if you don’t lower it.”

What did it say about her cowardice that she didn’t want to dissolve the one thing keeping her safe?

“You’re not a coward, Dalli.”His voice flitted through her mind.“You’re clever, and you thought fast on your feet.”

They locked gazes, and his tight smile reassured her.

With her uninjured arm, she waved, peeling back an opening large enough for Trevor to get to her. The second he registered the clear line of sight, he dove through and hugged her tightly to him.

“I lost years when you screamed,” he said feelingly.

“How did you hear me?”

“Through our link. The others must’ve thought I was insane, taking off mid-sentence.” After kissing her brow, he eased back to examine her arm. Frowning, he asked, “Why didn’t you stop the blood flow?”

“I didn’t think of it. Is it normal to feel this woozy?”

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