Page 308 of Primal Bonds

He lifted his head, straining to hear something. Anything. But they were dead silent. Yeah, it was late, but surely a group of three would speak at least a few words among themselves?

They reached the main floor and rapped on the door to Mark’s private apartment.

“What the hell?” the innkeeper demanded in rough, just-woke-up tones.

“Where are they? The fada.” A man’s voice.

Adric tensed. Easing out from beneath Rosana, he crept to the door, setting his ear against the wood.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mark returned.

“Yes,” the man said in a cold voice, “you do.”

“Get your hands off me,” Mark snarled. “You’ve got five seconds to get out of here or I’m calling the cop—”

The thud of flesh against flesh was followed by an “oof.”

“Talk,” the man said.

The only sound was the harsh scrape of Mark’s breathing.

Adric whirled into motion. “Rosana,” he hissed.

She was already sitting up. Scrambling out of bed, she whispered, “What’s the matter?”

He tossed her some clothes. “We’re leaving,” he replied in an equally soft voice. “Someone’s asking about us.”

She froze. “My brothers?”

He shook his head. The Rock Run men might be hard-assed S.O.B.s, but they wouldn’t beat a man just for renting the two of them a room. No, they’d kick Adric’s ass instead.

“I don’t think so. Now, move.”

She hurriedly pulled on her jeans and shirt while he dragged on his own clothes. He shoved an iron dagger into his back pocket. Iron was the only sure way to kill a fae.

“No shoes,” he told her. “We may have to run for it.”

“Got it.” She crammed her things into the canvas bag, leaving her barefoot in the Henley and jeans. He silently blessed the tight operation run by Dion. She’d clearly been trained how to respond in an emergency.

“This way.” Rosana jerked her head at the sliding doors. “Down the back stairs.”

He gave her a silent thumbs-up.

In the hall outside their room, footsteps could be heard. Another person ran lightly up to the third floor.

Apparently, Mark hadn’t given up their location. Adric would owe him for that. He just hoped the human would be alive to collect.

Rosana slung her bag over a shoulder and eased open the sliding door. He grabbed his duffel bag and followed, quietly closing the door behind him. Hopefully, that would buy them a little time before their pursuers realized they were no longer in the B&B.

Rosana ignored the stairs to sling a long leg over the wood railing. She worked her way hand-over-hand down the outside of the stairs before dropping the last few feet to the grass. The entire descent took five seconds, tops.

Despite the danger, his mouth edged up as he swung over the railing and dropped to the grass beside her. Damn, he liked how the woman’s mind worked.

They glided around the enclosed outdoor shower and halted against the far wall where they couldn’t be seen from the B&B.

Rosana set her mouth to his ear. “They’ll be watching the parking lot.”

He nodded. Why the fuck hadn’t he parked the rental car somewhere else? But he’d believed they were safe. No one knew his exact location, not even Marjani.

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