Page 18 of Black Hand
“That makes her a badass in my book, and I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about anything else she might be. I don’t see you bringing any around, now do I?” And to light a match to the fire, she didn’t stop at that. “Which makes you, Sir, ignorant, or a coward.”
I was in front of Dominic with a hand pressed at the center of his chest before she finished the last word. His eyes flickered to his vertical pupils and back and his face contorted in rage, but luckily no fur sprouted over it. Well, not much anyway. It took most of my strength to hold him in place without fighting him in front of Alice.
“How did you do that?” she gasped from behind me, her words cracking as the wolf shifter growled a warning at Dominic.
“I came here for a reason, Dominic.” Keeping my voice steady, I waited until his gaze locked on mine. “I need her help, and she can’t do that if she has a heart attack or if you hurt her.”
This part was tricky, and I was sure Alice wondered why we were just staring at each other, but I hoped she was startled enough from my speed that she wouldn’t think much of it. Keeping my tone low so only he could hear me, a feather tickled the back of my throat when his eyes dropped to my lips so he could also read the words I was saying.
“It won’t be long before the Council orders a hunt for you and me, so we don’t have much time. I have no intention of going down without taking as many of them with me as I can. Do you? Fair enough you don’t want to share information about what you are up to, but as much as we dislike each other we can at least work together on a common goal.” He lifted his gaze and searched mine for a moment before cautiously moving his head to indicate that he was on the same page. Distrust still lurked in the depths of his green irises, but I knew that was as good as I’d get from him.
I released the pressure on the hand I used to hold him back, and he leaned into my palm when I tried to remove it. My own heart kicked up, the beat matching the drumming of his under my skin. The scent that was uniquely him filled my nostrils and clouded my head. I wet my dry lips to moisten them. His eyes zeroed in on the move, the predatory glint making goosebumps erupt all over me. I was so focused on his smell and the way he felt under my hand that I missed everything else. That was until Alice spoke.
“Umm … guys?” The timid way she said it made me whirl around, my body coiled up to attack. “Someone is trying to enter through the front door.” A human whispering was like someone shouting to our ears. I was sure Alice meant well.
“Stay with her,” I snapped at the wolf shifter, but I was already moving toward the front of the building with Dominic.
I saw the wolf herding Alice into the far corner, the human protesting and trying to shove him away the entire time, but still he placed himself like a living shield in front of her. The room we were in opened into a long hallway with a couple of doors on either side of it, sounds of dogs whining, cats hissing, and birds chirping coming from behind them. At the end, it curved into an entrance area half the size of the place we left Alice in, made into a small apartment with a dining table that had two chairs, a TV stand that had more candles than an actual TV, and a small kitchen to the right.
Judging by the smell, bundles of sage hung from all cabinet doors, masking the scent of whoever it was that was shuffling in front of the building. Their feet were silent, but the old wood of the narrow porch gave the person away. A soft cracking noise as if the floor was sighing from the weight crackled in my ears.
Dominic touched my upper arm to get my attention, pointing first at himself then at the kitchen. Offering just a jerk of my head as a nod, I didn’t move my eyes from the closed front door. Tonight, Alice would learn that plywood was not safe by any stretch of the imagination. And that was when the unthinkable happened. My foot stepped on a dog toy, the squeak the damn thing released making me jump a foot of the floor. I froze, Dominic froze, and so did whoever was trying to break in. My body was so tense I thought I’d break if I twitched a muscle.
The door exploded inward.
Shrapnel made of plywood and leftover glass flew at me, the tiny cuts on my skin forgotten when a shadow fell over the threshold. Noah blocked the yellow light coming from the streetlamps behind him. His wide shoulders hid the glow, casting his face in darkness that made him look more sinister than he had any right to be. His deep eyes lit from within and pinned me in place as he bared his fangs at me. All my rage bubbled up to the surface when I faced him.
“Brooklyn, we meet again,” he muttered and stepped inside.
“For the last time, asshole.”
Noah pounced, his fist hitting me on the temple and snapping my neck painfully to the side. Lifting my foot, I kicked him with a flat foot in the stomach to create space between our bodies. He stumbled back but didn’t move away much. Both his arms and legs turned into a blur, every hit bringing dark spots dancing in front of my eyes. My mind was screaming that it was impossible for him to be that strong. Electric green eyes came into my vision from behind Noah, but a crash coming from the back of the house made Dominic pull back into the shadows. Footsteps thundered down the hallway, Alice coming toward us with a shrill scream. Noah’s head snapped that way.
My heart stopped. This was it. The end.
“Get out you fucker!” Screaming from the top of her lungs, Alice darted to join us, a floor lamp missing a shade clutched in her hands like a baseball bat. She swung it left and right in front of her, the long cord dangling from it slithering behind her like a snake. The crazy human must’ve broken the lamp so she could use it as a weapon. That was the crash that we heard. Alice skidded to a stop and her eyes widened in horror when Noah turned to meet her.
Throwing myself at the Atua, I tackled him on the floor just as the biggest black panther I’d ever seen jumped over us and blocked the way to Alice. Dominic’s green eyes stared at me from the panther’s face. He looked magnificent, all muscle and pure predatory power. Noah hissed at him, his fangs growing in size while he struggled under me.
Alice screamed again.
That was when it hit me. Noah wasn’t that strong. I was holding back because I didn’t want Alice to know what kind of monster she’d let in her home. Noah was here to kill me, and I stupidly fought him as if I was the human. My gums started throbbing and I felt my own fangs sliding down.
“Oh hell no …” Alice’s voice trailed off and disappeared down the hallway as she bolted back to where she came from, the cord of the lamp like a tail behind her.
“I will have so much fun with the human after I’m done with you.” Noah groaned as he bucked under me. It grated on my nerves.
“Funny.” The smile on my face removed his smirk. “It sounds to me like you expect to survive this.”
I could’ve sworn the panther chuckled.
10
Sharp pain almost doubled me over when the Atua I had pinned to the floor slammed his fist to my side. I heard ribs cracking, my bones giving way under the hard impact. Teeth clenched and my core tensed as hard as a rock, I braced for more. Everything in me wanted to curl up in a ball so I could make myself as small of a target as I could, but that would’ve been signing my own death warrant. Noah had no intention on losing his advantage. The tides had turned, and he now had me on the floor looming over my smaller frame with fists hammering anywhere he saw an opening. All I had to do was open my mouth and things were going to change quickly. There was just one problem.
I didn’t trust Dominic.
Not enough to play all my cards in the open. At this moment, however, while pain was blurring my thoughts and fear of what would happen to Alice, along with Veronica’s death, weighing like a noose around my neck? I had no choice but to act first and remedy the situation later. Noah landed a few more punches while the realization hit me that the moment I allowed him to follow me to see Alice, I never had any intention of letting him live. Maybe I was not much better off than the Syndicate and the Council. Without Veronica to keep my sanity in check, the feral creature I was before, the one who escaped the cages, would rear its head and do anything to survive.
