Page 16 of Black Hand
That was a plus.
“You could say that twice.” Jumping down over both steps, I joined him. “She might be at the back and didn’t hear the knock, so you are right.”
“One of your kind lives here?”
I couldn’t blame him for sounding shocked. Atua loved their luxuries, and the more extravagant it was the better was their view on things. The Syndicate was more vain than the rest of us and flaunted their wealth for everyone to see. None of my kind would be found dead in a place like this.
“No, she’s human.”
The shifter made a strangled sound, so I whirled around with my knees bent and fangs bared because I thought he’d been hit. My head whipped left and right while he hacked, my gaze darting up and down the street to look for the attacker. Fury burned in my chest for not being more alert, and now there’d be a bloodbath in the middle of a human suburb. Abandoned or not, it was bound to get attention from the humans if the streets were painted red. And the Syndicate, for that matter.
“Where are you hurt?” Stepping around him, I covered his body with mine as he pounded on his chest with a fist. “Speak, kitty. Where are you hurt?”
“Not hurt,” he wheezed.
I slowly turned to face him. “Then what are you doing? Hacking out a hairball?” Frustrated that he freaked me out, I was frowning so hard a headache developed at the center of my forehead. I kept the street visible from the corner of my eye just in case.
“Stop calling me kitty,” he croaked, and then then cleared his throat, a few more coughs following. “You are friends with a human?”
There’d been many times in my long life that I’d been given strange looks, mostly for the color of my hair and eyes, and occasionally for the word vomit coming out of my mouth before I had a chance to think better of it. Yet no one had looked at me like the shifter was at that moment. The expression on his face said that there was something not right with me. Like he was debating my existence as a being.
I didn’t like it at all.
“So?” Jamming both fists on my hips, I scowled at him. “If that’s a problem for you, get the fuck out of here. Go wait on the street.”
“Not a problem at all,” the shifter muttered, some emotion I couldn’t name flashing in his eyes. “I was just surprised, that’s all.”
He was still watching me strangely, and that made me uncomfortable, so I left him there and moved quickly around the building. It was as if I was trying to escape his scrutiny, or maybe the way he made me feel while his eyes were on me. I didn’t know which, though. When he caught up with me, I thought I heard him murmur,“I’m either dreaming or this is a different dimension.”But something fell inside Alice’s home with a loud bang and I ignored his outburst.
“Speed up, kitty.”
“Dominic.”
“What?” Stopping at the corner of the building, I glanced back at him.
“My name is Dominic. Stop calling me kitty. It’s annoying.”
“Aww, look at you all friendly and stuff.” Grinning like a fool at the grumble in his chest, I even winked at him. “Now stay here so you don’t freak her out. She’s little … peculiar, you could say.”
“She’s human,” he said it slowly like I had no idea what species that was.
“And your point is what? She’s dumb and has no survival instinct? Have you seen yourself in the mirror lately?”
His eyebrows hit his hairline and his jaw fell slightly open while he looked me up and down. “If I … I have seen … in the mirror …” he sputtered, but I waved him off and rounded the corner.
He could spend his time waiting around and trying to put a full sentence together. I had to see Alice to assure myself that she was still alive. I’d deal with everything else later. A tall metal fence blocked my way to the back door, the closed-up area littered with dog toys, obstacles for training, and a few cages that made bile rise in my throat. I’d have to get rid of those later when I was done here because no being deserved to be caged. Alice never struck me as the cruel type, but how well did I actually know her? The human and I would have some words when I saw her. And I would see her, because if she was gone, I might just lose my shit.
Curling my fingers through the metal links, I climbed the fence fast, vaulting my body over it and dropping on the other side in a crouch. Avoiding looking at the cages, I rushed to the back door and reached for the handle when I heard the metal of the fence rattle gently. My head snapped back in time to see Dominic drop on the balls of his feet. Straightening, he cocked an eyebrow in a dare for me to say something as he strutted across the yard.
“Which part of wait didn’t you understand?” I hissed under my breath.
“The waiting part.” The asshole grinned and arrogance oozed off him in spades. “I don’t trust you, so you are not leaving my sight.”
Clenching my jaw so hard my face hurt, I ignored his jab and yanked the back door open a lot harder than was needed. The hinges cracked, then there was a tinkling like chimes over the small wooden porch where I stood. Left with the door in my hand, I closed my eyes praying for patience, especially when I heard him snort at my back. Flipping around, I shoved the door at his chest, which made him stumble back while trying to take hold of it.
“Stay.” Whisper-yelling the command, I entered the building because I was unwilling to deal with his arrogant ass, but also well aware he would not listen.
A dark mudroom with a few pairs of shoes kicked all over the floor and jackets hanging on a hook on the wall met me, while another closed door half made out of glass was blocking the inside of the house. By the time I took hold of it to open it, Dominic was at my back, the heat of his body reminding me that the shifter was becoming a pain in the ass. A lot slower I opened the second door and stepped inside a white open room, which was bright from the dozen floor lamps shining all around it. Sheer white curtails were pinned on the windowless walls as decoration.
